Federal
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July 08, 2024
IRS Details Steps To Take For Scam-Credit Letter Recipients
The Internal Revenue Service published a fact sheet Monday to help taxpayers respond to letters from the agency identifying tax returns as requiring authentication after the agency said that inaccurate advice from social media and a series of scams led to an increase in questionable refund claims.
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July 08, 2024
Continued Worker Credit Freeze Could Push Cos. To Court
More employers tired of waiting for the Internal Revenue Service to process their employee retention credit refund claims could decide to go to court to force the government to review their submissions following the IRS announcing that a moratorium on processing new claims would remain in place.
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July 08, 2024
Ways And Means To Vote On Section 529 Tax Bills
The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on several education-related tax bills, including legislation that would make additional elementary and secondary school expenses eligible for tax-advantaged education savings accounts.
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July 08, 2024
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin reported recently issued guidance on exceptions to the 10% additional tax for people who make permissible early retirement account withdrawals for emergency personal expenses and for victims of domestic abuse.
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July 08, 2024
IRS Failed To Analyze Storage Costs, TIGTA Says
The IRS didn't negotiate with the federal agency that stores its paper tax records, instead agreeing to pay a new monthly rate of $2.8 million without doing the required cost analysis, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report released Monday.
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July 08, 2024
Top International Tax Cases Of 2024: Midyear Report
With a U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming a key 2017 tax provision on repatriation, millions of dollars in FBAR penalties upheld and a French ruling confirming the U.S. government's access to foreign bank accounts, the IRS stacked up important court victories on international enforcement in the first half of 2024. Here, Law360 reviews those and other significant rulings from the past six months.
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July 08, 2024
Atty Drops FOIA Suit Against IRS Over Partnership Audits
An Ohio attorney agreed to drop a public records suit against the Internal Revenue Service that had sought documents related to partnership audits after the agency released thousands of records he had requested, according to a D.C. federal court filing.
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July 08, 2024
IRS Must Produce Audit Records, Waste Co. Says
Garbage-hauling giant Waste Management Inc. asked a D.C. federal court to force the IRS to produce its tax files on the company for 2017, including audit records, saying the agency has been dragging its feet in violation of the Freedom of Information Act.
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July 08, 2024
Feds Seize $63M LA Estate Tied To Armenian Bribe Probe
The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that it will seize a $63 million Los Angeles estate that it claims was bought with bribe payments for the family of a former Armenian government official.
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July 05, 2024
How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court
Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
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July 05, 2024
Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review
The U.S. Supreme Court's lethargic pace of decision-making this term left the justices to issue a slew of highly anticipated and controversial rulings during the term's final week — rulings that put the court's ideological divisions on vivid display. Here, Law360 takes a data dive into the numbers behind this court term.
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July 05, 2024
High Court Flexes Muscle To Limit Administrative State
The U.S. Supreme Court's dismantling of a 40-year-old judicial deference doctrine, coupled with rulings stripping federal agencies of certain enforcement powers and exposing them to additional litigation, has established the October 2023 term as likely the most consequential in administrative law history.
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July 05, 2024
The Sharpest Dissents From The Supreme Court Term
The U.S. Supreme Court's session ended with a series of blockbuster cases that granted the president broad immunity, changed federal gun policy and kneecapped administrative agencies. And many of the biggest decisions fell along partisan lines.
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July 05, 2024
5 Moments That Shaped The Supreme Court's Jan. 6 Decision
When the high court limited the scope of a federal obstruction statute used to charge hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol, the justices did not vote along ideological lines. In a year marked by 6-3 splits, what accounts for the departure? Here are some moments from oral arguments that may have swayed the justices.
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July 05, 2024
The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term
In a U.S. Supreme Court term teeming with serious showdowns, the august air at oral arguments filled with laughter after an attorney mentioned her plastic surgeon and a justice seemed to diss his colleagues, to cite just two of the term's mirthful moments. Here, we look at the funniest moments of the term.
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July 05, 2024
H&R Block Users Must Arbitrate Meta Privacy Claims
Two H&R Block customers must arbitrate their claims that the company shared their private data with Meta Platforms Inc. and Google, a Pennsylvania federal court ruled, saying they agreed to arbitrate any disputes under the tax services provider's terms of agreement.
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July 05, 2024
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
This U.S. Supreme Court term featured high-stakes oral arguments on issues including gerrymandering, abortion and federal agency authority, and a hot bench ever more willing to engage in a lengthy back-and-forth with advocates. Here's a look at the law firms that argued the most cases and how they fared.
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July 05, 2024
7th Circ. Asked To Weigh Chevron's End In Cubs Sale Tax Suit
The Seventh Circuit should consider last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the Chevron deference doctrine to scrutinize the IRS' claim that it has the authority to tax gains from Tribune Media Co's sale of the Chicago Cubs, a Tribune attorney urged.
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July 05, 2024
Top Federal Tax Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024
In the coming months, the U.S. Treasury and the IRS will defend rules designed to go after what they consider as abusive tax practices, including the economic substance doctrine, the Corporate Transparency Act and the moratorium on employee retention tax credits. Here, Law360 looks at key federal tax cases to watch in the rest of 2024.
