Federal
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April 24, 2024
Tax Fraud Case Skewed By Prosecutors' Spin, NC Jury Told
Prosecutors and defense attorneys in a tax fraud trial against two lawyers and an insurance agent traded final barbs Wednesday in a North Carolina courtroom before sending the jury to deliberate, with the defendants again defending the tax plan at the center of the government's case and accusing prosecutors of making up facts.
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April 24, 2024
Crypto Mixer Execs Arrested Over $2B In Illicit Transactions
New York federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that they have arrested the co-founders of crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet over their operation of a crypto service that authorities say executed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions.
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April 24, 2024
House Lawmakers Warn Yellen On Donor Fund Rules
More than 30 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives told Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that proposed regulations on donor-advised funds could hinder charitable giving, in a letter released Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
GOP Reps Seek IRS Nonprofit Info After China Reports
House Ways and Means Republicans asked the Internal Revenue Service to provide information about how it monitors tax-exempt organizations for possible violations of their status after reports China may be funding and improperly influencing nonprofits, according to a letter sent Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Mass. Golf Course Manager Gets 13 Months For Tax Fraud
A Massachusetts golf course manager was sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax charges, following prosecutors' accusations that he manipulated contracts with a home developer to deflate their value.
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April 24, 2024
Court Pauses Order To Sell Office Park In $16M Tax Battle
A New Jersey federal court paused its order allowing the U.S. government to sell a family trust's office park to satisfy a trustee's $16.2 million tax debt Wednesday, giving the family time to appeal a decision approving the sale to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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April 24, 2024
Fla. Woman Had Run Out Of Fixes, 11th Circ. Rules
A district court did not err in dismissing the complaint of a Florida woman after she was given multiple opportunities to address barred claims and failed to adequately do so, the Eleventh Circuit said Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Tax Court Backs IRS On Accuracy-Related Penalty
The Internal Revenue Service complied with supervisory approval requirements when it levied a $99,000 accuracy-related penalty on two Florida men, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Philly Tells Justices To Skip Review Of Tax Credit System
A Philadelphia resident's claims that the city illegally refused to provide her a tax credit for her state income taxes paid to Delaware doesn't warrant U.S. Supreme Court review because case law on the related constitutional issues is thin, the city argued Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Groups Back Intuit's 5th Circ. Challenge To FTC Over Ads
Business and conservative groups defended tax software giant Intuit Inc. in its Fifth Circuit constitutional challenge to the Federal Trade Commission's findings that the company engaged in deceptive advertising, saying the agency acts as both prosecutor and jury and that its administrative judges have unchecked power.
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April 24, 2024
GOP Reps. Form Work Groups To Address Expiring Tax Law
Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee announced plans Wednesday to form 10 teams to study key provisions of the 2017 tax overhaul, aiming to set priorities for legislative action next year as the law is set to expire.
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April 24, 2024
New IRS Unit Will Seek Quicker Tax Dispute Resolutions
The Internal Revenue Service's Independent Office of Appeals has created an alternative dispute resolution unit that will work with the agency's business operating divisions to help taxpayers resolve tax disputes sooner and more effectively, the IRS announced Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Treasury Limits Reach Of Look-Through Rule In Final Regs
The U.S. Treasury Department finalized regulations Wednesday that retain but narrow the scope of a proposal to, in a manner of speaking, look through the corporate owners of real estate investment entities to determine whether they are domestically controlled.
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April 24, 2024
IRS Followed Protocol In Choosing Higher IT Bid, GAO Says
The Internal Revenue Service reasonably assessed proposals for information technology engineering services before choosing an offer that was higher than others, the Government Accountability Office found.
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April 24, 2024
TIGTA Helps Stop $3.5B Pandemic Credit Scam, Agency Says
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service, has cracked down on a scheme where individuals potentially improperly claimed $3.5 billion in coronavirus relief tax credits, the office said Wednesday.
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April 23, 2024
Treasury Says Aussie Royalty Ruling Contradicts US, OECD
Australia's updated draft ruling regarding when payments for the rights to distribute software would be considered royalties conflicts with OECD and U.S. standards on the treatment of such deals, a U.S. Department of the Treasury official said in a letter made public Tuesday.
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April 23, 2024
Tax Court OKs IRS Notice After Petitioner Spews 'Gibberish'
The U.S. Tax Court ruled in favor of the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday after a Nevada woman used "tax protester gibberish," the court said, in an attempt to circumvent more than $37,000 in unreported income.
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April 23, 2024
Biz Ownership Law Constitutional, Lawmakers Tell 11th Circ.
