Federal
-
April 13, 2023
House Bill Eyes Payroll Credit For COVID-Affected Restaurants
Certain restaurants could receive a tax credit to offset payroll tax liabilities under a bill introduced Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives.
-
April 13, 2023
Device Maker Owes $3.1M After Running From IRS, Gov't Says
The manufacturer of a purported health device owes $3.1 million in unpaid taxes and hasn't filed a return since 1999, the U.S. government told a Florida federal court in a complaint seeking a judgment against him.
-
April 13, 2023
Trump Deposed In NY AG's $250M Fraud Suit For 2nd Time
Former President Donald Trump answered questions from New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday as she deposed him for a second time in her $250 million fraud case against Trump and his companies, after he previously declined to testify.
-
April 12, 2023
IRS Defends Atty's $8.4M In Tax Shelter Penalties In 9th Circ.
The Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday defended $8.4 million in tax shelter penalties assessed against an attorney who the agency says ran a timeshare scheme, telling the Ninth Circuit that the amount is supported by the more than 6,500 valuations the attorney and three other disqualified appraisers completed.
-
April 12, 2023
Woman's FBAR Penalty Reduced To $40K Following Bittner
A woman's liability for foreign bank account reporting penalties was reduced to $40,000 from roughly $170,000, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Bittner v. U.S. finding the penalties are assessed on a per-form, rather than per-account, basis, according to a judgment from a Texas federal court Wednesday.
-
April 12, 2023
Missed Research Deduction Ruling Obsolete As Of July 31
A revenue ruling that allowed certain taxpayers who didn't deduct research or experiment costs in previous years to seek refunds or to make return amendments will be obsolete as of July 31, the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.
-
April 12, 2023
Tax Court Nixes Okla. Nursing Home Co.'s $875K Deduction
Owners of an Oklahoma nursing home management company who agreed to settle a loan dispute with the federal government for $875,000 cannot deduct the settlement amount for the tax year before the government received the check, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Wednesday.
-
April 12, 2023
US, Global Min. Taxes May Shake Up Deal Planning, Pros Say
Deal makers may initially struggle with how to account for the U.S. corporate alternative minimum tax and incoming global minimum tax designed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in future mergers and acquisitions, tax practitioners said.
-
April 12, 2023
IRS Must Continue Improvements To IT, TIGTA Says
The Internal Revenue Service has improved many information technology program areas, but the process isn't finished, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report released Wednesday.
-
April 12, 2023
Imprisoned Trucking Co. Owner Owes $8.9M In Tax, US Says
A Georgia trucking company founder serving 22 years in prison for bribing military officials in exchange for contracts owes $8.9 million in tax liabilities jointly with his wife, the federal government said Wednesday in seeking to foreclose on five of the couple's properties.
-
April 11, 2023
Primary Insurers Must Pay Tax Advice Claims First, Court Told
Primary insurance companies must be forced to pay the tax law malpractice claims of a reinsurer's client before it is responsible for coverage, the reinsurer told a California federal court.
-
April 11, 2023
Reinsurance Definition In Alt Tax Guidance Sensible, IRS Told
The IRS' definition of what constitutes a covered reinsurance agreement put forth in guidance on the corporate alternative minimum tax should not be significantly altered, the American Council of Life Insurers said in a letter to the agency released Tuesday.
-
April 11, 2023
EY Nixes Plan To Split Auditing, Consulting Units
EY has called off a plan to split its auditing and consulting arms into two separate businesses after U.S. partners objected to the proposal, the accounting firm confirmed on Tuesday.
-
April 11, 2023
9th Circ. Revives Suit Against Estate For Tax Planning Fees
A tax and estate planner can go ahead with his suit seeking fees he claims he's owed under contracts with a now-deceased client after the Ninth Circuit found that a lower court incorrectly dismissed his case.
-
April 11, 2023
Senate Finance Committee To Discuss 2024 IRS Budget
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing April 19 to discuss President Joe Biden's Internal Revenue Service budget for 2024, the committee said Tuesday.
-
April 11, 2023
Tax Pros Fear Opening 'Pandora's Box' By Altering Easements
The IRS has released guidance on amending or drafting conservation easement deeds to qualify for a safe harbor under a new enforcement law, but practitioners worry that changes to deeds could open a "Pandora's box" of potential agency scrutiny and easement disputes.
-
April 11, 2023
Treasury Urged To Require New Energy For Hydrogen Credit
The U.S. Department of the Treasury must include a mandate to use new clean energy to produce hydrogen in regulations regarding a clean hydrogen generation tax credit to make the credit effective, an environmental advocacy group said in a letter released Tuesday.
-
April 11, 2023
Canada Pension Plan Questions Scope Of US Corp. Min. Tax
The U.S. corporate alternative minimum tax may capture income protected by bilateral tax treaties and could adversely affect foreign government pension funds, Canada's pension plan told U.S. Treasury and IRS officials in a letter published Tuesday.
-
April 11, 2023
Fed. Circ. Revives Whistleblower Case Brought By IRS Agent
The Federal Circuit revived a whistleblower case brought by a man who later became an IRS agent, saying Tuesday the lower court erroneously decided it lacked authority to hear his request for a full reward for helping recover nearly $7 million from tax evaders.