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July 03, 2024
Ex-Defense Contractor Evaded Taxes On $350 Million, US Says
A former defense contractor and his wife face a 30-count indictment alleging they were involved in a decadeslong scheme to defraud the U.S. government and avoid taxes on more than $350 million in income, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
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July 03, 2024
Maryland Fends Off Chamber's Challenge To Digital Ad Tax
A disputed provision of Maryland's tax on digital advertising doesn't violate the First Amendment, a federal judge in the state found Wednesday, throwing out a challenge to the tax brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.
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July 03, 2024
Insurers Ask 10th Circ. To Rethink Toss Of $2M Tax Appeal
Captive insurance companies and their related entities that are challenging more than $2 million in IRS notices of tax deficiencies asked the Tenth Circuit to reconsider its refusal to review a U.S. Tax Court decision finding the notices were not invalid as the entities had claimed.
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July 03, 2024
Warren, Other Pols Push Yellen For Corp. Minimum Tax Rules
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and three other lawmakers urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for the department to quickly release regulations to implement the corporate alternative minimum tax in a letter released Wednesday.
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July 03, 2024
'Real Housewives' Figure Pleads Guilty To $2.5M Tax Offense
A former cast member of a "Real Housewives" TV series and owner of several restaurants and nightclubs in multiple states admitted in a North Carolina federal court to failing to pay over $2.5 million in employment taxes, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
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July 03, 2024
IRS Warns Of Scam Tied To Clean Energy Tax Credit Sales
Individuals should be wary of a scam in which tax return preparers improperly steer them to claim purchased clean energy tax credits to offset income tax from wages, retirement account withdrawals and other sources, the Internal Revenue Service warned Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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Employee Retention Tax Credit: Gray Areas And Red Flags
The subjective nature of the pandemic-prompted employee retention credit, coupled with a lack of Internal Revenue Service guidance, have created fertile ground for opportunists, so businesses seeking this tax benefit should be mindful of tax advisers who would involve them in fraudulent ERC claims, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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Clean Energy Tax Credits' Wage, Apprentice Rules: Key Points
The Inflation Reduction Act's complicated prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements for clean energy facility construction tax credits recently took effect — and the learning curve will be more difficult for taxpayers who are not already familiar with such programs, say attorneys at Shearman.
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Crypto Coverage After FTX Fall: Crime And Custody Coverage
Cryptocurrency firm FTX's recent implosion provides a case study for potential crypto exposure under traditional insurance policies, and suggests carriers should ask some basic underwriting questions, including whether a company engages in transactions involving cryptocurrencies or holds digital assets in custody, says Anjali Das at Wilson Elser.
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US-India Advance Pricing Resolutions Should Reassure Cos.
The United States' and India's tax authorities' recent resolution of a significant number of pending advance pricing agreements should reduce taxpayer uncertainty, reassure companies of the nations' good working relationship and improve India's investment environment, say Miller Williams and Caroline Setliffe at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Reimagining Benefits For A World Without Noncompetes
Though the Federal Trade Commission's recently proposed noncompete ban is still in its infancy, companies should begin considering whether they would need to retool their payment and benefits packages to comply, while still protecting their competitive edge, say Melissa Ostrower and Alec Nealon at Jackson Lewis.
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A Closer Look At Rep. Santos' Claims And Potential Charges
Skadden partner and former federal prosecutor Maria Cruz Melendez discusses Rep. George Santos' legal exposure following his alleged misrepresentations and the possible scope of investigations into his conduct — noting that if history is any indication, the congressman could face prison time if convicted.
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Stock Buyback Excise Tax Guidance A Mixed Bag For SPACs
Recent IRS guidance on the new stock repurchase excise tax includes a welcome exception for publicly traded special-purpose acquisition companies but does not exclude redemptions in connection with a de-SPAC transaction, and further guidance is needed to clarify ambiguities around the exception's application, say Olga Bogush and Evgeny Magidenko at ArentFox Schiff.
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Crypto Coverage After FTX Fall: Accountant And Atty Liability
The recent fall of cryptocurrency firm FTX highlights complexities regarding accounting and tax reporting for digital assets, and reveals lawyers’ potential liability exposure when providing services to crypto firms — as a result, insurers may face unintended vulnerabilities related to this nebulous landscape, say Anjali Das and Farzana Ahmed at Wilson Elser.
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The Forces Defining Sales Tax Policy And Compliance In 2023
In the coming year, expect to see tax policymakers grapple with the complexity of state and local tax compliance, cryptocurrency, metaverse transactions, and more, says Scott Peterson at Avalara.
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Inflation Reduction Act's Methane Tax May Be Unenforceable
Recent legislation directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to impose a first-ever direct charge on methane emissions from oil and gas operations — but two fundamental problems with the formula for calculating this tax could make it impossible for the EPA to implement, say Poe Leggette and Bailey Bridges at BakerHostetler.
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Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target
Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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Industry Takeaways From IRS Guidance On EV Tax Credits
The IRS and U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recently issued documents on tax credit eligibility for clean vehicle purchases showcases three important points for the electric vehicle industry, including emphasis on the importance of in-service dates, guidance on how leased vehicles could be evaluated, and insight into manufacturing requirements, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.