Federal
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October 10, 2024
Calif. Says FDIC Must Wait For $21M Tax Refund
A California tax agency urged a New York federal court to toss a lawsuit by the FDIC seeking a $20.7 million tax refund on behalf of the shuttered Signature Bank, saying it's entitled to wait for a possible IRS audit before delivering the payment.
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October 10, 2024
IRS Keeping Co. In Dark On Carryback Refund, Court Told
The Internal Revenue Service owes a $686,000 tax refund to a contractor for a carryback operating loss, the company told a Texas federal court, adding that the IRS hasn't responded to questions about a letter the agency claims it sent addressing the issue.
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October 09, 2024
Tax Court Rejects Levy On Convicted Atty Over $7B Scheme
A U.S. Tax Court judge rejected an IRS levy for restitution owed by an ex-attorney serving time for orchestrating a $7 billion tax fraud scheme, saying the agency had made contradictory determinations about the alleged debt and wrongly involved the former attorney's wife, in an opinion released Wednesday.
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October 09, 2024
Army Reservist, Wife Lose Appeal Of Tax Debt And Penalty
The Internal Revenue Service correctly determined a U.S. Army reservist and his wife were deficient on their taxes and liable for an accuracy-related penalty, the U.S. Tax Court said Wednesday, finding they failed to report income and didn't back up claimed deductions.
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October 09, 2024
OECD Should Clarify Pillar 2 Safe Harbor Timing, CPAs Say
The OECD should clarify when exactly multinational corporations need to determine whether they qualify for a transitional safe harbor under an international minimum tax agreement, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants recommended in a letter.
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October 09, 2024
3M Tax Ruling Must Fall Post-Chevron, Chamber Tells 8th Circ.
The U.S. Supreme Court's ending of the Chevron doctrine calls for overturning a U.S. Tax Court ruling that let the IRS allocate $24 million of income to multinational conglomerate 3M from a Brazilian affiliate, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the Eighth Circuit on Wednesday.
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October 09, 2024
Election Uncertainty Hampers Companies' Tax Planning
With the November election approaching, businesses are bracing for the potential impact of two very different sets of tax policies, with the resulting uncertainty making long-term tax planning increasingly difficult.
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October 09, 2024
Masonry Cos. Demand $2.3M In Worker Credit Refunds
The IRS brushed aside the requirements of a pandemic relief law by stalling on issuing $2.3 million in worker tax credits to two branches of a historic masonry company, the businesses told an Illinois federal court in a suit seeking refunds.
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October 09, 2024
Feds Seek 16 Months For Ex-BigLaw Partner's Tax Dodging
Prosecutors told a Wisconsin federal judge that a former Husch Blackwell LLP and Dykema Gossett PLLC partner who pled guilty to tax evasion should be sentenced to 16 months in prison, saying he lied to IRS revenue officers to keep them at bay while spending lavishly on private planes, jewelry and golf club memberships.
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October 09, 2024
Final Treasury Rules Shut Off Inclusion For Repatriated IP
The U.S. Treasury Department adopted final rules Wednesday that shut off an annual income inclusion associated with intangibles for companies in certain situations that have transferred intellectual property back to the U.S. from overseas.
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October 08, 2024
IRS Appeals Office's Easement Deals May Sap Independence
The IRS Independent Office of Appeals plans to settle certain conservation easement cases with similar terms offered by other IRS divisions, but these upcoming offers might be challenging for taxpayers to navigate and could undermine the office's independence from the rest of the agency.
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October 08, 2024
Homeowners Again Seek Class Cert. In Tax Foreclosure Suit
A group of former property owners has asked a Michigan federal judge to recertify a class action seeking to recover profits county treasurers made selling their tax-delinquent properties, saying the addition of class representatives fixes the flaw that dismantled the class.
