Federal

  • April 17, 2023

    IRS Spending Plan Will Boost Compliance, Official Says

    The Internal Revenue Service's recently released blueprint for how it will spend the nearly $80 billion funding increase provided by Congress will boost voluntary compliance in part by helping taxpayers ensure they're correctly filing their returns, a senior U.S. Department of the Treasury official said Monday.

  • April 17, 2023

    Couple Can't Claim Minimum Tax Credits, Tax Court Says

    A now-separated couple can't claim credits for alternative minimum taxes for prior years, the U.S. Tax Court said Monday, finding they didn't prove that they paid minimum taxes that are available to carry forward.

  • April 17, 2023

    IRS Collected $17.9B From Abroad In 2022

    The Internal Revenue Service collected $17.9 billion in federal taxes from international taxpayers with U.S. liabilities in 2022, according to agency statistical data.

  • April 17, 2023

    GM, Ford, Stellantis, Tesla EVs Eligible For New Tax Credits

    Seventeen electric vehicles from U.S. automakers General Motors, Ford, Stellantis and Tesla would qualify for retooled federal tax incentives starting Tuesday under strict domestic sourcing and vehicle assembly regulations recently proposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

  • April 17, 2023

    Trial In Consultant's $1.2M FBAR Case Slated For Late 2024

    A Florida federal judge on Monday scheduled a trial beginning in late 2024 in a case from the federal government alleging a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen and consultant owes $1.2 million in foreign bank account reporting penalties.

  • April 17, 2023

    IRS Officer Right To Uphold Md. Couple's Debt, Tax Court Says

    An Internal Revenue Service officer did not abuse her discretion when she sought to collect a $30,000 tax debt from a Maryland couple who ignored her proposed monthly payment plans, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday.

  • April 17, 2023

    EY US To Cut 3K Jobs After Canceling Spinoff Plan

    Ernst & Young's U.S. arm said on Monday that it would cut around 3,000 employees, who represent less than 5% of the company's total workforce in the country.

  • April 17, 2023

    Applicable Federal Rates To Decrease In May

    Multiple applicable federal rates for income tax purposes will decrease in May, the Internal Revenue Service said Monday.

  • April 17, 2023

    Tax Hikes Off Table In Debt Limit Fight, McCarthy Says

    Tax hikes won't be included in Republicans' proposal to raise the federal debt limit, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday during a speech at the New York Stock Exchange.

  • April 14, 2023

    The Tax Angle: Congress To Return, Budget Woes Predicted

    From a look at tax policy hearings awaiting lawmakers to the Congressional Budget Office's dire warnings about the budget deficit despite rising corporate tax revenue, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few of the week's developing tax stories.

  • April 14, 2023

    Groups Can Brief Court On Suit Over Corp. Transparency Act

    An Alabama federal court will permit three advocacy organizations to file an amicus brief against a challenge to the U.S. Corporate Transparency Act, according to court documents.

  • April 14, 2023

    Audit Rates Decline For Corps., Partnerships, IRS Data Shows

    Audit rates for corporations and partnerships dropped between the 2012 and 2018 tax years, according to statistical data released Friday by the Internal Revenue Service.

  • April 14, 2023

    IRS Provides Safe Harbor For Natural Gas Upkeep Capitalizing

    Companies can use a safe harbor to determine whether costs related to maintaining or improving natural gas transmission or distribution property should be capitalized or deducted as an ordinary business expense, the Internal Revenue Service said Friday.

  • April 14, 2023

    Insurance Co. Can't Deduct Future Retiree Benefits, IRS Says

    An insurance company can't claim unpaid loss adjustment expense deductions for future retirement benefits, the Internal Revenue Service said in a technical advice memorandum released Friday.

  • April 14, 2023

    McGinnis Lochridge Adds Ex-Nexsen Pruet Agribusiness Atty

    McGinnis Lochridge added a former special counsel from Nexsen Pruet LLC who focuses on the agribusiness sector to its corporate and tax practice group, the firm announced.

  • April 14, 2023

    Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin

    The Internal Revenue Service released its weekly bulletin Friday, which included a revenue ruling that the assets of an irrevocable grantor trust don't get a basis adjustment at the trust owner's death if those assets weren't part of the owner's estate for tax purposes.

  • April 14, 2023

    Insufficient Funding Could Undermine IRS Spending Plan

    The IRS recently released an ambitious blueprint for how it wants to spend its $80 billion funding increase, but included in the plan was an admission that current funding will likely be insufficient to carry out some of its goals.

  • April 14, 2023

    IRS Makes Corrections To Rules For Chips Tax Credit

    The Internal Revenue Service made corrections Friday to a notice that said a new chip factory's human resources, legal, accounting, sales, distribution and noncybersecurity operations will not qualify for the investment tax credit meant to encourage advanced semiconductor technology production.

  • April 14, 2023

    Sterilization Payments Not Reportable Income, IRS Says

    People who receive payments from state programs intended to compensate victims of forced sterilization do not have to report the compensation as income, the Internal Revenue Service clarified Friday.

  • April 13, 2023

    Foreign Tax Credit Questions Linger Under Extended Timeline

    U.S. companies have some breathing room now that the IRS has given extra time to amend documents needed to qualify for certain foreign tax credits under proposed rules, but questions remain about how to clear logistical hurdles under the guidance.

