Tax

March 31, 2025
9th Circ. Revives Investor Suit Over $8B Avalara Sale

The Ninth Circuit on Monday partially revived a proposed class action accusing tax software company Avalara Inc. of underselling investors on its future prospects before taking the company private in an $8.4 billion deal.
March 31, 2025
House Passes Bill Easing Up Tax Relief For Disasters

The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation Monday to allow victims of state-declared emergencies more time to file federal returns and debated a second measure to allow affected taxpayers to qualify for extended deadlines for refund claims and collection notices.
March 31, 2025
Feds Seek $3M From Ex-Ill. Speaker, Who Wants New Trial

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan urged an Illinois federal judge to acquit him of bribery and wire fraud, or at least order a new trial, due to "numerous" jury instruction and evidentiary errors that confused and prejudiced the jury, on the same day prosecutors filed a motion for him to forfeit more than $3 million in the wake of his partial conviction.
March 31, 2025
NYC Fights Group's Claim Of Biased Property Tax System

An organization that says New York City's property tax regime discriminates against minorities can't proceed with its claim, the city told the state appellate court, saying that further discovery or trial is needed.
March 31, 2025
Justices Ask US To Respond To IRS Crypto Doc Seizure Case

The U.S. Supreme Court asked the federal government Monday to weigh in on a cryptocurrency investor's challenge to the IRS' seizure of his account records, a request that followed a spate of support for the investor, including by attorneys general and Elon Musk's X Corp.
March 31, 2025
6th Circ. Affirms County's Foreclosed Property Proceeds Win

The Sixth Circuit sided with a Michigan county Friday in a resident's suit alleging the decision to withhold surplus proceeds from the tax foreclosure sale of her home was an unconstitutional taking, affirming the constitutionality of a process for claiming proceeds that she failed to follow.
March 31, 2025
Trump's Tariff Bombardment Keeps Companies Guessing

U.S. importers are bracing for significant compliance cost increases as President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement is expected on Wednesday, though recent comments made by the president indicate the duties could be less harsh.
March 31, 2025
Justices Probe Wis. Denial Of Exemption To Catholic Charities

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed deeply skeptical Monday that Wisconsin was on firm constitutional grounds in denying an unemployment tax exemption to a group of Catholic charities because, as the state claimed, they were not operated primarily for religious purposes.
March 31, 2025
Trump, Starmer Discuss Averting US Tariffs On UK Goods

President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed a possible deal between the U.S. and the U.K. to avoid U.S. tariffs from being imposed on goods such as cars and metals, the British government confirmed.
March 31, 2025
Utah Requires Min. Property Tax Rate Consensus Certification

Utah will require a minimum property tax rate imposed by school districts to be certified by the state's tax commission, the governor's Office of Planning and Budget and the state Legislature's Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst under a bill signed by the governor.
March 29, 2025
Up Next At High Court: Terror Liability, Health Provider Choice

The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench this week to consider whether a federal law subjecting Palestinian government organizations to federal jurisdiction violates due process principles and if the Medicaid Act's provider choice provision allows individual benefit recipients to sue states over the disqualification of healthcare providers.
March 28, 2025
Key State And Local Tax Takeaways From March

State legislatures intensified work in March with an eye toward winding down their sessions, giving rise to significant measures that included Kentucky lawmakers' override of a veto on judicial deference and an income tax cut in Utah. Here, Law360 presents state and local tax developments to know from the past month.
March 28, 2025
Microcaptive Case Doesn't Curb Tax Collection, 10th Circ. Told

The IRS mischaracterized a lawsuit seeking to set aside guidance requiring additional reporting for microcaptive insurance arrangements, a plumbing supply company and its owners told the Tenth Circuit, saying their suit isn't barred because it doesn't restrain tax collection as the agency claimed.
March 28, 2025
US Can Weigh In On Osage Reservation Boundary Dispute

An Oklahoma federal judge will allow the United States to weigh in on a dispute between the Osage Nation and the state's tax commission over the tribe's reservation boundaries after the federal government said a U.S. Supreme Court ruling at the crux of the litigation is of interest to the government.
March 28, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Norton Rose, Latham, Ashurst

