Federal

  • June 04, 2024

    House Bill Would Cut $2B In IRS Funding, Restrict Direct File

    The chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that handles Internal Revenue Service funding introduced legislation Tuesday to cut that funding for fiscal 2025 by over $2 billion and prohibit money from going to the agency's free online tax-filing program without congressional approval.

  • June 04, 2024

    11th Circ. Affirms Nix Of IRS Easement Disclosure Guidance

    The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Tuesday that an Internal Revenue Service notice imposing reporting requirements on potentially abusive conservation easements was invalid because the agency failed to solicit the public feedback required by administrative law.

  • June 04, 2024

    IRS Announces 6 Tax Court Sessions Added To Calendar

    The Internal Revenue Service announced six U.S. Tax Court sessions in October and named calendar administrators for the sessions in a notice released Tuesday.

  • June 04, 2024

    IRS Didn't Have To Tell Man About Summonses, 5th Circ. Told

    The Internal Revenue Service wasn't required to tell a Texas man with unpaid tax liabilities that it had demanded his financial information from third parties, the agency told the Fifth Circuit, urging it to affirm a lower-court decision tossing the man's suit challenging the summonses.

  • June 03, 2024

    FTX, IRS Propose Settling $8B Tax Fight For Just $885M

    FTX and the Internal Revenue Service have reached a proposed settlement worth roughly $885 million that would resolve the agency's contention that the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange operator owes $8 billion in taxes, according to a motion filed Monday in Delaware federal bankruptcy court.

  • June 03, 2024

    Danish Tax Agency Says $2.1B Tax Fraud Suits Not Filed Late

    Denmark's tax administrator urged a New York federal court to reject bids to toss its suits against U.S. pension plans and individuals it accuses of participating in a $2.1 billion fraud scheme, saying the suits were not filed too late.

  • June 03, 2024

    Treasury Aims To Salvage Corp. Transparency Act At 11th Circ.

    The Corporate Transparency Act is a valid exercise of congressional authority to curb money laundering under the commerce clause and the necessary and proper clause in the Constitution, the U.S. Treasury Department told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday in a bid to restore the law's reporting requirements.

  • June 03, 2024

    Suzanne Somers' Estate Owes $2.7M, Tax Court Says

    Television producer Alan Hamel and the estate of his wife, actor Suzanne Somers, owe nearly $2.7 million in taxes and penalties going back to 1996 related to losses in a partnership, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday.

  • June 03, 2024

    IRS Correctly Denied Man Collection Alternative, Court Says

    The Internal Revenue Service did not abuse its discretion when rejecting a Florida man's collection alternative request, the U.S. Tax Court said Monday.

  • June 03, 2024

    Couple Can't Justify $3.7M Loss Deduction, Tax Court Says

    A New York couple failed to adequately prove that they should have been able to claim $3.7 million in net operating losses on their personal income taxes that were generated by settlement payments made by a company they owned, the U.S. Tax Court said Monday.

  • June 03, 2024

    Tax Convictions Withstand Poor Counsel Claim, 4th Circ. Says

    A North Carolina man's claim of ineffective counsel is not sufficient reason to vacate his convictions for filing false tax returns and obstructing an official proceeding in a case involving $2.1 million in unreported income sent from Bermuda entities, the Fourth Circuit ruled.

  • June 03, 2024

    Google Must Face Online Tax Filer's Privacy Suit

    An Illinois woman who prepared her taxes online through H&R Block and then sued Google, claiming the search engine's tracking tool effectively eavesdropped on her confidential tax information, can move forward with her proposed class action, a California federal judge ruled Monday.

  • June 03, 2024

    Texas Oil Co. Says IRS Hasn't Paid $36M Promised Refund

    The Internal Revenue Service has promised to pay a Texas oil company more than $36 million in tax refunds and credits for the 2009 tax year but has failed to do so, the company told a federal court.

  • June 03, 2024

    Vanguard Investors Want Class Cert. In Tax Liability Fight

    Investors accusing Vanguard and its top brass of violating its fiduciary duties by triggering a sell-off of assets in target retirement funds in an attempt to lower fees, leaving smaller investors with massive tax bills, asked a Pennsylvania federal court to certify them as a class.

  • June 03, 2024

    Taxes Take Center Stage In Pot Industry Amid Fed. Policy Shift

    The federal government's move to loosen restrictions on cannabis is expected to trigger a wave of mergers and acquisitions structured as asset deals in the industry, especially among struggling retail operations willing to restructure in order to raise profits and lower their tax liabilities.

  • June 03, 2024

    Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin

    The Internal Revenue Service issued its weekly bulletin, which included an updated list of procedures for taxpayer-initiated requests for changes in methods of accounting.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Employee Retention Tax Credit: Gray Areas And Red Flags

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    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.

  • High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split

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    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.

  • Clean Energy Tax Credits' Wage, Apprentice Rules: Key Points

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    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.

  • Crypto Coverage After FTX Fall: Crime And Custody Coverage

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    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.

  • US-India Advance Pricing Resolutions Should Reassure Cos.

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    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.

  • Reimagining Benefits For A World Without Noncompetes

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    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.

  • A Closer Look At Rep. Santos' Claims And Potential Charges

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    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.

  • Stock Buyback Excise Tax Guidance A Mixed Bag For SPACs

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    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.

  • Crypto Coverage After FTX Fall: Accountant And Atty Liability

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    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.

  • The Forces Defining Sales Tax Policy And Compliance In 2023

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    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.

  • Inflation Reduction Act's Methane Tax May Be Unenforceable

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    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.

  • Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target

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    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.

  • Industry Takeaways From IRS Guidance On EV Tax Credits

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    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.

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