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October 08, 2024
Tax Court Cuts $16.7M Deduction For Conservation Donation
A partnership that claimed a $16.7 million tax deduction for donating a conservation easement covering land in Georgia was trying to "fleece the public" with its claims that the land could be used for clay mining, a U.S. Tax Court judge said Tuesday in a decision slashing the deduction.
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October 08, 2024
IRS Seeks Feedback On Digital Asset Reporting Form
The Internal Revenue Service is seeking comments by Nov. 6 on a draft of a 2025 form for digital asset transaction reporting, according to a notice.
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October 08, 2024
Tire Seller Counts As Importer, Owes $2M Tax, 5th Circ. Says
A Houston truck sales company owes nearly $2 million in excise taxes because it qualifies as the importer of tires that it bought from a Chinese manufacturer, the Fifth Circuit ruled Tuesday in overturning the decision of a Texas federal judge.
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October 08, 2024
Tax Court Denies Ariz. Woman Spousal Relief
The U.S. Tax Court denied an Arizona woman's request for relief from liability for a faulty return filed by her husband, saying on Tuesday that she failed to show she was a victim of abuse and incapable of challenging the filing.
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October 08, 2024
Loss Rule Carveouts Raise Challenges In Pillar 2, Official Says
An IRS official flagged administrability concerns Tuesday with potential safe harbors that would, in some cases, carve out an international minimum tax agreement from interacting with long-standing domestic rules aimed at preventing companies from using the same economic loss twice.
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October 08, 2024
Calif. Tax Preparer Gets 6 Years For $28M Scheme
The owner of a California tax preparation business who helped customers create sham companies was sentenced to six years in prison for a decadelong scheme that caused a tax loss of at least $28 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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October 08, 2024
Settlement Payments Not Deductible Alimony, 11th Circ. Told
A divorced man who was ordered by a judge to make $3 million in payments on a past-due settlement to his ex-wife should not be allowed to shield them from tax, the U.S. government told the Eleventh Circuit, saying the payments don't qualify as alimony.
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October 08, 2024
7 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Committees To Meet In November
Seven Taxpayer Advocacy Panel committees will meet in November to discuss possible improvements to customer services, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday.
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October 07, 2024
Justices Won't Hear Man's FBAR Constitutionality Challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court let stand Monday a Seventh Circuit decision dismissing a man's challenge to the constitutionality of the Bank Secrecy Act's requirement to report his foreign bank accounts, effectively ending the man's claim that the filings were an invasion of privacy.
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October 07, 2024
Jury Finds Professor Hid Foreign Bank Accounts
An 86-year-old former college professor faces more than $500,000 plus interest in penalties after a jury found that he had deliberately failed to report his foreign bank accounts in Switzerland and Turkey, according to documents filed in a California federal court.
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October 07, 2024
Treasury Proposes Exempting Tribal Cos. From Income Tax
Tribal-owned businesses would not be subject to federal income tax under proposed regulations released Monday by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, a move that would also allow such entities to be eligible to receive direct cash payments in lieu of clean energy tax credits.
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October 07, 2024
Henderson Franklin Adds Tax Pro To Florida Offices
A tax attorney who formerly practiced at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth PC has joined Henderson Franklin Starnes & Holt PA's business and tax planning department and will work from the firm's Florida offices in Fort Myers and Naples.
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October 07, 2024
Man Who Faced Espionage Case Gets Probation Over Taxes
A Chinese engineer initially accused of illegally exporting documents on military aircraft to China was given probation and fined for failing to report about $1.4 million in business income by a Texas federal court after the government dropped its export charges.
Expert Analysis
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Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues
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.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
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.
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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.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
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.
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Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law
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.
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Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
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.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
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.
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How IRA Unlocks Green Energy Investments For Tribes
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.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
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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What To Know About IRS' New Jet Use Audit Campaign
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced plans to open several dozen audits scrutinizing executive use of company jets, so companies should be prepared to show the business reasons for travel, and how items like imputed income and deduction disallowance were calculated, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.