Federal
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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
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
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
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.
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September 06, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Debevoise, Bennett, Orrick
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Verizon reaches a deal to absorb Frontier in a deal worth $20 billion, First Majestic agrees to buy Gatos Silver for $970 million, and Epam Systems inks a $630 million purchase of Neoris.
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September 06, 2024
Man Disguised Businesses To Duck Tax, US Says In $1.9M Suit
A retired business owner who the U.S. government said removed his mailbox to avoid receiving letters from the IRS owes nearly $1.9 million in unpaid tax liabilities, some stemming from pretending to operate his companies as religious ministries, the government said in a suit in Florida federal court.
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September 06, 2024
Vialto Partners Member Joins Baker McKenzie As Partner
Baker McKenzie has hired a tax partner in Washington, D.C., from Vialto Partners, a business consulting firm, the firm announced Thursday.
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September 06, 2024
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin, issued Friday, included updated interest rates for overpayments and underpayments of tax for the fourth quarter of 2024.
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September 05, 2024
Unconstitutionality Of Transparency Act Clear, 11th Circ. Told
A small business group and one of its members have told the Eleventh Circuit that an Alabama federal judge correctly ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act is unconstitutional, so there was no need for them to demonstrate that the law fails to pass constitutional muster.
![The Venmo logo displayed above a cellphone bearing the Venmo icon](https://assets.law360news.com/1878000/1878247/ad6f3de96b7bfd59c14d47efb6b8c45cf3328fe7-payment_services_photo_illustrations_21245.jpg)
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.
![UNITED STATES - JANUARY 31: Members of the House Ways and Means Committee take their seats for the committee's organizing meeting in the Longworth House Office Building on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)](https://assets.law360news.com/1876000/1876826/58c3654407513287c00db5d4fc9a941bcb892148-house_ways_and_means_committee_52448.jpg)
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.
![Disaster tax relief and a tax agreement with Taiwan are ripe for inclusion if Congress has an appetite to put together a tax bill during the lame-duck session, tax professionals told Law360. (Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher via AP)](https://assets.law360news.com/1873000/1873506/484167888d5b01118beee69b463bd2dd11d80427-government_buildings_25035.jpg)
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.
Featured Stories
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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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3 Ways Justices' SEC Fraud Ruling Could Affect Tax Disputes
The U.S. Supreme Court's groundbreaking decision to curb the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house fraud enforcement could hamper the IRS' ability to assert certain penalties, including in contested conservation easement cases, and challenge the U.S. Tax Court's authority to review them. Here, Law360 examines three arenas in which the Supreme Court decision could shake up tax administration and litigation.
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3 Items Tax Pros Want To See In Student Loan Matching Regs
Practitioners and experts are hoping the IRS will flesh out a recently released notice on student loan matching contributions to retirement plans with details including how to fix errors and whether plans may need to be changed depending on how they provide matches. Here, Law360 explores three issues practitioners and observers want the agency to address.
Expert Analysis
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.
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Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles
Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.
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Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.
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5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond
As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.
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Pros, Cons Of Disclosing Improper Employee Retention Credit
Employers considering the Internal Revenue Service’s second voluntary disclosure program, which allows companies to avoid penalties for erroneously claiming employee retention credits for the 2021 tax year by repaying the credits and naming the tax advisers who encouraged these abusive practices, should carefully weigh the program’s benefits against its potential drawbacks, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'
Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.
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Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process
Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.
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Whistleblowers Must Note 5 Key Differences Of DOJ Program
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently unveiled whistleblower awards program diverges in key ways from similar programs at other agencies, and individuals must weigh these differences and look first to programs with stronger, proven protections before blowing the whistle, say Stephen Kohn and Geoff Schweller at Kohn Kohn.
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What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires
Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.
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Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support
A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.
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Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where
During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Brownfield Questions Surround IRS Tax Credit Bonus
Though the IRS has published guidance regarding the Inflation Reduction Act's 10% adder for tax credits generated by renewable energy projects constructed on brownfield sites, considerable guesswork remains as potential implications seem contrary to IRS intentions, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.
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Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing
Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.