In this week's Taxation With Representation, Dollar Tree sells its Family Dollar business to private equity firms, eye care company Alcon buys medical technology company Lensar and Ithaca Energy PLC buys the U.K. subsidiary of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd.
March 28, 2025
Attorney Accused Of Tax Scam Wants Opposing Counsel Cut

An attorney accused by a precious metals dealer's partnership of selling it a tax scam asked a Colorado federal court to disqualify the partnership's attorney from the case, saying the lawyer has a conflict because he formerly represented her.
March 27, 2025
Pfizer Tops Pharma Tax Avoidance, Senate Dems Say

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer had no taxable profits in its largest market, the U.S., after booking all its income in jurisdictions including Puerto Rico, Singapore and Ireland, according to a Senate Finance Committee report prepared by panel Democrats that was released Thursday.
March 27, 2025
Ex-Atty Ran $840M Tax Evasion Scheme, DOJ Says

A former tax and real estate attorney ran a nationwide scheme that helped his customers avoid paying taxes on as much as $840 million in capital gains, the federal government told an Idaho federal court Thursday.
March 27, 2025
Colo. Picked For Sundance As Tax Break Advances

The Sundance Film Festival will relocate to Boulder, Colorado, its organizers announced Thursday, as a bill with a tax break to attract the event advanced to the full state Senate.
March 27, 2025
US Ranked Low At Fighting Real Estate Money Laundering

The U.S. is the third-worst country when it comes to fighting money laundering in real estate because of a lack of regulations, according to a report ranking the national markets of 24 countries.
March 27, 2025
Mich Justices Restore Toss Of Packaging Co.'s Tax Appeal

A Michigan packaging company's tax exemption appeal was properly dismissed by the state Tax Tribunal over a lack of jurisdiction, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled, overturning an appellate court decision.
March 27, 2025
UK Industry Groups Raise Alarm Over US Tariff Threat

The Labour government must secure a trade deal with the U.S. government soon to prevent new tariffs hitting the British car industry in early April, industry groups warned Thursday.
March 27, 2025
Payroll Co. Hid IRS Interest Money From Clients, Court Told

A payroll provider for a maintenance company never passed along interest payments from the Internal Revenue Service related to its clients' pandemic-era relief claims, the company alleged in a proposed class action filed in Washington federal court.
March 27, 2025
9th Circ. Won't Stay Injunction Compelling Fed. Worker Rehire

A split Ninth Circuit panel has refused to block an injunction compelling the Trump administration to reinstate about 16,000 probationary employees to six federal agencies, saying the administration will likely lose its argument that the agencies weren't acting on an order from above when they fired the workers.
March 27, 2025
Gov't Urged To Review State Pension Ahead Of Tax 'Cliff Edge'

The U.K. government must reform the state pension or face a "bizarre tax cliff edge" where benefits exceed personal allowance thresholds, experts warned.

Expert Analysis

Series

Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.
5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.
Opinion

Congress Should Pass Sex Abuse Settlement Tax Exemptions

The proposed Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act would expand tax exemptions more clearly for sexual abuse cases, and finally remove the stigma around compensation for emotional and psychological damage, says Rocco Strangio at Milestone & Co.
What's Next For Accounting Enforcement After SEC's Big 2024

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Trump administration will likely continue to focus enforcement efforts on many of the same accounting and auditing issues that it pursued over the past year — but other areas, such as ESG, internal controls and cryptocurrency cases, may fall out of focus, say attorneys at Debevoise.
Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.
Series

Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
Small Biz Caught In Corporate Transparency Act Crossfire

Despite compliance being put on hold due to a nationwide preliminary injunction, small businesses have been caught in the middle of the legal battle over the Corporate Transparency Act — and confusion over the law's requirements could result in major penalties, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
5 Notable Information Security Events In 2024

B. Stephanie Siegmann at Hinckley Allen discusses 2024's largest and most destructive data breaches seen yet, ranging from ransomware disrupting U.S. healthcare systems on a massive scale, to tensions increasing between the U.S. and China over cyberespionage and the control of U.S. data.
Series

Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.
Opinion

No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.
Hydrogen Regs Will Provide More Certainty — If They Survive

Newly finalized regulations implementing the Section 45V clean hydrogen tax credit allow producers more flexibility, and should therefore help put the industry on more solid footing — but the incoming Trump administration and Republican Congress will have multiple options for overturning or altering the regulations, say attorneys at Steptoe.
5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.