Federal
-
June 01, 2024
Blockbuster Summer: 10 Big Issues Justices Still Must Decide
As the calendar flips over to June, the U.S. Supreme Court still has heaps of cases to decide on issues ranging from trademark registration rules to judicial deference and presidential immunity. Here, Law360 looks at 10 of the most important topics the court has yet to decide.
-
May 31, 2024
3M Tells 8th Circ. IRS Used Invalid Regs For $24M Allocation
Multinational conglomerate 3M reiterated Friday its bid for the Eighth Circuit to reverse a U.S. Tax Court decision allowing the IRS to allocate nearly $24 million from the company's Brazilian affiliate, arguing the agency's adjustment relied on substantively invalid regulations.
-
May 31, 2024
IRS Guidance Narrows Spinoffs Available For Preapproval
Recent IRS guidance limiting the types of spinoff transactions that revenue officials will approve as tax-free ahead of time leaves practitioners and corporations to determine whether to pursue certain intercompany reorganizations without the agency's blessing.
-
May 31, 2024
Ex-UBS Exec Owes $4.7M In FBAR Penalties, Court Told
A former CEO of Swiss bank UBS' North American group faces a $4.7 million tax bill that the U.S. claims is due because he did not report his foreign bank accounts or assets, according to a suit filed in Connecticut federal court.
-
May 31, 2024
IRS Can Seek Tax Beyond Bankruptcy Deal, 11th Circ. Affirms
A deal between the IRS and an Alabama real estate developer to settle his tax debt for $2 million during Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings wasn't final, and the agency can demand additional taxes from him, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Friday.
-
May 31, 2024
US, Bulgaria Sign Country-By-Country Reporting Agreement
The U.S. and Bulgaria signed an agreement Friday on the automatic exchange of country-by-country reports between the nations, Bulgaria's Ministry of Finance said.
-
May 31, 2024
IRS Memo Backs Tax For Noninsurance Payments To Captives
When the IRS determines that a company's payments to its foreign captive insurer were not for actual insurance, the agency can assert a 30% tax on the captive for the income it received under the arrangement, the IRS chief counsel's office said in a memo released Friday.
-
May 31, 2024
Texan's Estate Owes $3.4M For Missed Tax Pays, Court Told
A Texas man's estate owes over $3.4 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties because of missed payments stretching back over a decade, even after multiple extensions were granted to the two executors, the government told a federal district court.
-
May 31, 2024
5 Tax Bills To Watch This Summer
House and Senate lawmakers return to Washington, D.C., on Monday, where several tax-related bills await them in both chambers, including a stalled package that would restore business tax breaks and expand the child tax credit. Here, Law360 takes a look at five bills that could move through Congress this summer.
-
May 31, 2024
Calif. Man Owes 6 Years Of FBAR Penalties, IRS Tells Court
A Californian has failed to pay foreign bank account reporting penalties he was assessed that were tied to a business he owed in Mexico for six years, the Internal Revenue Service told a federal court.
-
May 31, 2024
Fuel Producers Should Apply ASAP For Tax Credit, IRS Says
Fuel producers hoping to start claiming the clean fuel production credit as soon as January should register with the Internal Revenue Service by July 15, the agency said Friday, warning that registration applications made after that date are less likely to go through in time.
-
May 31, 2024
IRS Delays Deadlines For Mass. Taxpayers Hit By 2023 Storms
Certain Massachusetts taxpayers impacted by severe storms and flooding that hit the state Sept. 11 now have until July 31 to file various individual and business tax returns and make payments, the Internal Revenue Service said Friday.
-
May 31, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Cravath, Cleary, Fried Frank
In this week's Taxation With Representation, T-Mobile buys United States Cellular Corp.'s wireless operations, Energy Transfer plans to buy WTG Midstream, ConocoPhillips acquires Marathon Oil, and Goldman Sachs Alternatives raises over $20 billion for its direct lending strategy.
-
May 30, 2024
Chicago Kiosk Salesman Gets 1 Year For Filing False Returns
An electronic-sweepstakes kiosk salesman from Chicago was sentenced to a year in prison for filing false tax returns that included more than $500,000 in inflated business expenses, according to Illinois federal court documents.
-
May 30, 2024
IRS Adds 16 Tax Court Sessions To Calendar
The Internal Revenue Service announced 16 U.S. Tax Court sessions in September and October and named calendar administrators for the sessions in a notice released Thursday.
