Federal

  • November 22, 2024

    High Court To Review Legality Of FCC's Subsidy Fees

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to review whether fees collected to support the Federal Communications Commission's array of telecom subsidy programs for low-income consumers, schools and rural healthcare run afoul of constitutional limits on taxing authority.

  • November 22, 2024

    Vitamin Co. Must Freeze Owner Payouts Amid $1.4M Tax Fight

    A Connecticut federal judge has granted the federal government a temporary restraining order in a $1.4 million tax fight with a vitamin company, barring distributions to the owners unless the company allocates 20% to the court's registry to help cover the potential liability.

  • November 22, 2024

    IRS Ignores Text In $248M Fight, Liberty Global Tells 10th Circ.

    The Internal Revenue Service is incorrectly applying the U.S. tax code in denying Liberty Global's claim for $248 million in foreign tax credits tied to its sale of a Japanese affiliate, the telecommunications company told the Tenth Circuit.

  • November 22, 2024

    IRS Working To Incorporate Feedback On Donor Fund Regs

    The Internal Revenue Service continues to work on final rules for the donor-advised fund excise tax and is taking into account public comments on its proposed rules, such as concerns that the definition of donor-advised funds is too broad, an agency official said Friday. 

  • November 22, 2024

    Halliburton Omitted Grounds From $35M Refund Suit, US Says

    A Texas federal court must dismiss parts of Halliburton's $35 million tax refund lawsuit because the company failed to raise two grounds of relief in its administrative claim for a refund, the U.S. argued.

  • November 22, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Stradley Ronon, Davis Polk

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Amcor PLC buys Berry Global Group Inc., AeroVironment buys BlueHalo, Robinhood Markets Inc. acquires TradePMR, and Comcast Corp. spins off a suite of NBCUniversal cable television networks.

  • November 22, 2024

    Railroad Worker Tax Rates Won't Change For 2025

    Tier 2 tax rates for railroad employees, employers and employee representatives in 2025 will remain unchanged, according to an Internal Revenue Service announcement Friday.

  • November 22, 2024

    IRS Corrects Advanced Manufacturing Credit Regs

    The Internal Revenue Service released a correction notice Friday fixing a dozen errors in the final regulations implementing the advanced manufacturing investment credit rules and special 10-year credit recapture rule.

  • November 22, 2024

    Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin

    The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin, issued Friday, featured finalized rules meant to modernize regulations governing the seizure of property by levy.

  • November 22, 2024

    Ex-Invenergy Atty Joins McDermott's Energy Team In DC

    McDermott Will & Emery LLP announced Friday its Washington, D.C., office has brought on an in-house renewable energy and taxation expert with more than a decade of experience to further help the firm's clients utilize energy transition tax credits available in the Inflation Reduction Act.

  • November 21, 2024

    Tax Firm Must Disclose Case Info In Malpractice Suit

    A tax firm being sued for malpractice and unfair trade practices by former clients can't hide behind a state bar association rule to avoid producing discovery documents it claims are privileged, a Wisconsin federal court ruled Thursday.

  • November 21, 2024

    22M Tax Returns Used Refund-Related Products, TIGTA Says

    Nearly 22 million tax returns for 2023, or 16% of all returns, made use of what are known as refund-related products that either provide loans or help pay for tax preparation fees, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Thursday.

  • November 21, 2024

    IRS Updates Dependent Claiming Rules To Speed Up Refunds

    Starting in 2025, the Internal Revenue Service will accept e-filed returns that claim dependents that were already claimed on another taxpayer's return so long as the primary taxpayer on the second return includes a valid Identity Protection Personal Identification Number, the agency said Thursday.

  • November 21, 2024

    Hype For Energy Tax Perks Could Shield Regs From Repeal

    President-elect Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers could turn to an oversight tool called the Congressional Review Act to undermine clean energy tax credit regulations implementing key parts of Democrats' signature climate law, but the strategy may falter due to GOP support for the incentives.

  • November 21, 2024

    Delayed Tax Deadline For Hostages Bill Clears House

    Tax deadlines would be delayed and late fees reimbursed for Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad under legislation passed Thursday by the House after it rejected an attempt last week to fast-track the proposal.

  • November 21, 2024

    Ga. Attys' Easement Fraud Class Suit Shipped To State Court

    A Georgia federal judge kicked back to state court a proposed class action accusing conservation easement fund organizers of racketeering and defrauding investors, saying the organizers failed to prove that the proposed class had at least 100 investors or that the case hinged on federal law.

