Federal
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September 02, 2025
Jury Misled On Tax Fraud Conspiracy Charge, 10th Circ. Rules
The Tenth Circuit overturned Tuesday a conviction against a man who did not report trust income on his personal tax returns, saying the New Mexico district court erred in presenting instructions on the conspiracy charges to both the jury and defendant's counsel.
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September 02, 2025
Firm Urges 2nd Circ. To Review $142M Earnings Boost
A New York investment company has asked the Second Circuit to review a U.S. Tax Court ruling that sustained a $142 million increase to its net earnings and found its principals did not qualify as limited partners for an exception from self-employment income tax.
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September 02, 2025
Most Employers Paid Taxes After COVID Delay, Report Says
Most employers who put off paying Social Security taxes during the pandemic have paid their bills, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Tuesday, although some employers who didn't pay were incorrectly charged penalties by the IRS.
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September 02, 2025
IRS Withdraws Rule On Tax Data Use In Passport Revocations
The IRS will scrap a 2018 proposed rule that would have allowed the U.S. State Department to share taxpayer return information with contractors that assist in the revocation or denial of passports of individuals with serious tax debts, the agency announced Monday, calling the rule unnecessary.
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September 02, 2025
Colgate-Palmolive To Shell Out $332M In Pension Payout Fight
Colgate-Palmolive retirees asked a New York federal judge to greenlight a $332 million class action deal in their suit claiming the household products company shorted them on lump-sum retirement payouts, signaling the end of a nearly decade-old case that reached the Second Circuit in 2023.
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August 29, 2025
Split Fed. Circ. Backs Limits On Presidential Tariff Powers
The Federal Circuit held that President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs were improperly imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which it said makes no mention of "tariff," "duties" or "tax."
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August 29, 2025
Bookie Who Took Bets From Ohtani Interpreter Gets 1 Year
A resident of Orange County, California, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to operating as an unlicensed bookmaker who placed bets for current and former professional athletes as well as a Japanese language interpreter who is serving time for stealing from baseball megastar Shohei Ohtani.
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August 29, 2025
House Dems Reintroduce Marijuana Legalization Bill Again
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives once again reintroduced a federal marijuana legalization bill that previously passed the chamber twice when it was under Democratic control, but has never gained traction in the U.S. Senate or under a majority-Republican House.
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August 29, 2025
Federal Tax Policy To Watch In The Rest Of 2025
As Congress returns to Washington, D.C., after the August recess, the bulk of federal tax policy is expected to focus on funding the IRS past Sept. 30 and getting out guidance for retroactive deductions included in this summer's budget reconciliation bill. Here's a look at federal tax policy to watch during the rest of the year.
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August 29, 2025
Apple Must Hand Swiss User's Records To IRS, Judge Rules
Apple must provide the Internal Revenue Service with a Swiss user's internet and phone records as part of a criminal investigation by Switzerland's taxing authority, a California federal judge ruled, despite the man's protests that the records are unrelated to taxes.
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August 29, 2025
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin, issued Friday, included the removal of a method for large-scale clean energy projects to establish eligible construction start dates in order to claim solar and wind tax credits.
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August 29, 2025
Taxation With Representation: White & Case, Paul Weiss
In this week's Taxation With Representation, private equity firm Sycamore Partners completes its $24 billion acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., telecommunications company EchoStar sells wireless spectrum licenses to AT&T and Keurig Dr Pepper acquires JDE Peet's in a deal that aims to create a "global coffee champion."
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August 28, 2025
Coke Says IRS Taking 'Extreme' Position In $2.7B Dispute
The IRS is taking an "extreme" position in its defense of a $2.7 billion tax ruling against Coca-Cola by asserting that the standard prohibiting arbitrary and capricious actions by an agency doesn't apply to it, the company told the Eleventh Circuit.
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August 28, 2025
6th Circ. Affirms Dismissal Of Meritless Tax Challenge
The Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a Tennessee man's suit against the Internal Revenue Service, ruling Wednesday that his challenge to the agency's tax collections was meritless and provided no basis for federal jurisdiction.
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August 28, 2025
Illinois Atty Gets 2½ Years For Tax Fraud, Scripting Testimony
A former Chicago attorney who covered up $1 million in payments to his romantic interest and tried scripting his bookkeeper's initial trial testimony has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
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August 28, 2025
IRS Provides Guidance On Renewed R&D Tax Break
The Internal Revenue Service released instructions Thursday on how to make various elections, file amended tax returns and change accounting methods for the renewed tax break for research and development costs passed under the budget reconciliation bill.
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August 28, 2025
Compliance Atty Who Duped Lender Wants New Trial
A compliance lawyer convicted of pilfering from a $20 million line of credit that a subsidiary of Emigrant Bank extended to his tax-lien business has asked a Manhattan federal judge to order a new trial, arguing that prosecutors' evidence is insufficient and that the charges were "multiplicitous," in violation of the Fifth Amendment.
