Tax

April 25, 2025
Judge Blocks Trump Order Limiting Fed. Worker Bargaining

A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's order last month seeking to end collective bargaining for workers at more than a dozen federal agencies with national security roles, two days after suggesting during oral arguments that Trump's order was retaliatory.
April 25, 2025
Feds Say Tariff Fight Belongs In International Trade Court

The Trump administration wants to litigate a challenge to its tariffs in a federal trade court, not the D.C. district court, arguing that the U.S. Court of International Trade is the only venue with jurisdiction to hear the case.
April 25, 2025
Sen. Crapo Calls Exec Session For Commerce, Treasury Noms

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, announced Friday that it will hold an executive session Tuesday to consider President Donald Trump's picks for roles at the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of the Treasury.
April 25, 2025
US Seeks To Block Refund For Captive Insurance Penalties

A Pennsylvania federal court should reject a company's bid for an immediate penalty refund for operating what the IRS claimed is an abusive tax shelter through its microcaptive insurance program, the government argued Friday, saying the company is seeking protection in an unrelated U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
April 25, 2025
Detroit Man Gets 5 Years For Tax Refund Laundering

A Detroit man was sentenced Friday in Maryland federal court to five years in prison for his role in laundering money stolen from federal and North Carolina state tax refunds and was ordered to pay $604,000 in restitution.
April 25, 2025
IRS Says Docs In Captive Insurance Case Are Privileged

The IRS defended its refusal to release information to a tax services company seeking audit records of its captive insurance program, telling a Texas federal court that the agency's redactions of the requested records are protected by attorney-client privilege and other exceptions to the Freedom of Information Act.
April 25, 2025
Pope Francis Leaves Behind Tax Justice Legacy

Pope Francis, who died Monday at age 88, helped advance calls for tax justice by speaking out against the social costs of tax avoidance and raised awareness of the need for tax reform, according to proponents of income equality.
April 25, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Dechert, Brown Rudnick

In this week's Taxation With Representation, Boeing sells parts of its digital aviation solutions business to Thoma Bravo, Baker Tilly and Moss Adams join forces, Mobico sells its U.S. school bus business to I Squared Capital, and Apollo commits to a joint venture with Bullrock Energy Ventures.
April 25, 2025
Incarcerated Ex-Nelson Mullins Atty Suspended In Ohio

The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended a former Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP attorney, who is serving a one-year jail sentence for disobeying law enforcement orders, from practicing law in the Buckeye State.
April 25, 2025
5 Issues Benefits Attys Want The Gov't To Shed Light On

The first three months of President Donald Trump's administration have left lawyers who represent employers and benefit plans hungry for clarity on issues like cryptocurrency as a 401(k) investment and coverage for gender-affirming care. Here, Law360 looks at five areas where attorneys are hoping for guidance or regulations.
April 24, 2025
Md. To Allow Baltimore Tax Hike On Vacant Nonprofit Property

Baltimore will be able to impose a special property tax rate on nonprofit owned properties that have gone untouched for at least five years under a bill signed by the Maryland governor.
April 24, 2025
Md. To Allow Counties To Negotiate Payments With Broadband

Maryland counties will be able to negotiate payments with broadband providers instead of imposing property tax on the providers' real and personal property under bills signed by the governor.
April 24, 2025
Silicon Valley Bank Liquidators Fight $41M Bill In Tax Court

The trust responsible for liquidating assets of the shuttered Silicon Valley Bank told the U.S. Tax Court that the IRS has wrongly charged the bank's operator more than $41 million in additional taxes by claiming it didn't substantiate losses and research activities in the years leading up to its bankruptcy.
April 24, 2025
Md. Authorizes Property Tax Breaks For Affordable Housing

Maryland authorized county governments to exempt real property used for rental housing from local property taxes if the owner maintains a portion of the property as affordable housing and enters a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement under legislation signed by the governor.
April 24, 2025
Think Tank Says Tariffs Hit Lower-Income Workers Hardest

President Donald Trump's tariffs currently being collected disproportionately harm lower- and middle-income earners in the U.S., according to an updated study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
April 24, 2025
Harvard Seeks To Move 'Swiftly' In $2B Fund Freeze Suit

