Federal
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June 28, 2024
Supreme Court Strikes Down Chevron Deference
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a decades-old precedent that instructed judges about when they could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking, depriving courts of a commonly used analytic tool and leaving lots of questions about what comes next.
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June 27, 2024
Biden, Trump Spar Over Fate Of 2017 Tax Cuts In 1st Debate
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump debated the GOP's 2017 tax policy overhaul Thursday night, with Trump praising its economic benefits and Biden criticizing the tax cuts for favoring the wealthy and increasing federal deficits.
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June 27, 2024
IRS To Offer Combined Filing For Energy Investment Credits
The Internal Revenue Service will let clean energy project owners that are claiming investment tax credits for more than 200 facilities file the claims with a single form, an agency official said Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
Corp. Tax Cuts Worsen Racial, Income Inequality, Report Says
In the first year of a corporate tax break, white U.S. households receive 88% of the benefits while Black and Hispanic households each receive just 1%, according to a study published Thursday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and an advocacy organization.
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June 27, 2024
TurboTax Maker Wipes Out 2 Of 3 Software Patents At PTAB
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board delivered a mixed bag of decisions in patent challenges brought by Intuit against a small software outfit that claims to have invented the idea of "co-browsing."
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June 27, 2024
High Response To IRS Transfer Pricing Letters, Official Says
Most taxpayers that received letters from the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to a compliance campaign warning them of a transfer pricing issue have responded, an IRS official said Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
Congress Shouldn't Rush OECD Tax Package, Group Says
Congress should avoid "rubber-stamping" the two pillars of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's plan to fight tax base erosion and profit shifting and instead gather more information on its impact on the U.S., a conservative advocacy group said Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
IRS Criminal Chief Says COVID Fraud Work To Hold Steady
IRS Criminal Investigation agents expect to spend as much time this year on coronavirus assistance policy-related fraud as last year, the division chief said at a conference Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
IRS Tells 10th Circ. To Deny Liberty Global's $110M Refund Bid
The U.S. government urged the Tenth Circuit on Thursday to reject telecommunication giant Liberty Global's push for a $110 million tax refund, arguing a lower court correctly deduced that the company's business restructurings were carried out solely to avoid tax.
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June 27, 2024
$2.1B Danish Tax Fraud Suspect Won't Testify, Court Says
A New York federal court denied dueling requests from U.S. pension plan investors accused of participating in a $2.1 billion Danish tax fraud scheme and from Denmark's tax agency to bring in the man that both sides say masterminded the scheme, or to bring in one of his employees.
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June 27, 2024
Ex-Skadden Tax Head And M&A Pro Joins Freshfields In NY
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has added the former head of the tax practice at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP as a partner this week, who brings to the role experience in deals like 21st Century Fox's $71 billion acquisition by Disney and the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.
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June 27, 2024
TIGTA Points To Areas Of Improvement For Direct File
A phase of the Direct File pilot program that allowed eligible IRS employees to get the first crack at the online tax filing service had issues with accuracy of its tax returns and lacked a Spanish translation, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
New FATCA Deal Requires US Banks To Share Info With Swiss
The United States and Switzerland signed a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act agreement that will require U.S. banks to share financial account information on a bilateral basis, Switzerland's Federal Department of Finance announced Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
IRS Delays Tax Deadlines In Miss. After April Storms
Certain Mississippi taxpayers affected by storms, tornadoes and flooding that hit the state starting April 8 now have until Nov. 1 to file individual and business tax returns and make payments, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.
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June 26, 2024
Repatriation Tax Ruling May Sway State Wealth Tax Debates
The U.S. Supreme Court's upholding of the federal repatriation tax could indirectly affect state tax policy discussions, including by influencing consideration of wealth taxes and encouraging states to keep potential due process issues in mind when enacting tax legislation.
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June 26, 2024
Tax Court Says Couple Wrongly Claimed Unsigned Checks
A Minnesota eye doctor and his wife overstated their income on their joint tax return, as they declared pay that they never actually received from their corporation in the form of unsigned checks, the U.S. Tax Court said in an opinion released Wednesday.