  • November 21, 2024

    Israel-Hamas War Tax Relief Needed More Notice, TIGTA Says

    While the Internal Revenue Service did well to proactively identify taxpayers likely affected by the Israel-Hamas war that it sought to grant tax relief, it failed to directly notify these taxpayers, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Thursday.

  • November 21, 2024

    11th Circ. Asked To Rethink $100M Credit For John Hancock

    The Eleventh Circuit should reverse its decision allowing John Hancock Life Insurance Co. to keep $100 million in foreign tax credits that rightfully belong to the company's investors, trustees of a retirement plan said in arguing that the court overlooked a key U.S. Treasury regulation.

  • November 20, 2024

    Fla. Couple Ask To Revive Suit Over Unclaimed Property

    A Florida couple asked the Eleventh Circuit Wednesday to revive their proposed class suit against the state's chief financial officer over a law that allows officials to hold unclaimed money indefinitely, arguing that it is a taking without just compensation because the state never pays interest on the amount held.

  • November 20, 2024

    DC Circ. Upholds Taxes For Couple Lacking IRS Notice

    A Georgia couple whose challenge of a 2019 tax collection was dismissed by the U.S. Tax Court when they failed to present the required IRS notice of deficiency were similarly turned away by the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday.

  • November 20, 2024

    Fla. Tax Preparer Gets 4 Years For Tax Fraud Scheme

    A barred Florida tax preparer was sentenced to four years in prison for falsifying returns to trigger inflated refunds for participants in a three-year tax fraud scheme called the "note program," the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.

  • November 20, 2024

    Feds Want 1 Year In Prison For Accountant Who Hid $1.4M

    An accountant who hid $1.4 million from the IRS should be sentenced to at least a year in prison despite his stated mental health issues, the government told a Connecticut federal court, saying he seemed driven at least partly by greed and thought he wouldn't get caught.

  • November 20, 2024

    Feds Again Seek Early Win In $11.6M Willful FBAR Dispute

    The U.S. government intends to renew its request to resolve a narrow matter in a dispute with an international businessman facing an $11.6 million penalty for willful failure to report his foreign bank accounts before the case heads to trial, according to a filing in Hawaii federal court.

  • November 20, 2024

    11th Circ. Skeptical Couple Can Skip Tax On Stolen Funds

    Eleventh Circuit judges seemed unconvinced by a couple's request to overturn a decision that they owed taxes on $1.2 million in savings that their daughter swindled from them, saying during oral arguments Wednesday that their situation, however sympathetic, does not appear to warrant tax relief. 

  • November 20, 2024

    IRS Should Tout Funding Boost Benefits, Advisory Panel Says

    The Internal Revenue Service needs to appeal to taxpayers by communicating the benefits of the funding boost the agency received under the 2022 tax and climate law, the IRS Advisory Council said in a report released Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy

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    With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.

  • IRS Sings New Tune: Whistleblower Form Update Is Welcome

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    In a significant reform at the Internal Revenue Service's Whistleblower Office, the recently introduced revisions to the Form 211 whistleblower award application use new technology and a more intuitive approach to streamline the process of reporting allegations of tax fraud committed by wealthy individuals and companies, says Benjamin Calitri at Kohn Kohn.

  • This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener

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    As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • Energy Community Tax Credit Boost Will Benefit Wind Sector

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    Recent Internal Revenue Service guidance broadening tax credit eligibility to more parts of offshore wind facilities in so-called energy communities is a win for the industry, which stands to see more projects qualify for a particularly valuable bonus in the investment tax credit context due to the capital-intensive nature of offshore wind projects, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues

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    Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease

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    This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.

  • Why Supreme Court Should Allow Repatriation Tax To Stand

    If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't reject the taxpayers' misguided claims in Moore v. U.S. that the mandatory repatriation tax is unconstitutional, it could wreak havoc on our system of taxation and result in a catastrophic loss of revenue for the government, say Christina Mason and Theresa Balducci at Herrick Feinstein.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • How IRA Unlocks Green Energy Investments For Tribes

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    An Inflation Reduction Act provision going into effect May 10 represents a critical juncture for Native American tribes, offering promising economic opportunity in green energy investment, but requiring a proactive and informed approach when taking advantage of newly available tax incentives, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

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