Federal

  • August 29, 2024

    GAO Suggests IRS Improve Retirement Account Oversight

    The Internal Revenue Service needs to beef up its oversight of conflicts of interest between fiduciaries and individual retirement account investors, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report.

  • August 29, 2024

    Applications Open For $6B In Advanced Energy Tax Credits

    Full applications are now open for manufacturers seeking a share of a second-round $6 billion tax-credit allocation for their development projects that support the clean energy industry, the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday.

  • August 29, 2024

    Colo. Group Asks US Justices To Revive Ballot Law Dispute

    A Colorado organization asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower-court decision upholding a state law requiring financial impacts be included in the titles of some tax-related ballot initiatives.

  • August 29, 2024

    Couple Not Entitled To Seek $480K Refund, US Tells 5th Circ.

    A couple claiming they paid their tax bill should not be allowed to sue the Internal Revenue Service for a refund in a federal district court, the government told the Fifth Circuit on Thursday, saying the agency thinks the couple still owes about $480,000.

  • August 29, 2024

    Day Pitney Lands Former Reuters Tax Counsel In Conn.

    Day Pitney LLP continued its recent growth in its tax practice in Connecticut with the addition of an experienced tax attorney from Thomson Reuters.

  • August 29, 2024

    IRS Expands Accounting Change Waiver Eligibility

    The Internal Revenue Service adjusted a previous notice Thursday to modify certain procedures for obtaining automatic consent of the agency commissioner to change methods of accounting for expenditures paid or incurred in taxable years beginning after 2021.

  • August 29, 2024

    Churches Attack Nonprofit Politics Ban As Unconstitutional

    Churches and Christian advocacy groups asked a Texas federal court to declare unconstitutional a provision in the Internal Revenue Code that prevents tax-exempt nonprofits from endorsing political candidates, saying the IRS discriminates against conservative religious groups and churches in applying the law.

  • August 29, 2024

    IRS Corrects Partnership Conservation Easement Limit Rules

    The Internal Revenue Service issued corrections Thursday to finalized rules that curb the conservation easement tax deduction claimed by certain partnerships under the Secure 2.0 Act.

  • August 28, 2024

    Hunter Biden's Addiction Expert Knocked Out Of Tax Trial

    A California federal judge on Tuesday barred Hunter Biden's expected addiction expert from testifying in his upcoming trial on tax charges, saying the expert's opinions hadn't been clearly linked to the specifics of Biden's own struggle.

  • August 28, 2024

    IRS Declines Watchdog's Ask For Attys In Talks With Big Cos.

    The IRS declined a recommendation by its internal watchdog to require the agency's counsel to attend talks held with large multinational corporations by its appellate division, which agents say thwarts their ability to correctly enforce the economic substance doctrine, according to a report.

  • August 28, 2024

    Pa. Atty Admits To Dodging Taxes On Mass Tort Deal Fees

    A Pennsylvania attorney pled guilty Wednesday to failing to pay taxes for approximately $1.2 million in income she received over three years, depriving the government of up to half a million dollars in revenue, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

  • August 28, 2024

    Feds Looks To Toss Ex-Citizens' Renunciation Fee Challenge

    The federal government asked a D.C. federal judge to throw out a lawsuit brought by former U.S. citizens who want their $2,350 citizenship renunciation fee refunded, arguing during a Wednesday hearing that the United States is immune from the litigation and the plaintiffs can't relitigate claims that they already lost.

  • August 28, 2024

    3 Items Tax Pros Want To See In Student Loan Matching Regs

    Practitioners and experts are hoping the IRS will flesh out a recently released notice on student loan matching contributions to retirement plans with details including how to fix errors and whether plans may need to be changed depending on how they provide matches. Here, Law360 explores three issues practitioners and observers want the agency to address.

  • August 28, 2024

    Mo. Partnership Challenges Nix Of $79M Easement Deduction

    The Internal Revenue Service offered no explanation for its claims that a Missouri partnership's conservation easement donation was overvalued and didn't serve a conservation purpose, the partnership told the U.S. Tax Court in challenging the rejection of a $79 million tax deduction.

  • August 28, 2024

    5th Circ. Upholds Tax Preparer's Sentence, Delays Restitution

    The Fifth Circuit upheld a Texas federal jury's conviction that resulted in a prison sentence for a tax preparation service owner for assisting in filing false tax returns, but it determined that the nearly $72,000 in restitution that she owes should be delayed until after her sentence ends.

  • August 28, 2024

    IRS Must Reconsider Pair's Ability To Pay Tax Liability

    The U.S. Tax Court sent a case involving a levy against a pair of Californians for six years' worth of tax deficiencies back to the IRS' Office of Appeals, saying Wednesday that more work needs to be done to determine the couple's ability to pay.

  • August 28, 2024

    IRS Corrects Proposed Foreign Currency Accounting Regs

    The Internal Revenue Service issued corrections Wednesday to proposed rules that would adjust the timing for when companies could opt to use what is known as the mark-to-market accounting method for gains or losses that arise from foreign currency transactions.

  • August 28, 2024

    NY Firm Calls Gas Co.'s Contract And Fee Claims Duplicative

    Albany, New York-based Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP has moved to trim breach of contract and disgorgement of fees claims brought by a former client over allegedly bungled tax advice, telling a New York federal judge the claims are redundant when the ex-client is also pursuing a legal malpractice cause of action. 

