Federal
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January 02, 2025
IRS, Treasury Float Regs On Excise Taxes For Drugmakers
The IRS and Treasury proposed rules for charging excise taxes to drugmakers that refuse to negotiate drug prices with Medicare under requirements of the 2022 tax and climate law, saying the tax only would apply to manufacturers and importers that initially sell the drugs.
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January 02, 2025
Consolidated Return Regs Revised With Gender-Neutral Terms
The IRS and Treasury finalized rules for companies that file consolidated federal income tax returns, saying the new regulations provide needed modernizations to terminology, including removing gender-specific pronouns.
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January 02, 2025
Feds Want 6 Years For Ex-FBI Informant Who Smeared Bidens
Prosecutors told a California federal judge that a former FBI informant who falsely told agents that a Ukrainian energy company had paid off President Joe Biden and his son Hunter should be sentenced to six years in prison, saying he betrayed the United States by trying to influence the 2020 election even after being granted citizenship.
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January 01, 2025
US International Tax Issues to Watch In 2025
As President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans take control of the U.S. government in 2025, policymakers are expected to address changing international provisions in the Internal Revenue Code and reevaluate the country's role in global tax talks. Here, Law360 examines key U.S. international tax policy issues to watch in the new year.
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January 01, 2025
The Top 5 High Court Cases To Watch This Spring
The U.S. Supreme Court justices will return from the winter holidays to tackle major First Amendment questions and several administrative law disputes — all arising from the Fifth Circuit — that could further change how federal agencies promulgate rules and defend them.
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January 01, 2025
Federal Tax Policy To Watch In 2025
While Republicans will hold majorities in both chambers of Congress in 2025, internal party divisions and procedural hurdles could complicate the GOP's effort to renew its 2017 tax overhaul law. Here, Law360 details federal tax policy to watch this year.
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January 01, 2025
Top International Tax Cases To Watch In 2025
Major multinational corporations such as 3M and Coca-Cola will continue to litigate high-stakes international tax cases during 2025, including transfer pricing disputes with billions of dollars on the line and fights against regulations that allegedly exceed the government's authority. Here, Law360 looks at six key international tax cases to follow in the new year.
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January 01, 2025
Top Federal Tax Cases To Watch In 2025
Over the next year, tax practitioners will be closely monitoring suits that challenge the IRS' use of the economic substance doctrine, take advantage of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision curbing federal agencies' regulatory authority and dispute the government's handling of worker retention credits. Here, Law360 looks at key federal tax cases to follow in 2025.
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December 23, 2024
Anti-Laundering Law Is Likely Constitutional, 5th Circ. Rules
The Fifth Circuit on Monday lifted a lower court's nationwide block of a federal corporate transparency law, ruling in an unpublished order that the federal government made a "strong showing" that it could successfully defend the law's constitutionality.
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December 23, 2024
IRS Finalizes Regs Clarifying Supervisor Penalty Approval
An IRS supervisor can approve penalties anytime before the agency assesses them, as well as before it issues a preassessment notice subject to a U.S. Tax Court review, such as a deficiency notice, under final regulations that aim to clarify conflicting court interpretations on the civil fines.
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December 23, 2024
Treasury Proposes Contingent Fee Regs For Tax Pros
Tax professionals who practice before the IRS and charge clients contingent fees in connection with preparing returns will be subject to sanctions for disreputable conduct under rules proposed by the U.S. Treasury Department that also require practitioners to be competent in new technology.
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December 20, 2024
SEC Fines Entergy $12M Over Alleged Accounting Errors
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday announced a $12 million settlement with Entergy Corp. over claims that the company failed to properly account for what may have been hundreds of millions of dollars in unusable or surplus equipment.
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December 20, 2024
Utah Judge Pauses Challenge To Corporate Transparency Act
A Utah federal judge has stayed a case seeking to block the Corporate Transparency Act to see how the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump handles the law after a kindred case in Texas won a preliminary injunction on it.
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December 20, 2024
Baker McKenzie Names 18 New Partners In North America
Baker McKenzie announced the promotion of 18 North American-based attorneys to partner, a slight increase from last year but still significantly lower than in previous years.
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December 20, 2024
IRS Sets 2025 Wage Base For Covered Compensation
The taxable wage base used to calculate covered compensation for employee retirement plans will be $176,100 for 2025 tax year, the Internal Revenue Service announced in a revenue ruling Friday.
