Federal
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September 11, 2024
Missouri Man Gets 3 Years In Prison For Fraud, Tax Crimes
A Missouri man was sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to raid bank accounts and fetching roughly $3 million in corporate tax refunds for a bogus company, Connecticut's top federal prosecutor announced.
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September 11, 2024
Latham Hires Senior Tax Pro From Travers Smith In London
Latham & Watkins LLP said on Wednesday that it has recruited a former head of tax at Travers Smith LLP for its office in London, a blow for the U.K. law firm, which has been hit by the departure of a series of partners.
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September 10, 2024
Wealthiest 0.01% Had 34% Average Tax Rate, JCT Says
The income group constituting the top 0.01% wealthiest individuals had an average federal tax rate of 34% in 2019, the Joint Committee on Taxation said in a report on high-income and high-wealth taxpayers.
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September 10, 2024
Werfel Asked To Clarify How To Treat R&D Costs In M&A
Accounting firm RSM US LLP, in a letter released Tuesday, asked Internal Revenue Commissioner Daniel Werfel to clarify how to treat research and development costs when a taxpayer disposes of an entire business in a mergers and acquisitions transaction.
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September 10, 2024
House Panel To Consider Axing $600 Payment Reporting Law
The House Ways and Means Committee is set to consider legislation Wednesday that would repeal a law requiring peer-to-peer payment platforms such as Venmo and PayPal to report aggregate payments of $600 or more, among other bills.
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September 10, 2024
FCC Chair Vows High Court Fight Over Universal Service
Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel told educators the agency will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a recent Fifth Circuit decision against the Universal Service Fund, the federal program that subsidizes telecom service to low-income and hard-to-reach areas.
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September 10, 2024
Trailer Co. Seeks Refund Of $4M In Highway Excise Taxes
The Internal Revenue Service erroneously assessed federal highway excise taxes on a South Dakota trailer manufacturer even though the agency had already determined that the trailers were exempt from the tax, the company told a federal court as it sought a tax refund of some $4 million.
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September 10, 2024
IRS Extends Tax Deadlines For NY, Conn. Storm Victims
Victims of severe storms and flooding in New York and Connecticut will have more time to file some tax returns and make estimated payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced Tuesday.
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September 09, 2024
IRS Urges 11th Circ. To Affirm Denial Of $18M In Deductions
A Florida real estate developer was correctly denied $18 million in tax deductions on loans his companies made for residential projects that became worthless, the U.S. government told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday, saying the money went to insiders and didn't qualify as real debt entitled to the write-offs.
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September 09, 2024
Tax Panels Face Personnel Changes Ahead Of TCJA Debate
The House and Senate tax-writing committees are both set to lose veteran lawmakers in the next Congress, changing the dynamic on the panels as they gear up for a major fight next year over the fate of the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
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September 09, 2024
Russia Says DC Circ. Ruling Erodes $5B Award To Yukos
A recent D.C. Circuit ruling that Spain must comply with $395 million in arbitration awards awarded to Yukos Oil's financing arm undermines the company's $5 billion claim against Russia because the country, unlike Spain, never ratified the international treaty on which the court relied, Russia has told a D.C. federal court.
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September 09, 2024
Owner Of Mass., NH Eateries Cops To $2M Tax Fraud
The owner of three restaurants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire has pled guilty to failing to pay approximately $2 million in employment and state and local meals taxes over a six-year period, the U.S. attorney's office in Massachusetts announced Monday.
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September 09, 2024
Tax Court's Take Shouldn't Loom Over Kyocera Case, US Says
The U.S. Tax Court's opinion that allowed a company to treat a gross-up for taxes paid by its foreign subsidiaries as a dividend received goes against what Congress intended and shouldn't be applied to Kyocera's similar claims, the U.S. Department of Justice told a South Carolina federal court.
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September 09, 2024
Bradley Arant Adds Katten Partner In Dallas
Bradley Arant has hired a six-and-a-half-year veteran of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP who is joining the firm's corporate and securities practice in Dallas as a partner.
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September 09, 2024
IRS Vulnerability Disclosure Policy Needs Fix, TIGTA Says
The Internal Revenue Service implemented a vulnerability disclosure policy intended to help maintain the security integrity of its systems, but it is lacking several federally required items, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Monday.