  • August 28, 2024

    Atlanta's Ex-CFO Gets 3 Years For 'Triple-Dipping' In Coffers

    Atlanta's former chief financial officer became the latest city hall official to head to prison on corruption charges Tuesday, after getting hit with a three-year prison sentence for what prosecutors called a "triple-dipping" scheme into city coffers to pay for swanky vacations and illegal firearms.

  • August 28, 2024

    Jury Justified In Dismissing $2.2M FBAR Case, Court Rules

    A financial adviser will not face a new trial after an Arizona federal court ruled there was sufficient evidence for a jury to clear him in January of failing to report foreign bank accounts, sparing him at least $2.2 million in penalties.

  • August 28, 2024

    Sysco, IRS Asked To Address Varian's Foreign Dividend Win

    The U.S. Tax Court asked food services giant Sysco and the IRS to address how a tax dispute between them is affected by a recent ruling in a similar case that found medical device company Varian can claim a deduction for foreign dividends.

  • August 28, 2024

    Farm Co. Defends Switch To Amortization In 8th Circ. Tax Fight

    An Arkansas company that leases land eligible for government farm subsidies was entitled to start amortizing the acres for better tax treatment without notifying the IRS, the company told the Eighth Circuit, asking the court to overturn a decision denying its related deductions for 2013 and 2014.

  • August 28, 2024

    Treasury To Require Reports On All-Cash Real Estate Deals

    Anyone who transfers real estate to a legal entity in an all-cash transaction, including attorneys, will be required starting Dec. 1, 2025, to inform the U.S. Treasury Department about that entity's beneficial owners and their identification numbers under a final rule issued Wednesday. 

  • August 28, 2024

    Greenberg Traurig Builds PE Team With Kirkland Hires

    Greenberg Traurig LLP has brought on two fund formation partners from Kirkland & Ellis LLP to continue its growth into the private equity space, according to an announcement this week by the firm.

  • August 28, 2024

    IRS Art Advisory Panel To Discuss Appraisals In Sept.

    The Internal Revenue Service's Art Advisory Panel will meet next month to discuss fair market appraisals of pieces of art for tax purposes, the agency said Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review

    Author Photo

    Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues

    Author Photo

    Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Kentucky Tax Talk: Taking Up The Dormant Commerce Clause

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at Frost Brown examine whether the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to review Foresight Coal Sales v. Kent Chandler to consider whether a Kentucky utility rate law discriminates against interstate commerce, and how the decision may affect dormant commerce clause jurisprudence.

  • Prevailing Wage Rules Complicate Inflation Act Tax Incentives

    Author Photo

    Nicole Elliott and Timothy Taylor at Holland & Knight discuss the intersection between tax and labor newly created by the Inflation Reduction Act, and focus on aspects of recent U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of the Treasury rules that may catch tax-incentive seekers off guard.

  • Payroll Tax Evasion Notice Suggests FinCEN's New Focus

    Author Photo

    The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s recent notice advising U.S. financial institutions to report payroll tax evasion and workers' compensation schemes in the construction industry suggests a growing interest in tax enforcement and IRS collaboration, as well as increased scrutiny in the construction sector, say Andrew Weiner and Jay Nanavati at Kostelanetz.

  • How Taxpayers Can Prep As Justices Weigh Repatriation Tax

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court might strike down the 2017 federal tax overhaul's corporate repatriation tax in Moore v. U.S., so taxpayers should file protective tax refund claims before the case is decided and repatriate previously taxed earnings that could become entangled in dubious potential Section 965 refunds, say Jenny Austin and Gary Wilcox at Mayer Brown.

  • IRS Foreign Tax Credit Pause Is Welcome Course Correction

    Author Photo

    A recent IRS notice temporarily suspending application of 2022 foreign tax credit regulations provides wanted relief for the many U.S. multinational companies and other taxpayers that otherwise face the risk of significant double taxation in their international operations, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • If Justices End Chevron Deference, Auer Could Be Next Target

    Author Photo

    If the U.S. Supreme Court decides next term to overrule its Chevron v. NRDC decision, it may open the door for a similar review of the Auer deference — the principle that a government agency can interpret, through application, ambiguous agency regulations, says Sohan Dasgupta at Taft Stettinius.

  • Tax Court Ruling Provides Helpful Profits Interest Guidance

    Author Photo

    A recent U.S. Tax Court decision holding that a partnership may exclude interests in a company that it indirectly received sheds light on related IRS guidance, including the proper valuation method for such interests, though the court's application of the method to the facts of this case appears flawed, say attorneys at Kramer Levin.

  • Mallory Ruling Doesn't Undermine NC Sales Tax Holding

    Author Photo

    Contrary to the conclusion reached in a recent Law360 guest article, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Mallory ruling shouldn't be read as implicitly repudiating the North Carolina Supreme Court’s sales tax ruling in Quad Graphics v. North Carolina Department of Revenue — the U.S. Supreme Court could have rejected Quad by directly overturning it, says Jonathan Entin at Case Western Reserve.

  • IRS Criminal Probe Spells Uncertainty For Malta Pension Plans

    Author Photo

    The IRS’ recent scrutiny of Malta pension plan arrangements — and its unusual issuance of criminal administrative summonses — confirms that it views many of these plans as illegal tax evasion schemes, and the road ahead will not be smooth and steady for anyone involved, say attorneys at Kostelanetz.

  • IRS Announcement Will Aid Cos. In Buyback Tax Planning

    Author Photo

    Recent IRS transitional guidance regarding current requirements for reporting and payment of the stock repurchase excise tax will help corporate taxpayers make decisions about records retention and establishing reserves for future tax payments, say Xenia Garofalo and Kyle Colonna at Eversheds Sutherland.

Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Tax Authority Federal archive.