Federal

  • February 15, 2023

    Judge Says BofA Can't Trim Tax Interest With Merrill Payments

    Bank of America can't reduce interest owed to the IRS by offsetting its tax underpayments with overpayments made by Merrill Lynch that occurred before the two institutions merged because they were separate taxpayers at the time, a North Carolina federal judge ruled.

  • February 15, 2023

    Multiple Applicable Federal Rates To Drop In March

    The short-term applicable federal rate for income tax purposes will increase in March, while other rates will decline, the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.

  • February 15, 2023

    IRS Seeks Comments On Real Estate Investment Trust Return

    The Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday asked for comments on a return that real estate investment trusts file to pay an excise tax.

  • February 15, 2023

    US Plans To Appeal Order Nullifying IRS Benefits Notice

    The U.S. government said it will appeal a Michigan federal court decision nullifying an Internal Revenue Service notice requiring companies to disclose potentially abusive employee benefit plans and asked the court to hold off canceling the notice in the meantime.

  • February 15, 2023

    Eversheds Adds Crowell & Moring Tax Trio In DC

    Eversheds Sutherland has expanded its Washington, D.C., tax practice with three former Crowell & Moring LLP partners who have decades of experience navigating tax policies and issues, the firm said in a news release.

  • February 15, 2023

    DC Atty Facing $19M Captive Insurance Suit Files For Ch. 7

    A Washington, D.C., tax attorney accused by a former client of helping lose $19 million in a captive insurance plan filed for personal bankruptcy on Tuesday in Maryland.

  • February 14, 2023

    Dem Senate Bill Aims To Quadruple Taxes On Stock Buybacks

    A pair of Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee, including Chairman Ron Wyden, introduced legislation Tuesday that would quadruple the tax on corporate stock buybacks, a priority for President Joe Biden.

  • February 14, 2023

    IRS Insurance Summons Should Get Green Light, Judge Says

    The IRS should be permitted to proceed with a summons seeking policy documents, marketing materials and other records from a captive insurance company that the agency suspects has promoted tax shelters, a federal magistrate judge recommended.

  • February 14, 2023

    Couple Underreported Pension Payouts, Tax Court Says

    A Washington couple must pay taxes on pension distributions they failed to report as income, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday, rejecting the couple's argument that monthly distributions under $1,900 are not taxable.

  • February 14, 2023

    Tax Court Rejects IRS Reason For Denying $40.6M Deduction

    The U.S. Tax Court rejected a bid by the IRS to uphold its reason for rejecting a partnership's $40.6 million conservation land deduction, saying Tuesday that the land's deed showed the IRS was wrong to argue the partnership was allowed to mine there.

  • February 14, 2023

    GOP Sens. Reintroduce Bill To Restrict IRS Audits

    Senate Finance Committee Republicans are once again seeking to block the Internal Revenue Service from using the Inflation Reduction Act's funding boost for the agency to audit low- and middle-income taxpayers under a bill introduced Tuesday.

  • February 14, 2023

    Australian Software Guidance May Flout Tax Treaty, US Says

    Guidance classifying some payments for computer software in Australia as royalties could lead to tax treaty disputes with the U.S., the U.S. Treasury Department said in a letter made public Tuesday.

  • February 14, 2023

    IRS Improperly Documented Access To Files, TIGTA Says

    The Internal Revenue Service's appeals office may have failed to properly document taxpayers' rights to access appeals case files in more than 35,000 cases in 2021, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report issued Tuesday.

  • February 14, 2023

    Timberland Parent Tells 1st Circ. To Rebuff $1.45B In Income

    The U.S. Tax Court incorrectly upheld the Internal Revenue Service's decision to raise the income of Timberland's parent company by more than $1.45 billion, the company told the First Circuit, arguing that the corporate reorganization it underwent shouldn't have increased taxes.

  • February 14, 2023

    US Urges Court To Keep $283M Liberty Global Tax Suit Alive

    The federal government has the right to sue multinational telecommunications company Liberty Global Inc. outside the administrative process over an alleged $283 million tax debt, the U.S. government told a Colorado federal court, urging it to reject the company's bid to toss the case.

  • February 14, 2023

    DC Circ. Not Convinced To Toss Citizenship Renunciation Fee

    U.S. citizens living abroad failed to convince a D.C. federal court that a fee charged by the U.S. State Department for renouncing citizenship is unlawful, according to an opinion that the group said it will appeal.

  • February 14, 2023

    IRS Check Shouldn't Nullify Crypto Tax Suit, 6th Circ. Told

    A taxpayer advocacy group asked the Sixth Circuit to overturn a decision that a check sent by the Internal Revenue Service to a Tennessee couple rendered their challenge to taxes on cryptocurrency they obtained moot, saying a decision favoring the couple could help low-income taxpayers.

  • February 14, 2023

    Trump Can't Nix $110K Sanction In NY AG Case, Court Says

    A New York state appeals court on Tuesday rejected former President Donald Trump's attempt to undo a $110,000 civil contempt sanction levied against him for failing to properly search for records as part of the state attorney general's financial fraud investigation into the Trump Organization.

  • February 14, 2023

    Treasury Seeks Nominees For Bank Secrecy Advisory Group

    The U.S. Treasury Department said it is seeking nominees for a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network advisory group focused on the anti-money laundering law known as the Bank Secrecy Act.

  • February 13, 2023

    Broadband Grant Tax Exemption Back In House

    Now that Congress is back in session, a bipartisan quartet of senators are reintroducing a bill that would mean grantees wouldn't have to pay federal taxes on any of the billions of dollars in broadband infrastructure spending that the Biden administration is dishing out.