-
April 11, 2023
Tax Prep For The Elderly Grant Applications Available May 1
The 2024 grant applications for a tax assistance program for the elderly will be available starting May 1, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday.
-
April 11, 2023
IRS Wrongly Given Extra Time To Collect Tax, Justices Told
The U.S. Supreme Court should upend a Third Circuit decision denying a Pennsylvania taxpayer relief from his $833,000 tax bill, the taxpayer told the high court, saying the lower court erroneously allowed the government extra time to collect from him.
-
April 10, 2023
Transparency Groups Back Treasury In Suit Over AML Law
A group of advocacy organizations that support the U.S. Corporate Transparency Act pushed back on a lawsuit challenging the anti-money laundering law, telling an Alabama federal judge in a proposed amicus brief that the law is a critical tool for fighting illicit finance.
-
April 10, 2023
2nd Circ. Backs Disgorgement For Tax-Dodging Broker
The Second Circuit has declined to reverse a lower court's decision tossing a bid for relief from a disgorgement order from a former broker convicted of running an investment scheme that raised $126 million under false pretenses.
-
April 10, 2023
Calif. Tax Preparer Cops To $3.8M Fake Tax Return Scheme
A tax preparer admitted Monday in California federal court that he took part in fraudulent tax schemes including an identity theft scam by a social worker that caused nearly $3.8 million in losses to the U.S. government, according to the Department of Justice.
-
April 10, 2023
US Asks To Dismiss Peruvians' Case Against IRS Summonses
Three Peruvian siblings' case to keep the Internal Revenue Service from accessing their bank records on behalf of the Peruvian government should be dismissed, the U.S. government told a Florida federal court in a response to allegations it acted overbroadly.
Expert Analysis
-
Raising Capital For Real Estate Deals During The Pandemic
Real estate sponsors looking to invest in the current environment should consider the various advantages and risks of forming a commingled real estate investment fund versus raising capital on a deal-by-deal basis, says Matt Ertman at Allen Matkins.
-
Bankruptcy Ruling Highlights Longer Lookback Trend
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court's recent decision in Zagaroli underscores a trend among bankruptcy courts to allow longer lookback periods in certain types of fraudulent transfer cases, which could be a significant source of estate recovery for creditors, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
-
OECD Delays Are Imperiling Digital Tax Deal
As the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development continues to push back its deadline for a digital tax overhaul, countries are beginning to pursue unilateral solutions and the negotiations are turning political, decreasing the likelihood of an agreement, says Joyce Beebe at Rice University.
-
How 2021 Appropriations Law Changes Employer Benefits
The Consolidated Appropriations Act signed into law in December makes a surprising number of changes to rules for employer-sponsored health and welfare benefits that will likely have a significant impact, especially the provisions concerning flexible spending accounts, say Eric Schillinger and Anne Hall at Hall Benefits Law.
-
How Rebooted Paycheck Protection Program Works: Part 2
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor analyze key provisions of the U.S. Small Business Administration's two new interim final rules regulating first-draw and second-draw loans under the reinstituted Paycheck Protection Program.
-
How Rebooted Paycheck Protection Program Works: Part 1
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor provide an overview of the recently reinstituted Paycheck Protection Program's provisions for new borrowers to receive loans and existing borrowers to receive additional funding, and the U.S. Small Business Administration's startup of the program.
-
How To Reliably Value Income-Producing Real Estate
Amid the pandemic-fueled surge in tax appeals and loan workouts, using the income approach to calculate the present worth of a property's future income provides the most reliable indication of value and does not rely on subjective adjustments, say Mark Dunec at FTI Consulting and Anthony DellaPelle at McKirdy Riskin.
-
What New AML Law Means For Correspondent Banking
In light of the National Defense Authorization Act’s recent overhaul of the Bank Secrecy Act and related anti-money laundering laws, foreign banks maintaining correspondent bank accounts in the U.S. should be aware of law enforcement's expanded authority to access bank records for their transactions, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
-
Addressing The Security Risks Of University Foreign Funding
Higher education institutions that accept foreign funding should address serious concomitant security risks by identifying specific sources and establishing compliance procedures that promote transparency, protect data and research, and account for U.S. national security interests, say attorneys at Manatt.
-
Tips For Forming A Real Estate Fund
Multi-asset real estate funds may provide investors with opportunities to deploy capital during the pandemic-induced market downturn, but several structural questions should be considered before raising a fund, say Matt Ertman and Max Brunner at Allen Matkins.
-
2 Cases Highlight Superpriority Lien Risks For Lenders
Two recent decisions from a New York state court and a Nevada federal court reaffirm the importance of lenders paying off superpriority liens, which may extinguish their mortgages or deeds of trust if not swiftly addressed, say Michael O'Donnell and Michael Crowley at Riker Danzig.
-
4 Steps For Public Cos. Subject To New Executive Pay Rules
To comply with recently finalized Internal Revenue Service regulations implementing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's $1 million cap on compensation deductions, employee benefit and tax executives at public companies should understand who their covered employees are and identify compensation agreements subject to the rules, say Samuel Krause and Teresa Abney at Crowell & Moring.
-
IRS Continuity Safe Harbor Will Aid Renewable Projects
Recent Internal Revenue Service guidance expanding the continuity safe harbor to protect tax credit eligibility for qualified offshore and federal land renewable energy projects will provide certainty for developers who often face significant construction and permitting delays, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.