  • April 13, 2023

    Think Tanks, 9 States Urge Justices To Hear Ohio's ARPA Case

    Nine states and two limited-government advocacy groups pressed the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to hear Ohio's challenge to the American Rescue Plan Act's prohibition against using pandemic aid to offset tax cuts, pointing out that lower courts have issued conflicting rulings on the matter.

  • April 13, 2023

    Wealth Tax Would Easily Fund Child Tax Credit, Oxfam Says

    A proposal by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., for a wealth tax would raise $582.6 billion annually, including more than enough from billionaires alone to pay for the abandoned expansion of the child tax credit, Oxfam said in a report Thursday.

  • April 13, 2023

    Tax Atty Group Urges Justices To Review NC Sales Tax Ruling

    Leaving in place the North Carolina Supreme Court decision allowing the state's application of sales tax on a Wisconsin-based printing company imposes confusion and uncertainty and the U.S. Supreme Court should review it, a group of top tax lawyers said Thursday.

  • April 13, 2023

    8th Circ. Affirms Man's Convictions In $11M Tax Fraud Scheme

    The Eighth Circuit affirmed a man's convictions for failing to file a tax return, money laundering and other crimes Thursday in connection with his fleecing of more than $10.9 million from the IRS, and it ordered a lower court to consider the U.S. government's bid for prosecution costs.

  • April 13, 2023

    US House Bill Seeks To Repeal SALT Deduction Cap

    The federal cap on state and local tax deductions would be repealed under a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Expert Analysis

  • IRS Should Level The Field For R&D Tax Credits

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    A recent increase in denials of research and development tax credits to small businesses in the architectural, engineering and construction community shows the Internal Revenue Service should issue new guidance to ensure a fair playing field and an opportunity to continue innovating in the U.S., says Julio Gonzalez at Engineered Tax Services.

  • IRS Should Revise Private Debt Collection Methodology

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    To fulfill the congressional intent underlying the Taxpayer First Act, which aims to protect delinquent taxpayers from entering into payment plans they cannot afford, the Internal Revenue Service should use both last-return-filed and third-party income information in its methodology for identifying low-income taxpayers, says National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins.

  • Applying OECD Guidance On COVID-19 Transfer Pricing

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    In light of the recently released Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's guidance on the transfer pricing implications of the pandemic, taxpayers should be prepared to explain and defend their transfer pricing decisions for fiscal year 2020 for contemporaneous documentation and in future tax audits, say Susan Fickling and TJ Michaelson at Duff & Phelps.

  • A Tough Road Ahead for Democrats' Ambitious Policy Agenda

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    While Democrats in Congress are well on their way to enacting an initial COVID-19 relief bill, they will face challenges when pivoting to President Joe Biden's Build Back Better goals for job creation and economic revitalization, say Russell Sullivan and Radha Mohan at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Coca-Cola Tax Ruling Offers 5 Lessons For Multinationals

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    The U.S. Tax Court's decision that Coca-Cola owes more than $3.3 billion in taxes is instructive on important transfer pricing concepts, including those regarding intercompany agreements, the arm's-length standard and tax certainty, says ​​​​​​​Justin Radziewicz at Duff & Phelps.

  • Small Biz Should Self-Advocate For Tax Relief Under Biden

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    Small and medium-sized businesses have significant potential for achieving regulatory relief from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and other federal agencies during the Biden administration, but to do so they must define their priorities, leverage two federal statutes that require the Treasury to protect them and make their voices heard through communal e-advocacy, says Monte Silver at Silver & Co.

  • SD Ruling Threatens Marijuana Legalization Momentum

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    A South Dakota state court decision in Thom v. Barnett, invalidating a state constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana, serves as a reminder that legalization efforts at any level could meet some resistance, says David Standa at Locke Lord.

  • Opportunity Zone Pandemic Relief Is Welcome, But Limited

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    The Internal Revenue Service's new notice relaxing deadlines and requirements for opportunity zone investors during the pandemic is helpful, but misses an opportunity to clarify important safe harbors, says Jessica Millett at Duval & Stachenfeld.

  • Driving Forces Shaping The Life Settlements Market

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    The life settlements market is evolving as a result of several recent legislative developments and cases concerning stranger-originated life insurance, and will likely see continued growth this year, say Brian Casey and Thomas Sherman at Locke Lord.

  • Key Trade Secret Developments Of 2020: Part 2

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    Last year, federal courts issued several important rulings on trade secret issues that will affect litigation practice, including the importance of narrow, well-supported sealing requests, whether refining trade secret identification after discovery is permissible, and when punitive damages comport with due process, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • A Road Map For US Involvement In Europe's Cum-Ex Probe

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    The dividend arbitrage trading strategy known as cum-ex continues to face regulatory scrutiny in Europe, and stateside regulators may soon follow suit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent American depositary receipt probe as a guide for enforcement, says Joshua Ray at Rahman Ravelli.

  • What Energy Sector Should Expect From Biden's Tax Policies

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    The energy sector may find new investment opportunities or the need to adjust holdings, depending on whether company goals align with the Biden administration's potential rollback of Trump-era tax reforms, and push for clean energy, reduced carbon emissions and increased domestic manufacturing, says Gregory Matlock at Mayer Brown.

  • Congress Should Make TCJA Income Definition Permanent

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    Congress should not allow the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's definition of adjusted taxable income, which includes depreciation and amortization, to expire in 2022 because it would discourage debt-free investment, running counter to the law's intent, says George Callas at Steptoe & Johnson.

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