  • February 13, 2023

    Tax Court Rejects Tax On Disability 'Deductions'

    A woman whose bank records show she received disability benefits by direct deposit must report the benefits as income, the U.S. Tax Court said Monday, but amounts the Social Security Administration described in a letter to her as "deductions" should not be taxed.

  • February 13, 2023

    Old Blog Posts Can Be Used As Evidence, Tax Court Says

    A California woman's blog posts were justifiably used by the IRS during her trial challenging her overdue tax bill, the U.S. Tax Court said Monday, rejecting the woman's argument that the posts were inadmissible because they weren't newly discovered evidence.

  • February 13, 2023

    IRS Guidance Outlines Advanced, Low-Income Project Credits

    The Internal Revenue Service released initial guidance Monday on two new programs authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act that will allocate $10 billion in tax credits for advanced energy projects and provide bonus tax credits for solar and wind energy projects in low-income communities.

  • February 13, 2023

    11th Circ. Urged To Affirm Nixing Ala. Fuel Tax On 6 Rail Cos.

    The Eleventh Circuit should uphold a decision that barred Alabama from imposing a fuel tax on six railroad companies because the tax is discriminatory according to precedent, the companies said in a brief.

  • February 13, 2023

    IRS Kicks Off 'Bridge-Plus' Pilot For Real-Time Audit Program

    The Internal Revenue Service announced Monday a new pilot phase of its popular real-time audit program for large companies considered to be a low compliance risk that will grant them access to an agency review of their tax returns.

Expert Analysis

  • Justices' Nod To Preemptive Tax Challenges May Caution IRS

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in CIC Services v. Internal Revenue Service, allowing pre-enforcement challenges of tax reporting rules despite the Anti-Injunction Act, is likely to make the U.S. Department of the Treasury more careful about its own compliance obligations under the Administrative Procedure Act, says Robert Carney at Caplin & Drysdale.

  • Let's End The Offshoring Of US Patents

    Author Photo

    Congress should work toward removing the loophole that allows companies to avoid U.S. taxes by moving their patents offshore, and ensure profits are taxed where the sales take place, says Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

  • How Biden's First 100 Days Will Affect Gov't Contractors

    Author Photo

    Joseph Berger and Thomas Mason at Thompson Hine examine the significant opportunities for government contractors arising from actions during the first 100 days of the Biden administration, which set the stage for unprecedented investment in national infrastructure, domestic manufacturing, research and development, clean energy, pandemic response and economic recovery.

  • Addressing New COBRA Duties Under Virus Relief Law

    Author Photo

    Following the issuance of fully subsidized COBRA premiums for certain workers under the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act, employers should take steps to determine who is eligible, ensure additional notice requirements are satisfied, and train human resources on communicating with qualified individuals, say Randi May and Dustin Grant at Hoguet Newman.

  • Long Road Ahead For Biden's Individual Tax Hike Proposal

    Author Photo

    Dustin Stamper at Grant Thornton provides insight into President Joe Biden's recently proposed individual tax increases to pay for his American Families Plan, and explains how competing interests among congressional Democrats and Republicans may shape the final provisions and prolong their implementation.

  • What Value-Added Tax Might Look Like In The US

    Author Photo

    Christiaan Van Der Valk and Charles Maniace at Sovos consider the value-added tax, a primary source of revenue for many countries, and what it might mean for the U.S. were it implemented to raise funds for large-scale federal initiatives such as President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan.

  • New Markets Credit Will Aid Recovery In Low-Income Areas

    Author Photo

    The recently extended New Markets Tax Credit is a critical tool for economic development in low-income communities, which have been hit especially hard by the pandemic, so public finance attorneys should consider its benefits when advising clients on projects, says Julia Fendler at Butler Snow.

  • The International Outlook For US Border Carbon Adjustments

    Author Photo

    The Biden administration may see enacting a border carbon adjustment system as a good way to advance climate goals and protect domestic industries and jobs, but any such plan must take into account the need to respect existing international trade agreements, say attorneys at Akin Gump.

  • The Domestic Landscape For US Border Carbon Adjustments

    Author Photo

    With the Biden administration possibly eyeing border carbon adjustments on imported goods as a means to mitigate climate change, attorneys at Akin Gump discuss such policies' potential benefits to domestic businesses, and the political and technical challenges to their enactment in the U.S.

  • Prepare For Global Collaboration In Crypto Tax Enforcement

    Author Photo

    Recent Internal Revenue Service victories involving John Doe summonses served on cryptocurrency exchanges — and statements by the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement about global collaboration in cryptocurrency-related tax investigations — should prompt assessment of prior virtual currency transactions and remediation before an enforcement agency shows up at the door, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • 10 Things to Know About US Competent Authority Assistance

    Author Photo

    Taxpayers should consider seeking U.S. competent authority assistance to help eliminate double taxation from a transfer pricing adjustment, especially now that the competent authorities are resolving cases virtually and more quickly, say attorneys at Thompson & Knight.

  • Lessons From Tax Court's Nixing Of Investor's Energy Credits

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Tax Court's recent ruling in Olsen v. Commissioner, the first of 200 cases involving individual taxpayers who invested in a tax shelter involving solar equipment, is a case study in how not to structure an energy tax credit investment, says David Burton at Norton Rose.

  • Partial Repeal Could Resolve Biden's SALT Cap Dilemma

    Author Photo

    Lawmakers' calls to repeal the cap on federal deductions for state and local taxes are controversial because doing so could cost over $600 billion, but a partial repeal could be accomplished on a revenue-neutral basis, providing relief to some, if not most, affected taxpayers, says Joseph Mandarino at Smith Gambrell.

Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Tax Authority Federal archive.