Federal
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March 06, 2025
Treasury Pick Pledges To Protect Privacy Of Taxpayer Data
A former assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury said Thursday that he would safeguard the privacy of taxpayers' data if the Senate approves his return to Treasury as its deputy secretary.
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March 06, 2025
IRS Can't Defend Slashing Of Easement Value, 11th Circ. Told
Conservation easement donors whose charitable tax deduction was reduced by millions of dollars by the U.S. Tax Court criticized the Internal Revenue Service's defense of the decision, telling the Eleventh Circuit the ruling ignored copious evidence of the property's value underlying the donation's worth.
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March 06, 2025
Trump's Value-Added Tax Focus In Tariff Plan Stirs Angst
President Donald Trump's call to target value-added taxes in his reciprocal tariff plan could distort global supply chains and create additional burdens for U.S. companies, contrary to his stated goals of lowering prices for consumers and boosting business, experts told Law360.
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March 06, 2025
Fried Frank Hires White & Case Partner For NY Office
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP announced it appointed a longtime White & Case LLP partner to serve as senior counsel in the firm's mergers and acquisitions and private equity practices.
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March 06, 2025
Tax Interest Rates To Stay Unchanged In 2nd Quarter
The Internal Revenue Service's interest rates for overpayments and underpayments of tax will stay the same in the second quarter of 2025 after dropping to start the year, the agency said Thursday.
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March 05, 2025
Accused Tax Prep Hacker Faces Refund Fraud Case In Boston
A Nigerian national accused of conspiring to use stolen taxpayer information and reaping $1.3 million in phony returns has been extradited to the United States to face charges of breaking into Massachusetts tax preparation firms' computer networks, Boston federal prosecutors said.
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March 05, 2025
Claimed Church Leader Ruled To Owe $1.3M In Taxes
A claimed church leader owes $1.3 million in tax debt after he was caught selling tax avoidance schemes, a Washington federal judge ruled Wednesday, rejecting his request for more time to mount a challenge and describing him as uncooperative.
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March 05, 2025
NY Estate's Bid To Deduct $7M Settlement Denied By 2nd Circ.
A New York estate's $6.5 million settlement liability cannot be deducted because the liability does not decrease the value of trust assets within the estate, nor can it be classified as a tax-deductible administrative expense from the gross estate, the Second Circuit ruled.
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March 05, 2025
Nixon Peabody Hires Former Sheppard Mullin Partner In NY
Nixon Peabody LLP said Wednesday that a former Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP partner has joined the New York office as a partner on the firm's nonprofit organizations team.
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March 05, 2025
House Dems Warn IRS Cuts May Slow Refunds, Hurt Service
The Internal Revenue Service's decision to lay off 7,000 probationary employees could threaten the agency's ability to timely serve taxpayers and issue refunds, more than 130 House Democrats said in a letter Wednesday.
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March 05, 2025
Trump Delays Mexico, Canada Tariffs On Autos For A Month
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that auto vehicles and parts imported from Canada and Mexico will get a one-month reprieve from the 25% tariffs he instituted earlier this week, according to a statement read by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
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March 05, 2025
How Eversheds Sutherland Drew 12-Atty Tax Team In Atlanta
New Eversheds Sutherland partner Hale E. Sheppard joined Law360 Pulse to discuss how he helped lead a team of 12 tax controversy attorneys to join the firm in Atlanta from Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry PC.
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March 05, 2025
Ex-Girlfriend Of $36M Crypto Schemer Admits Hiding Profits
The ex-girlfriend of a cryptocurrency founder who evaded taxes on a $36 million hacking scheme admitted to hiding profits from the IRS and participating in the ploy by heading shell companies and paying Los Angeles sheriff's deputies to target his enemies, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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March 05, 2025
IRS Adds 4 Countries To Time Requirement Waiver List
The Internal Revenue Service added Ukraine, Iraq, Haiti, and Bangladesh to the list of countries for tax year 2024 where minimum time requirements for individuals electing to exclude their foreign earned income are waived.
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March 05, 2025
IRS Updates Foreign Housing Expense Limits For 2025
The Internal Revenue Service released adjustments to the limitation on foreign housing expense deductions and exclusions for 2025 on Wednesday.
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March 04, 2025
Trump Says He Wants To Pass Tax Cuts For Everyone
President Donald Trump said he wants to make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's income tax cuts permanent, make interest payments on certain car loans tax deductible and eliminate taxes on tips and overtime during a joint address to Congress on Tuesday.
