Federal

  • 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.

  • August 28, 2024

    Virgin Islands Tax Deadlines Delayed After Tropical Storm

    Taxpayers in the U.S. Virgin Islands will be given until Feb. 3 to file individual and business tax returns and make payments after the area was hit by Tropical Storm Ernesto this month, the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.

  • August 28, 2024

    Atty Can't Escape Danish Tax Agency's $2.1B Tax Fraud Suit

    An attorney in a $2.1 billion tax fraud case brought by the Danish tax authority cannot argue that a suit filed against him as an individual should be dismissed because it was filed late, a New York federal court ruled.

  • August 27, 2024

    Gov't Says Doctor Can't Escape Contempt Fine In FBAR Case

    A doctor challenging his $20,000 civil contempt fine for failing to follow a court order to repatriate money from his foreign bank account to cover $1.1 million in tax liabilities shouldn't be allowed to escape the penalty, the U.S. government argued Tuesday.

  • August 27, 2024

    TIGTA Flags Due Process Issues In IRS' Lien Practices

    The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that the Internal Revenue Service had numerous issues that affected due process for taxpayers whom it filed lien notices against, according to a report published Tuesday.

  • August 27, 2024

    Treasury Asked To Scrap Stock Buyback Tax's Funding Rule

    Business groups urged the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday to remove what's known as the funding rule in forthcoming final regulations on the stock buyback tax, saying the provision would go beyond Congress' intentions for the levy, which aims to deter companies from giving outsize rewards to shareholders.

  • August 27, 2024

    TIGTA Calls For Better Guarding Of Shared Tax Info

    The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration identified ways Tuesday it said the Internal Revenue Service should work with state agencies to improve the handling of federal tax information it shares with them, including nudging them to file required security reports.

  • August 27, 2024

    Candidates' Plans To End Tip Taxes Spark Fairness Concerns

    The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees have both proposed eliminating taxes on tips for restaurant and hospitality workers, but tax experts say such a policy would unfairly pick winners and losers among workers and its benefits would be unevenly spread.

  • August 27, 2024

    Gov't Urged To Stem Abuse Of Carbon Capture Credits

    The federal government should take measures to stop the abuse of tax credits for carbon capture and storage, more than 100 environmental groups told the U.S. Treasury Department and the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter released Tuesday.

  • August 27, 2024

    Biz Owner Gets 22 Months For Keeping $2.5M In Payroll Tax

    A man who ran construction companies was sentenced to nearly two years in prison and ordered to pay about $2.5 million in restitution to the federal government after admitting he didn't pay employment taxes, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia said Tuesday.

  • August 27, 2024

    Ex-Trooper Asks To Delay Prison In OT Scam Amid Appeal

    A former Massachusetts state trooper asked to stay his five-year prison sentence for stealing overtime pay, lying on his taxes and cheating to get student aid for his son — a request prosecutors said was "yet another attempt to delay justice in this case."

  • August 27, 2024

    Maine Joining IRS' Free E-File Program In 2025

    The Internal Revenue Service's free electronic tax filing program, Direct File, will be available in Maine for the 2025 tax filing season, the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday.

  • August 26, 2024

    Ex-Braves Tell 11th Circ. Easement Appeal Not Premature

    A partnership created by former Atlanta Braves players urged the Eleventh Circuit to review its $47 million conservation easement lawsuit, saying the IRS' motion to dismiss the appeal for premature filing was a mere attempt to sow confusion in the proceedings.

  • August 26, 2024

    Varian Entitled To Foreign Dividend Break, Tax Court Says

    California-based medical device company Varian Medical Systems is entitled to a deduction for dividends received from its foreign subsidiaries, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday in a unanimous opinion.

  • August 26, 2024

    US Should Extend Expiring TCJA Tax Cuts, Chamber Says

    The expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2025 gives the next Congress an opportunity to pass pro-growth tax policies, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Monday.

  • August 26, 2024

    Kyocera's Gross-Up Doesn't Grant $143M Tax Break, US Says

    Electronics maker Kyocera cannot be allowed to take a $143 million tax deduction for distributions received under a 2017 tax law based on a separate statute's gross-up for paid foreign tax credits, the government told a South Carolina federal court.

  • August 26, 2024

    10th Circ. Won't Rethink Toss Of Insurers' $2M Tax Appeal

    Captive insurance companies that claim the U.S. Tax Court improperly rejected their request to invalidate tax deficiency notices in their case challenging $2 million in liabilities must wait until the court issues a final decision before they can appeal, the Tenth Circuit reaffirmed.

  • August 26, 2024

    Netflix Can't Shut Off 'Varsity Blues' Defamation Suit

    A private equity executive who largely beat charges in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions case can proceed with a suit against Netflix claiming he and his son were defamed by the streaming giant's documentary about the scandal, a Massachusetts judge has ruled.

  • August 26, 2024

    Feds Want Prison For Ex-Atlanta CFO Who Stole City Funds

    The former chief financial officer for the city of Atlanta who admitted to stealing city money and obstructing an IRS audit should spend at least about three years in prison, federal prosecutors argued ahead of his sentencing, saying he has been uncooperative since pleading guilty.