-
May 30, 2024
Tax Court Nixes $30M In Conservation Easement Deductions
The U.S. Tax Court upheld on Thursday the IRS' rejection of more than $30 million in charitable contribution deductions for Alabama conservation easements for partnerships acting as test cases for a larger group that took $187 million in deductions.
-
May 30, 2024
Tax Court Tosses Whistleblower Award Contest
The U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday that it cannot review a woman's roughly $1,700 whistleblower award from the Internal Revenue Service because it does not meet a threshold for mandatory awards.
-
May 30, 2024
IRS Names New Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer
The Internal Revenue Service has chosen an adviser in its Transformation and Strategy Office to serve as the agency's new chief taxpayer experience officer, according to a statement Thursday.
-
May 30, 2024
Later Pillar 1 Due Date Set For June As Tax Talks Wrap Up
Diplomats agreed this week to finalize a treaty for reallocating some of large companies' tax payments and setting standards to simplify some transfer pricing in lower-income countries by June 30 after having missed a March deadline, according to a statement published Thursday by the OECD.
-
May 30, 2024
Ex-KPMG Manager Joins Davis+Gilbert As Tax Partner
A former managing director at KPMG has joined New York law firm Davis+Gilbert LLP as a tax partner in its corporate and transactions practice, Davis+Gilbert announced.
-
May 30, 2024
Black Business Owners Sue Over Impact Of Transparency Act
The Corporate Transparency Act creates unique burdens on businesses owned by people of color, immigrants and other marginalized groups, the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and several company owners said in the latest legal challenge to the anti-money laundering law.
-
May 30, 2024
Russian Gas Ex-CFO Says $44M FBAR Penalty Is Excessive
The former chief financial officer of a Russian gas company who was sentenced to seven years in prison for hiding money in Swiss banks told a Florida federal court that the $44 million in foreign account reporting penalties the government is seeking is illegally high.
-
May 30, 2024
IRS To Make E-File Program Permanent, Plans Expansions
The Internal Revenue Service will make permanent the free online tax filing system it launched as a limited pilot program this year and plans to expand its scope, Commissioner Daniel Werfel said Thursday.
-
May 29, 2024
10th Circ. Tosses Insurance Co. Appeal In Tax Court Dispute
The Tenth Circuit tossed an insurance company's challenge to a U.S. Tax Court ruling rejecting the company's effort to invalidate tax deficiency notices on Wednesday, saying it lacked authority to hear the case because the Tax Court's decision wasn't a final one that would end litigation.
-
May 29, 2024
Miami Tax Preparers Should Be Barred For Fraud, DOJ Says
Two Miami-based tax professionals and their businesses should be barred from preparing federal tax returns for others because they repeatedly claimed fraudulent credits without their customers' knowledge, the U.S. Department of Justice told a Florida federal court.
Expert Analysis
-
Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
-
Anticipating Intensified Partnership Enforcement From IRS
The Internal Revenue Service's decadeslong difficulties with partnership audits led to the recent announcement of a clear, well-funded, focused initiative, and businesses operating in the partnership form will feel the impact, with definite changes ahead, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.
-
Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
-
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
-
Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.
-
How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
-
How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
-
While Risks Exist, AI Could Transform IRS Enforcement
The Internal Revenue Service's recently announced use of artificial intelligence could revolutionize the agency's enforcement efforts, and transparency about its use and a forum for challenging AI findings could help mitigate fears that the technology will increase bias, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.
-
Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
-
Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times
As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
-
Enforcement Of International Tax Reporting Is Heating Up
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s February decision in Bittner v. U.S. changed how penalties for failure to report offshore accounts are calculated, recent developments suggest the government is preparing to step up enforcement and vigorously pursue the collection of resulting penalties, say Daniel Silva and Agustin Ceballos at Buchalter.
-
How Gov't Agencies Will Fare In The Event Of A Shutdown
With a federal shutdown potentially set to begin at the end of this month, it may be useful to consider the approximate timelines that agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and IRS have announced for curtailing operations, and potential strategies for mitigating challenges that may arise while agency functions are limited, say attorneys at Cleary.
-
IRS Notice Clarifies R&E Amortization, But Questions Remain
The IRS and Treasury Department’s recent notice clarifying the treatment of specified research and experimental expenditures under Section 174 provides taxpayers and practitioners with substantive guidance, but it misses the mark in delineating which expenditures are amortizable, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.