Federal
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April 01, 2024
Wis. Couple Must Pay $1.5M In Back Taxes, US Tells Court
A Wisconsin federal court should force a couple who owe more than $1.5 million in back taxes to pay up, the U.S. government said.
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March 29, 2024
Petition Watch: Off-Label Ads, Retiree Discrimination & PPE
A Utah attorney has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether allegedly retaliatory IRS summonses can be quashed, and two former pharmaceutical executives are challenging the constitutionality of their convictions for marketing the off-label use of a drug. Here, Law360 looks at recently filed petitions that you might've missed.
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March 29, 2024
100 Projects Get Share Of $4B In Advanced Energy Tax Credits
More than 100 projects across 35 states received a share of the $4 billion in tax credit funding that incentivizes investment in new or refurbished facilities that manufacture critical products and materials that support the clean energy supply chain, the U.S. government announced Friday.
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March 29, 2024
APA Work Doubled In 2023, IRS Report Says
The Internal Revenue Service finalized more than twice as many advance pricing agreements for U.S. multinational corporations in 2023 as in the previous year, according to an agency report released Friday.
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March 29, 2024
IRS Clarifies Low-Income Bonus Energy Credit Applications
The Internal Revenue Service released guidance Friday on requirements and other application information for solar and wind project owners that want to apply for this year's bonus tax credit program for building their facilities in low-income communities.
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March 29, 2024
Senate Bill Seeks Credit For No-Emission Electric Lawn Tools
A bill introduced Friday in the Senate would provide small businesses with a tax credit on the purchase of zero-emission electric landscaping equipment.
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March 29, 2024
Green Energy Credit Sales Spur Surge In Tax Insurance
A new way for project owners to monetize clean energy tax credits by selling them for cash has turbocharged demand for insurance policies to cover various risks tied to the transactions, which can often be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
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March 29, 2024
Tax Preparer Gets 30 Months For $780K COVID Aid Scheme
A North Carolina tax preparer who fraudulently obtained $780,000 in pandemic relief loans and laundered money was sentenced in federal court to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release, prosecutors announced.
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March 29, 2024
Atty Called A Flight Risk In $1.3 Billion Tax Fraud Case
An attorney serving a 23-year prison sentence for tax fraud in a $1.3 billion conservation easement scheme is a flight risk and should remain in federal custody while he waits for his appeal, the government told a Georgia federal court Friday.
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March 29, 2024
Income From Schools' Reinsurance Excluded, IRS Says
A nonprofit insurance company can exclude income received for providing reinsurance coverage for a conglomerate of public charter schools from its gross income as its work is "an essential government function," the Internal Revenue Service said in a ruling published Friday.
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March 29, 2024
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service issued its weekly bulletin Friday, which included proposed regulations for claiming a tax credit for the production of qualified clean hydrogen.
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March 28, 2024
Tax Court Revokes Treasury's Easement Perpetuity Rule
A divided U.S. Tax Court on Thursday invalidated Treasury rules regarding requirements for charitable donations of conservation easements to protect conservation purposes in perpetuity, granting a partial win to an Oklahoma partnership fighting to keep its $14.8 million conservation easement deduction.
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March 28, 2024
Corp. Transparency Act Overbroad, Mich. Group Tells Court
The Corporate Transparency Act is overbroad and violates both the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the Small Business Association of Michigan told a federal court in a case similar to one currently in the Eleventh Circuit.
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March 28, 2024
Abuse Of Discretion Claims Fall Flat In $13M Tax Court Case
The federal government may proceed with collecting on a $13 million tax liability after a Colorado woman failed to prove that there was an abuse of discretion when the IRS sustained a levy against her, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday.
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March 28, 2024
Musician's Trips To Japan Not Business, Tax Court Rules
A musician who said he traveled to Japan to conduct market research and learn about the country's music culture cannot claim a deduction of nearly $20,000 in travel expenses, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday.
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March 28, 2024
Canadian In Wash. Owes Over $1M FBAR Penalty, US Says
A Canadian man living in Washington state owes more than $1 million in penalties for failing to report bank accounts he held in Montreal, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a complaint filed in an attempt to collect the money.
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March 28, 2024
Doctor Allowed To Withdraw NBA Fraud Plea, Gets June Trial
A Manhattan federal judge will allow a Seattle-area doctor to pull back his guilty plea and go to trial in June, against prosecutors' objections, in a case alleging he assisted a cohort of retired NBA players to create fake invoices to submit to the league's healthcare plan.
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March 28, 2024
2nd Circ. Urged To Uphold Dual Citizen's FBAR Penalties
A New York federal court correctly upheld tax penalties against a dual French citizen for hiding millions of dollars in six foreign accounts, the U.S. government told the Second Circuit, urging it to reject the woman's claims that American authorities violated the Hague Convention in pursuing her.
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March 28, 2024
IRS Floats Expanding Tax Info Disclosures To Census Bureau
The Internal Revenue Service proposed rules Thursday that would expand what tax return information can be disclosed to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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March 28, 2024
IRS Investigated $9B In Potential COVID Aid Fraud
The criminal investigation arm of the Internal Revenue Service investigated nearly $9 billion in potential fraud cases related to coronavirus relief funds, the agency said Thursday.