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September 09, 2024
IRS Diversity Concentrated In Lower Ranks, GAO Says
While the Internal Revenue Service's 90,000-employee workforce is more diverse than the national civilian labor force across many measures, most of that diversity is concentrated in lower-ranking jobs and those without clear paths to senior-level roles, the Government Accountability Office said Monday.
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September 09, 2024
Security Contractor Says It's Owed $3.6M In Worker Credits
A government contractor sued the U.S. for a nearly $3.6 million tax refund in Maryland federal court, claiming the Internal Revenue Service hasn't responded to its request for pandemic-era employee retention credits for the first three quarters of 2021.
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September 06, 2024
2nd Circ. Won't Revive Solar Cos.' National Grid Tax Suit
The Second Circuit declined to revive one of two proposed class actions brought by solar companies against National Grid alleging it illegally charged them for taxes in an effort to dampen competition from renewables, finding on Friday that the district court properly determined it lacked subject matter jurisdiction.
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September 06, 2024
$111M Tax Fraud Scheme's Ringleader Sentenced To 14 Years
The leader of a scheme to steal the identities of taxpayers and pose as their accountants to commit $111 million in tax fraud was sentenced Friday to more than 14 years in prison by a Texas federal judge, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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September 06, 2024
IRS Urges Safe And Legal Sports Betting As NFL Kicks Off
With the professional football season just barely underway, and in the wake of a few bombshell betting scandals, IRS Criminal Investigation is reminding the public to bet safely and legally, warning that illegal gambling activities can lead to criminal charges ranging from money laundering to tax evasion.
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September 06, 2024
Federal Tax Policies To Watch In The Rest Of The Year
As Congress returns to Washington, D.C., after the August recess, proposals including disaster tax relief and an agreement to provide tax treaty-like benefits to Taiwanese residents could be readied to be included in year-end legislation. Here, Law360 examines federal tax policies to watch during the last four months of 2024.
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September 06, 2024
FDII Covers Overseas Services For US Gov't, Memo Says
Government contractors that provide services to U.S. operations overseas are allowed to claim the deduction for foreign-derived intangible income, the IRS said in one of two internal memos released Friday that address foreign income issues.
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September 06, 2024
IRS Project Collected $172M From Rich Nonfilers In 6 Months
About 21,000 wealthy taxpayers who had failed to file tax returns since 2017 have paid $172 million in taxes under a project the Internal Revenue Service launched in February, the agency and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Friday.
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September 06, 2024
4 Key Complications 3 Years After Pillar 2
Three years ago, countries around the world outlined an agreed-upon minimum corporate tax system in an eight-page document that couldn't have foreseen the full scope of complications that later emerged during implementation, including frictions with existing tax laws. Here, Law360 looks at four key issues that countries and multinational corporations are grappling with as Pillar Two turns three.
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September 06, 2024
IRS Issues 2025 Table For Premium Tax Credit Calculations
The Internal Revenue Service published the table used to determine the 2025 premium tax credit Friday.
Expert Analysis
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Alter Paraphernalia Imports
The Biden administration's recent proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana use raises questions about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement policies may shift when it comes to enforcing a separate federal ban on marijuana accessory imports, says R. Kevin Williams at Clark Hill.
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NCAA Settlement May End The NIL Model As We Know It
The recent House v. NCAA settlement in California federal court, in which the NCAA agreed to allow schools to directly pay March Madness television revenue to their athletes, may send outside name, image and likeness collectives in-house, says Mike Ingersoll at Womble Bond.
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Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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BF Borgers Clients Should Review Compliance, Liability
After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced enforcement proceedings against audit firm BF Borgers for fabricating audit documentation for hundreds of public companies, those companies will need to follow special procedures for disclosure and reporting — and may need to prepare for litigation from the plaintiffs bar, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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What Updated PLR Procedure May Mean For Stock Spin-Offs
A recently published Internal Revenue Service revenue procedure departs from commonly understood interpretations of the spinoff rules by imposing more stringent standards on companies seeking private letter rulings regarding tax-free stock spinoff and split-off transactions, and may presage regulatory changes that would have the force of law, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Proposed Cannabis Reschedule Sidesteps State Law Effects
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act provides certain benefits, but its failure to address how the rescheduling would interact with existing state cannabis laws disappointed industry participants hoping for clarity on this crucial question, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.