  • August 23, 2024

    Wash. Justices Affirm Convicted Ex-State Auditor Disbarment

    The Washington Supreme Court affirmed a recommendation to disbar convicted former state auditor Troy X. Kelley after he was imprisoned on felony theft charges, finding that Kelley's crimes justified the disbarment sanction.

  • August 23, 2024

    Chamber Backs Doctor In Tax Court Economic Substance Suit

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce lent its support to an eye doctor and his wife's U.S. Tax Court case disputing accuracy-related penalties that the Internal Revenue Service plans to impose on their microcaptive insurance arrangements for lacking economic substance.

  • August 23, 2024

    Intended Financial Harm Counts In Sentencing, 4th Circ. Says

    A split Fourth Circuit panel on Friday upheld a South Carolina woman's 30-month sentence for filing false tax returns and making false statements on applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans, finding that a sentencing range can be calculated using the total amount of intended financial harm.

Expert Analysis

  • Secure 2.0 Takeaways From DOL's 2024 Budget Proposal

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    The U.S. Department of Labor’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal provides insight into the most pressing Secure 2.0 implementation issues, including establishment of a search database for finding lost retirement savings and developing guidance on the execution of newly authorized emergency savings accounts, say attorneys at Maynard Nexsen.

  • Avoiding Negative Tax Consequences In Loan Modifications

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    Borrowers who may be caught in the dramatic uptick in nonperforming commercial real estate loans should consider strategies to avoid income and capital gains tax that may be triggered by loan modifications, says Aman Badyal at Glaser Weil.

  • Benefits And Beyond: Fixing Employee Contribution Failures

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    Employers must address employee contribution failures promptly in order to avoid losing significant tax benefits of 401(k) or 403(b) plans, but the exact correction procedures vary depending on whether contributions were less than or greater than intended, say attorneys at Seyfarth Shaw.

  • Now Is The Time For State And Local Sales Tax Simplification

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    In the five years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, state and local governments increasingly rely on sales tax, but simple changes are needed to make compliance more manageable for taxpayers, wherever located, without unduly burdening interstate commerce, says Charles Maniace at Sovos.

  • Recent Bills Show Congress' Growing Maturity On Cannabis

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    Though two recently introduced cannabis reform bills, the Prepare Act and the Small Business Tax Equity Act, are unlikely to pass in this Congress, they demonstrate a new level of focus and sophistication on the part of lawmakers as it relates to cannabis at the federal level, says Irina Dashevsky at Greenspoon Marder.

  • What To Make Of IRS' New Advance Pricing Guidance

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    Recent guidance on the IRS' goals for its advance pricing agreement system provides helpful insight into review and decision-making procedures for advance pricing agreement requests, but it also raises questions about the IRS' objectives, say Richard Slowinski and Stefanie Kavanagh at Alston & Bird.

  • Compliance Obligations Still Murky For Superfund Excise Tax

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    Comments on the IRS' reinstatement of the Superfund chemicals excise tax show that, given taxpayers' lack of institutional knowledge and the government's previous failure to finalize clarifying guidance, further regulatory action is needed to help taxpayers understand their obligations, say Nicole Elliott and Mary Kate Nicholson at Holland & Knight.

  • The Reciprocal Tax Bill Is A Warning Shot At Pillar 2

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    A bill recently introduced in the House of Representatives to reciprocally tax countries deemed to have imposed discriminatory taxes on U.S. citizens and businesses takes aim at countries implementing the global minimum tax treaty known as Pillar Two, with which the U.S. has not complied, says Alan Cole at the Tax Foundation.

  • 3 Developments That May Usher In A Nuclear Energy Revival

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    A recent advancement in nuclear energy technology, targeted provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and a new G7 agreement on nuclear fuel supply chains may give nuclear power a seat at the table as a viable, zero-carbon energy source, say attorneys at Vinson & Elkins.

  • What Tax-Exempt Orgs. Need From Energy Credit Guidance

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    Guidance clarifying the Inflation Reduction Act’s credit regime, expected from the U.S. Department of the Treasury this summer, should help tax-exempt organizations determine the benefits of clean energy projects and integrate alternative energy investments into their activities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Unconventional Profits Interest Structures Find New Support

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    A recent U.S. Tax Court ruling should provide comfort that less-than-plain-vanilla profits interest structures, created to achieve complicated economic arrangements, can succeed in generating more optimal tax outcomes, provided the terms are properly drafted, says Daren Shaver at Hanson Bridgett.

  • Roadblocks For Cannabis Employers Setting Up 401(k) Plans

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    Though the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act generally allow cannabis businesses to establish 401(k) plans for their employees, companies must still pick their way through uncertainties around tax deductions and recruiting reliable vendors, say attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin.

  • How Foreign Info Return Penalty Case May Benefit Taxpayers

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    The U.S. Tax Court's recent decision that the Internal Revenue Service cannot penalize taxpayers for failing to file foreign corporation information returns may give similarly situated taxpayers an opportunity to also avoid penalties, provided they protect their rights before the decision is overturned or mooted by legislation, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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