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December 20, 2024
Rules On Earnings, Profits Still Being Vetted, IRS Official Says
Recently proposed rules for previously taxed earnings and profits aren't able to be relied on by taxpayers until they are finalized because they contain new approaches that have to be properly vetted through a notice and comment period, an IRS official said Friday.
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December 20, 2024
Top Federal Tax Decisions Of 2024
Over the past year, federal courts have issued decisions further delimiting the power of the Internal Revenue Service, with the First Circuit affirming a decision to allow agency summonses for cryptocurrency account records and an Arizona federal court rejecting a call to lift the agency's moratorium on processing pandemic-era worker credits. Here, Law360 reviews some of the most significant federal tax decisions of 2024.
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December 20, 2024
IRS Seeks Input On Research Tax Credit Form Instructions
The Internal Revenue Service is seeking comments on draft instructions for an updated research tax credit form, specifically on proposed changes to the reporting of controlled groups, research development costs and business component detail, the agency announced Friday.
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December 20, 2024
Coffee Stands Owner Gets 10 Months For Tax Fraud
An owner of bikini coffee stands in Seattle was sentenced to 10 months in prison for tax fraud that the U.S. government claimed involved his failure to report more than $6 million in income to the Internal Revenue Service, according to Washington federal court filings.
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December 20, 2024
Top North Carolina Cases Of 2024: Bias, Fraud And False Ads
North Carolina saw a host of heavy-hitting civil trials in 2024, from back-to-back multimillion-dollar jury verdicts in suits over false advertising and employment discrimination, to a substantial bench ruling in a much-watched bias suit against the federal judiciary.
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December 19, 2024
Tax Court Cuts Easement Deductions, OKs Penalties
The U.S. Tax Court on Thursday reduced tax deductions claimed by two partnerships for donating adjoining conservation easements in Georgia and sustained 40% penalties against them for misstating the value of the donations.
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December 19, 2024
Biz Owners Ask 11th Circ. To Revive Tax Penalty Challenge
Owners of an electronic parts company whose reprieve from a $345,000 tax penalty was revoked by the U.S. Tax Court in light of an Eleventh Circuit ruling have asked the appeals court to reconsider its stance and to determine that Tax Court judges have unconstitutional job protections.
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December 19, 2024
Atty Owes Taxes Tied To Fraud, Tax Court Says
An attorney convicted of tax evasion in connection with more than $1 million in renovations he and his wife made to a historic home in Virginia owes civil fraud penalties and roughly $100,000 in taxes, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday.
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December 19, 2024
IRS Raises Standard Mileage Rate For 2025
The Internal Revenue Service will raise the standard mileage rate for business vehicles to 70 cents per mile in 2025, the agency said Thursday.
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December 19, 2024
9th Circ. Rejects Tomato Paste Cos.' Deductions For Upgrades
A Ninth Circuit majority affirmed on Thursday an Internal Revenue Service determination denying tax deductions for facility upgrades claimed by two tomato paste producers, with a dissenting judge criticizing the agency's reversal in rejecting the upgrade deductions it had previously approved.
Expert Analysis
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So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?
Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.
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Legislation Most Likely To Pass In Lame Duck Session
As Congress begins its five-week post-election lame duck session, attorneys at Greenberg Traurig break down the legislative priorities and which proposals can be expected to pass.
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What Trump's 2nd Presidency Could Mean For Crypto Sector
Trump's second term will bring a fundamental shift from the Biden administration's approach to crypto-asset regulation and banking supervision, with the most significant changes likely taking effect in the first two quarters of 2025 and broader policy shifts emerging over the next year, say attorneys at Cahill.
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Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being
As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.
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Takeaways From The IRS' Crypto Doc Summons Win
A recent First Circuit decision holding that taxpayers do not have a Fourth Amendment reasonable expectation of privacy in cryptocurrency transaction records should prompt both taxpayers and exchanges to take stock of past transactions and future plans, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources
Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.
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How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment
Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.
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Ex-Chicago Politician's Case May Further Curb Fraud Theories
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Thompson v. U.S. to determine whether a statement that is misleading but not false still violates federal law, potentially heralding the court’s largest check yet on prosecutors’ expansive fraud theories, with significant implications for sentencing, say attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
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Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity
Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.
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Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules
The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO
The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.
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Tariffs' Economic Downsides Outweigh Potential Revenue
Import tariffs proposed by the campaign of former president Donald Trump would generate revenue like other taxes, but policymakers must consider the net-negative impact of associated consumer and downstream-industry costs, harm to exporters, potential foreign retaliation and reduction in economic output, says Erica York at the Tax Foundation.