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June 26, 2024
IRS To Make Syndicated Easement Settlement Offers
The Internal Revenue Service will send settlement offers next month to some taxpayers who participated in syndicated conservation easement deals that the agency is auditing, it announced Wednesday.
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June 26, 2024
Advice Panel Calls For Regulating Noncredentialed Preparers
Congress should authorize the Internal Revenue Service to regulate noncredentialed tax preparers to protect taxpayers and the tax system from erroneous returns, the agency's Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee said in its annual report to lawmakers Wednesday.
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June 26, 2024
9th Circ. Revives $491K Refund Error Recovery Suit
The Ninth Circuit resurrected Wednesday an IRS suit that seeks to recover more than $491,000 from a taxpayer to whom the agency erroneously mailed a refund, reversing a lower court decision that dismissed the case for falling outside the two-year statute of limitations.
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June 26, 2024
5th Circ. Affirms Block On ARPA Tax Rule For Texas, La., Miss.
A Texas federal judge properly ruled that the federal government could not enforce a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act that prohibits states from using pandemic aid to offset tax cuts, the Fifth Circuit said.
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June 26, 2024
Man Denied Tax Breaks For Kids Who Didn't Live With Him
A Minnesotan does not qualify for tax exemptions or credits related to his three children because they did not live with him for at least half of the relevant tax year, the U.S. Tax Court said in an opinion released Wednesday.
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June 26, 2024
Device Maker To Fork Over $3.5M In Tax Dodge Suit
A man who manufactured a purported health device will pay the IRS nearly $3.5 million under an agreement endorsed by a Florida federal court after the agency claimed he hadn't filed a tax return since 1999.
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June 26, 2024
IRS Whistleblower Info Uncovered $338M In 2023, Report Says
The IRS more than doubled the amount of whistleblower awards it paid out in fiscal year 2023 compared with the prior year, distributing $88.8 million in awards attributable to information that led to the collection of $338 million, the agency said in a report.
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June 26, 2024
Fed. Circ. Denies Contractor's $37M Tax Reimbursement Bid
A U.S. State Department armed security contractor is not entitled to $37 million in reimbursement tied to tax payments to the Afghan government because the contractor's parent company, not the company itself, incurred the costs associated with the payments, the Federal Circuit said Wednesday.
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June 26, 2024
Medical Device Co. To Pay $935K Atty Fees In Tax Fraud Suit
A medical equipment company's leaders will pay $935,000 in attorney fees to investors' counsel after mediating a settlement in a proposed class action alleging the company breached fiduciary duty in failing to disclose its former CEO's involvement in a tax fraud dispute with Denmark.
Expert Analysis
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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Anticipating Intensified Partnership Enforcement From IRS
The Internal Revenue Service's decadeslong difficulties with partnership audits led to the recent announcement of a clear, well-funded, focused initiative, and businesses operating in the partnership form will feel the impact, with definite changes ahead, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
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Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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While Risks Exist, AI Could Transform IRS Enforcement
The Internal Revenue Service's recently announced use of artificial intelligence could revolutionize the agency's enforcement efforts, and transparency about its use and a forum for challenging AI findings could help mitigate fears that the technology will increase bias, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
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Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times
As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.
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Enforcement Of International Tax Reporting Is Heating Up
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s February decision in Bittner v. U.S. changed how penalties for failure to report offshore accounts are calculated, recent developments suggest the government is preparing to step up enforcement and vigorously pursue the collection of resulting penalties, say Daniel Silva and Agustin Ceballos at Buchalter.
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How Gov't Agencies Will Fare In The Event Of A Shutdown
With a federal shutdown potentially set to begin at the end of this month, it may be useful to consider the approximate timelines that agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and IRS have announced for curtailing operations, and potential strategies for mitigating challenges that may arise while agency functions are limited, say attorneys at Cleary.
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IRS Notice Clarifies R&E Amortization, But Questions Remain
The IRS and Treasury Department’s recent notice clarifying the treatment of specified research and experimental expenditures under Section 174 provides taxpayers and practitioners with substantive guidance, but it misses the mark in delineating which expenditures are amortizable, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.