The Corporate Transparency Act is a garden-variety exercise of Congress' powers to address threats to national security, foreign affairs, commerce and tax collection, five Democratic lawmakers told the Eleventh Circuit, disputing a ruling that the law is unconstitutional.
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April 23, 2024
DC Circ. Backs Tax Penalties Against Swiss Couple
A Swiss couple who incurred $500,000 in penalties for failing to report millions of dollars they held in Swiss bank accounts can't get out of paying, the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday, rejecting their argument that the IRS didn't properly approve the fines.
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April 23, 2024
Migrant-Hiring Crimes And Tax Evasion Get Pair Prison, $1.8M Fine
A Florida federal judge has ordered two men to pay $1.8 million to the U.S. government and sentenced them to three years in prison after they confessed to recruiting migrants without employment authorization and failing to report workers' wages for tax purposes.
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April 23, 2024
Tomato Cos. Ask 9th Circ. To Allow Immediate Cost Deduction
Two companies that supply 40% of U.S. tomato paste and diced tomatoes asked the Ninth Circuit to allow deduction of their facilities' restoration costs during the tax year in which the tomatoes are processed, even though the companies don't pay the restoration costs until later.
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April 23, 2024
Atty Can Deduct $303K In Racing Ad Costs, 10th Circ. Told
A Colorado attorney asked the Tenth Circuit to reverse a U.S. Tax Court decision that prevented him from deducting $303,000 in advertising expenses tied to his automobile racing, saying the lower court incorrectly ruled that the costs were related to a hobby rather than his litigation practice.
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April 23, 2024
Feds Want About 3 Years In Prison For LA Bank Embezzler
The former chief financial officer at a community bank in Los Angeles should spend nearly three years in prison after admitting he embezzled more than $700,000 and used employee identities in a life insurance scheme, the government told a California federal court.
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April 23, 2024
Indicted 'Magician' Tax Preparer's Clients Under Scrutiny
Clients of a New York City-based tax preparer who earned the nickname "the magician," allegedly making $15 million while fraudulently depriving the IRS of $100 million, may also face charges, a prosecutor told the federal judge in charge of the case on Tuesday.
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April 23, 2024
IRS Opens Low Income Clinic Grant Period For 2025
The Internal Revenue Service has begun accepting applications from Low Income Taxpayer Clinics for matching funds in 2025, the agency announced Tuesday.
R&D Cutbacks Spur Small-Biz Push To Renew Tax Breaks
Int'l Pricing Pact Guidance Is Coming Soon, IRS Official Says
Hedge Funder's IRS Suit Over Leaked Tax Info Gets Trimmed
R&D Cutbacks Spur Small-Biz Push To Renew Tax Breaks
Small businesses are pushing the U.S. Senate to quickly approve a House-passed bill that would renew a tax break for research and development, saying its expiration along with the demise of other key provisions has caused reduced investment in research and increased tax bills, threatening future operations.
Int'l Pricing Pact Guidance Is Coming Soon, IRS Official Says
Updated Internal Revenue Service guidance that would help multinational corporations pursue advance pricing agreements will likely be released in a few months, an agency official said Tuesday.
Hedge Funder's IRS Suit Over Leaked Tax Info Gets Trimmed
A Florida federal judge on Monday dismissed part of a hedge fund executive's case seeking to hold the Internal Revenue Service accountable for a leak of his private tax data to the media, saying he failed to show he suffered any damages.
Featured Stories
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R&D Cutbacks Spur Small-Biz Push To Renew Tax Breaks
Small businesses are pushing the U.S. Senate to quickly approve a House-passed bill that would renew a tax break for research and development, saying its expiration along with the demise of other key provisions has caused reduced investment in research and increased tax bills, threatening future operations.
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3 Key Takeaways From The IRS' Latest Pricing Pact Snapshot
The IRS finalized a record number of advance pricing agreements in 2023, signaling the agency's increased effectiveness at completing accords at a time when its approach to transfer pricing litigation could fuel corporate taxpayers' urgency for seeking APAs. Here, Law360 breaks down three key takeaways from the agency’s latest APA report.
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Donor Fund Regs Could Imperil Nonprofit-Sponsored Projects
So-called fiscal sponsorship funds set up at established nonprofits to help new projects start charitable work could be unexpectedly threatened by proposed IRS and Treasury rules on donor-advised funds that could subject such arrangements to burdensome taxes, experts say.
Expert Analysis
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
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.
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IRS Sings New Tune: Whistleblower Form Update Is Welcome
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.
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
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.
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Energy Community Tax Credit Boost Will Benefit Wind Sector
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.
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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.