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March 28, 2024
Nev. Estate Owes Over $3.8M In FBAR Penalties, Court Rules
The estate of a Nevada entrepreneur must pay over $3.8 million in penalties and interest for willfully failing to report his foreign bank accounts in Belize, the Bahamas and Panama, a federal district court ruled.
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March 27, 2024
Hunter Biden Judge Doubts Tax Charges Politically Motivated
A California federal judge Wednesday appeared unpersuaded by Hunter Biden's claim that the special counsel's decision to file criminal tax charges after a plea deal collapsed was motivated by pressure from Republican lawmakers, remarking that "there really is no evidence to support that contention."
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March 27, 2024
Zaxby's Co-Founder's $43M Easement Fight Headed For Trial
A trial will be needed to determine whether a co-founder of the Zaxby's restaurant chain and his wife are entitled to a $43.3 million tax refund for donations of conservation easements, a Georgia federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the value of the easements remains in dispute.
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March 27, 2024
NY Couple Hid $1.4M In Dividends, Tax Court Says
A New York man who pled guilty to healthcare fraud and his wife are liable for tax deficiencies after failing to report more than $1.4 million in constructive dividends, the U.S. Tax Court said Wednesday.
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March 27, 2024
Treasury Urged To Adjust Shift To Foreign Currency Rules
The U.S. Treasury Department should let corporations take an aggregate approach regarding certain affiliates that conduct business in foreign currencies when transitioning to new rules for determining taxable income or loss, the American Bar Association's Tax Section recommended.
Expert Analysis
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Key Income Tax Issues Triggered By Remote Employees
A host of fact-specific tax determinations arise in connection with remote work arrangements, from defining working-condition fringe benefit exclusions to nexus-dependent state withholding obligations, complicating compliance for corporate tax counsel and human resources professionals, say Thomas Cryan and Spencer Walters at Ivins Phillips.
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An Evaluation Of New Solar Energy Opportunities For REITs
The Inflation Reduction Act's changes to investment tax credit rules will make it possible for real estate investment trusts to own solar facilities and also benefit economically from tax credits, but certain limitations remain, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Cases Show Real-World Laws Likely Apply In Metaverse
Although much has been written about the so-called unprecedented legal issues raised by the metaverse, recent federal cases demonstrate that companies can expect metaverse activities to be policed and enforced much like they would be in the physical world, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Justices Poised To Reject Narrowing Unclaimed Property Law
After U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in the so-called MoneyGram case — a dispute between Delaware and several other states over which has the right to about $300 million in unclaimed property — the court seems ready to rule against Delaware, but nuances of the court's reasoning will have a broader sweep, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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How High Court Could Change FBAR Penalty Landscape
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Bittner v. U.S., a case that will affect many people penalized for failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, and there are important procedural implications should the government's position be reversed, say Reuben Muller and Andreas Apostolides at Cole Schotz.
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IRS Memo May Change IP Royalty Tax Prepayment Planning
A recent Internal Revenue Service advice memorandum finding a taxpayer was not permitted to prepay tax on contingent royalties after contributing intellectual property offshore is a noteworthy departure from earlier guidance that highlights potential differences between actual and deemed licenses, says William Skinner at Fenwick.
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What IRS Funding Increase Means For Taxpayers
The Internal Revenue Service will first use the influx of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to address customer support and personnel issues, but with over half the money allocated to enforcement, corporations and high-net-worth individuals will face increased scrutiny, say Patrick McCann Jr. and Jasen Hanson at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.
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6 Tax Considerations For Life Sciences Collaboration Deals
Given recent IRS guidance and changes to certain tax rates and deductions, biotech and life sciences companies entering into collaboration agreements should assess several unique taxation issues affecting matters ranging from research and development expenditures to profit-sharing terms, say attorneys at Orrick and Andersen Tax.
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Rushed Multilateral Negotiations Caused Two-Pillar Tax Mess
Cracks appearing in the two pillars of the 2021 global tax plan stem from a multilateral tax policy process that rushed to issue rules without first resolving fundamental differences between countries or ensuring that the U.S., a key player, could implement them, says Jefferson VanderWolk at Squire Patton.
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Post-Litigation Refund Strategies To Defeat Class Certification
The Third Circuit's recent revival of the Duncan v. Governor of the Virgin Islands class action shows that defendants should strongly consider tendering refunds to class representatives — even after they file suit — to create a substantial obstacle to certification, say attorneys at Covington.
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Key Considerations For Seeking Relief From Double Taxation
Caroline Setliffe and E. Miller Williams at Eversheds Sutherland lay out the Organization for International Cooperation and Development’s mutual agreement procedure for settling double-taxation disputes, and discuss six factors U.S. taxpayers doing business in multiple countries should consider when determining the most advantageous form of relief.
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High Court Could Resolve Thorny Atty-Client Privilege Issue
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted review in a federal grand jury proceeding that presents a rare opportunity to clarify — and possibly significantly expand — the scope of the attorney-client privilege for complex mixed-purpose communications with counsel, says David Greenwald at Jenner & Block.
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2 Tax Decisions Hold Key Transfer Pricing Takeaways
Richard Slowinski and Stefanie Kavanagh at Alston & Bird discuss two recent decisions in cases against the IRS — Eaton Corp. from the Sixth Circuit and Medtronic from the Tax Court — that may help clarify when the agency can cancel an advance pricing agreement, but leave unanswered questions about which pricing method applies to high-value intercompany licensing transactions.