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August 27, 2025
Co. Can't Challenge IRS Easement Penalties, Court Rules
The Internal Revenue Service can assess civil penalties against a property company for a disallowed conservation easement deduction, a Louisiana federal court said, agreeing with the government that the company's challenge is barred under the Anti-Injunction Act.
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August 27, 2025
Retired Air Force Officer Faces IRS Levy Over Unpaid Taxes
The Internal Revenue Service properly upheld a tax levy against a retired U.S. Air Force officer who didn't report a $245,000 military retirement distribution, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Wednesday, saying the man didn't show he couldn't afford to pay his bill.
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August 27, 2025
Church Leaders Charged In Forced Labor, Laundering Scheme
Two self-proclaimed religious leaders forced people to work in call centers to raise millions of dollars that the pair spent on jet skis and other luxuries in a money laundering scheme investigated by the IRS, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Michigan federal court.
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August 27, 2025
US Tax Compliance To Cost $536 Billion In 2025, Report Says
U.S. taxpayers will spend about $536 billion this year complying with the tax code, largely in what economists call opportunity costs, an amount greater than federal revenues from corporate income tax, the Tax Foundation reported Wednesday.
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August 27, 2025
Baker Botts Adds 2 More Lateral Partners In NY
As it touts the addition of 17 lateral partners this year so far, Baker Botts LLP announced Tuesday that it has gained a former Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP attorney focused on executive compensation and transactional tax strategy and a former McDermott Will & Schulte LLP attorney focused on public company and private equity mergers and acquisitions.
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August 26, 2025
Joseph Nocella Jr. Appointed US Attorney For EDNY
Joseph Nocella Jr. on Tuesday was reportedly appointed as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, having served as the district's interim top prosecutor since early May.
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August 26, 2025
The Tax Angle: Tariff Troubles, Tipped Income
From a look at the impact of rising tariffs on energy tax credits and issues arising from the deduction for taxes on tips, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few developing tax stories.
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August 26, 2025
Woman Can't Avoid Tax Debts Owed With Ex, Tax Court Says
A California woman does not qualify for relief from a tax debt she owes jointly with her ex-husband because the U.S. Tax Court previously found she owed the money in a proceeding in which she participated meaningfully through her lawyer, the court ruled Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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Evolving Federal Rules Pose Further Obstacles To NY LLC Act
Following the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent changes to beneficial ownership information reporting under the federal Corporate Transparency Act — dramatically reducing the number of companies required to make disclosures — the utility of New York's LLC Transparency Act becomes less apparent, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Alternative Business Structures Raise Ethics Questions
The new KPMG law firm, launched in Arizona following that state's repeal of the prohibition on fee sharing with nonlawyers, raises a number of important practice questions, both for the firm and those law firms seeking to partner with it, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O’Connor.
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The IRS Shouldn't Go To War Over Harvard's Tax Exemption
If the Internal Revenue Service revokes Harvard's tax-exempt status for violating established public policy — a position unsupported by currently available information — the precedent set by surviving the inevitable court challenge could undercut the autonomy and distinctiveness of the charitable sector, says Johnny Rex Buckles at Houston Law Center.
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Mitigating Import Risks Around Southeast Asian Solar Cells
The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent final determinations in its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations into solar cells produced in certain Southeast Asian countries make it important for U.S. purchasers to consider risk mitigation strategies, including modifying supply chains and contractually assigning import responsibilities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Reassessing Corporate Separateness After Explosion Of LLCs
Following the dramatic increase of limited liability companies in the U.S., the Corporate Transparency Act's enactment and the Trump administration's subsequent narrowing of that law, it's worth revisiting the underlying legal principles that govern shell companies in order to remedy the problems that initially motivated the CTA, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.
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Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook
The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.
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Immunity Waiver Ruling A Setback For Ch. 7 Trustees
While governmental units should welcome the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. v. Miller restricting the reach of the Bankruptcy Code's sovereign immunity waiver, Chapter 7 trustees now have a limited ability to maximize bankruptcy estates, says Dan Prieto at Jones Day.
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Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw
While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.
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Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them
Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.
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A 2-Step System For Choosing A Digital Asset Reporting Path
Under the Internal Revenue Service's new digital asset reporting regulation, each type of asset may have three potential reporting destinations, so a detailed testing framework can help to determine the appropriate path, says Keval Sonecha at Sonecha & Amlani.
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How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients
Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
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3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims
Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.
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IRS And ICE Info Sharing Could Drive Payroll Tax Enforcement
Tax crimes are historically difficult to prosecute, but the Internal Revenue Services’ recent agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to share taxpayer records of non-U.S. citizens could be used to enhance payroll tax-related enforcement against their employers, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.