Harvard University is seeking to move as quickly as possible to get to the merits of its suit challenging the Trump administration's $2.2 billion funding freeze, asking a Massachusetts federal judge to expedite discovery and briefing.
April 24, 2025
Tax Cos. Head To 9th Circ. Over IRS Worker Credit Denials

Two tax assistance companies are appealing to the Ninth Circuit an Arizona federal court ruling denying their request to stop the IRS from issuing batch denials of thousands of pandemic-era worker credit claims, including those filed by their clients.
April 24, 2025
Firm Fights IRS' $33M Boost To Self-Employment Income

The Internal Revenue Service wrongly subjected nearly $33 million of a New York investment firm's income to self-employment taxes by disqualifying the firm's limited partners and taxing their distributions, it alleged in two U.S. Tax Court petitions.
April 23, 2025
NY, 11 Other States Sue Trump Administration To Block Tariffs

A dozen states are seeking to block tariffs the Trump administration imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, claiming in a lawsuit Wednesday the tariffs illegally constitute unprecedented tax hikes on Americans and violate constitutional separations of powers
April 23, 2025
Russia Seeks Stay In $5B Award Stemming From Loan Dispute

The Russian Federation asked a D.C. federal court to pause enforcing a $5 billion arbitration award compensating Yukos Capital for Russia's alleged expropriation of loans while litigation plays out in a U.S. Supreme Court case involving the jurisdiction of American courts over international arbitration agreements.
April 23, 2025
TurboTax Maker Fends Off H&R Block's False Ad Claims

A California federal judge tossed H&R Block's claims that competing tax-preparation company Intuit duped its customers into buying its TurboTax product by falsely claiming an expert would review returns, saying H&R Block failed to show the expert review feature influenced customers' purchasing decisions.
April 23, 2025
Trump Says 145% Tariffs On China Will Fall Significantly

The U.S.' tariffs on China will end up nowhere near 145%, the current level for most Chinese goods, but they will not go away entirely, President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office.
April 23, 2025
SCOTUSblog Sold Amid Goldstein's Criminal Case

SCOTUSblog has been sold to digital media company The Dispatch, according to announcements from both publications Wednesday, marking a new chapter for the U.S. Supreme Court-focused legal publication while its co-founder Tom Goldstein faces criminal charges.
April 23, 2025
Ariz. Bars Property Values Above Local Assessor Valuations

Arizona barred county board rulings in property valuation disputes from exceeding the valuation determined by a local assessor under a bill signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs.
April 23, 2025
Minn. Tax Court Slashes $5.5M From Warehouse Value

A Minnesota warehouse property was overvalued by about $5.5 million, according to the state tax court, which used sales and income approaches and rounded downward to reflect its recent purchase price.

Editor's Picks

Blockchain Tech May Present New Transfer Pricing Challenges

Companies that develop blockchain systems to digitally record transactions may face difficulties when valuing intangibles tied to the decentralized and highly varied technology, creating novel transfer pricing issues for multinational corporations that create their own blockchain networks.
Trump-Era Tariff Angst Hasn't Gone Away Under Biden

The early days of the Biden administration have been relatively quiet on the trade front, but importers have nevertheless found themselves in the throes of a familiar battle: pleading with the government to hold off on tariffs in a heated trade dispute.
3 Major Implications For States In Biden's Tax Plans

President Joe Biden's sweeping tax changes proposed to pay for trillions in infrastructure spending would significantly alter the way the federal government taxes corporations, leaving states, for the second time in four years, to decide if and how to conform. Here Law360 presents three considerations for states in the president's tax proposals.

Expert Analysis

Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals

If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.
Series

Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer

While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.
10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks

The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.
Perspectives

The Benefits Of Aligning States On Legal Paraprofessionals

Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.
10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master

As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.
An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.
Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.
Series

Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.
Tax Takeaways From Georgia's 2025 Legislative Session

Attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland discuss tax-related measures passed by the Georgia Legislature during the session that adjourned on April 4, which included a decrease in income tax rates, an extension of the time in which to a protest tax assessment and cleanup provisions related to launching the state’s new tax court next year.
E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.
Maximizing Exemptions Before TCJA Rides Into The Sunset

Excerpt from Practical Guidance

Individuals with taxable estates can optimize the benefits of estate planning strategies like spousal lifetime access trusts by setting them up before increases in estate and gift tax exemptions under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sunset in January, say attorneys at Katten.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.
A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.
Series

Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.
How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.