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March 04, 2025
Agencies Have 'Ultimate' Authority Over Firings, OPM Says
The Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday issued a revised version of its January memo directing agency heads to identify all probationary employees, adding a disclaimer that OPM "is not directing agencies to take any specific performance-based actions" and that agencies "have ultimate decision-making authority."
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March 04, 2025
Attorneys Shift Gaze To Contracts As Trade Tensions Escalate
Construction experts are racing to keep up with rapid changes from the White House on tariffs amid what's now becoming a full-fledged trade war, and are working out how best to allocate cost-increase risk in their contracts. Lawyers shared several contract excerpts with Law360 Real Estate Authority.
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March 04, 2025
Cantor Fitzgerald's $3M In 9/11 Aid Is Income, Tax Court Says
The U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday that global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald must include a $3.1 million grant from New York's 9/11 recovery program in its taxable income, as it failed to prove the funds were tax-exempt under any provision.
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March 04, 2025
IRS Drops Push To Penalize Ex-Braves Players For Fraud
The federal government dropped its push Tuesday to reinstate civil fraud penalties against a partnership founded by former Atlanta Braves players John Smoltz and Ryan Klesko in their Eleventh Circuit appeal of a decision slashing their $47 million deduction for a conservation easement donation.
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March 04, 2025
Senate Sends Bill To Repeal IRS DeFi Broker Rule To House
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would repeal a final U.S. Treasury Department rule implementing additional reporting requirements for decentralized finance brokers.
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March 04, 2025
Trump's Mexico, Canada Tariffs To Face Legal Tests, Pros Say
President Donald Trump placed 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, citing drug trafficking as the core reason he used untested emergency tariff powers, a course of action that will face legal scrutiny, tax professionals told Law360.
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March 04, 2025
Wealth Taxes Must Involve Beneficial Ownership, Report Says
Countries that are considering wealth taxes should also invest in beneficial ownership transparency systems to enforce the measures, including comprehensive asset registration, according to a report published Tuesday by the advocacy group Tax Justice Network.
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March 04, 2025
IRS Asks To Toss Abbott Labs' FOIA Action For Tax Records
Discovery limitations in a U.S. Tax Court case apply to documents related to an Internal Revenue Service investigation of Abbott Laboratories' transfer policies and thus mean that Abbott can't access them with a Freedom of Information Act request, the IRS told a D.C. federal court.
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March 04, 2025
'Guardrails' Needed In IRS Bid For Eaton Docs, 6th Circ. Told
The IRS is seeking Eaton employee records that would violate European Union data protection laws, the power management multinational told the Sixth Circuit, arguing that an Ohio district court should accordingly only privately review the documents with "critical guardrails."
Expert Analysis
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Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review
For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Rank-And-File DOJ Attorneys Will Keep Calm And Carry On
Career prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice often pride themselves on their ability to remain apolitical in order to ensure consistency and keep the department’s mission afloat, and the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to upend this tradition, says Michael Landman at Bird Marella.
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What Higher Education Can Expect From A 2nd Trump Admin
The election of Donald Trump for a second presidential term has far-reaching ramifications for colleges and universities — come January, institutions can expect a crackdown on DEI, increased scrutiny of campus protests, a rollback of the Biden administration's Title IX rules and more, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less
Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.
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Expect Surging Oil And Gas Industry Under New Trump Admin
Throughout his recent campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised increased oil and natural gas production and reduced reliance on renewables — and his administration will likely bring more oil and gas dealmaking, faster federal permitting and attempts to roll back incentives for green energy, say attorneys at Sidley.
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The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule
Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.
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Cos. Should Inventory Issues To Prep For New Congress
As the legislative and oversight agendas of the 119th Congress come into sharper focus, corporate counsel should assess and plan for areas of potential oversight risk — from tax policy changes to supply chain integrity — even as much uncertainty remains, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Conservation Easement Cases Weave Web Of Uncertainty
Much of the IRS and Justice Department’s recent success in prosecuting syndicated conservation easement cases can be attributed to the government’s focus on the so-called PropCo ratio, which could indicate treacherous waters ahead for participants and their advisers, even under the incoming Trump administration, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?
Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.
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Legislation Most Likely To Pass In Lame Duck Session
As Congress begins its five-week post-election lame duck session, attorneys at Greenberg Traurig break down the legislative priorities and which proposals can be expected to pass.
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What Trump's 2nd Presidency Could Mean For Crypto Sector
Trump's second term will bring a fundamental shift from the Biden administration's approach to crypto-asset regulation and banking supervision, with the most significant changes likely taking effect in the first two quarters of 2025 and broader policy shifts emerging over the next year, say attorneys at Cahill.
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Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being
As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.