Federal

Expert Analysis

• Expected Retirement Law Changes May Spark ERISA Suits

  

  As Congress is poised to pass bipartisan retirement legislation that could bring collective investment trusts and 403(b) plans together and may form a new wave of litigation under the Employee Retirement Security Act, it is helpful to review the important roles that they have played in prior waves of ERISA excessive fee cases, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• A Close Look At The Decentralized Effort To Tax Digital Assets

  

  Clarity on taxation is one of the biggest hurdles to mass adoption of cryptocurrency, and although digital asset innovation has consistently outpaced worldwide government regulation, recent efforts in the U.S. and elsewhere hint at an emerging standard, says Joshua Smeltzer at Gray Reed.

• Lessons From The SEC's Largest-Ever Audit Firm Penalty

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent $100 million settlement over professional test cheating with Ernst & Young — the largest ever in an audit firm case — points to important ramifications for any entity responding to an SEC inquiry, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Navigating The IRS Pre-Audit Retirement Plan Pilot Program

  

  The Internal Revenue Service launched a Pre-Examination Compliance Pilot program for retirement plans last month that gives sponsors and administrators 90 days to self-correct errors and avoid audits, and while several details are unclear, there are important steps to take at this time, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

• Key Takeaways From IRS Reversal On FDII Stance

  

  The Internal Revenue Service's recent memo regarding allocation of deferred compensation expenses for purposes of foreign-derived intangible income is a departure from the agency's previous position and may have implications beyond the context of deferred compensation, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

• How To Address Research Expenditures Amid Uncertainty

  Taxpayers need to prepare for the significant technical and compliance challenges of following Internal Revenue Code Section 174's new rules for experimentation expenditure capitalization and amortization, notwithstanding the rules' unresolved legislative future, say tax advisers at Grant Thornton.

• LeClairRyan Bankruptcy Highlights Pass-Through Tax Issue

  

  A Virginia bankruptcy court's recent ruling in the case of defunct law firm LeClairRyan shows there may be serious tax consequences for pass-through entity partners who give up their ownership interest without following operating agreement exit provisions and updating bankruptcy court filings, say Edward Schnitzer and Hannah Travaglini at Montgomery McCracken.

• Tax, Social Services And The Need For An IRS Overhaul

  

  Revamping the Internal Revenue Service should start with visibly improving taxpayer experiences to help pave the way for other fundamental changes needed to address the recent drop in audit numbers, personnel losses, burdens of its increasing expansion into social services and other problems, says Rice University fellow Joyce Beebe.

• Key Legal And Regulatory Trends In Oil And Gas Transactions

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Attorneys involved in oil and gas transactions must be aware of important legal and regulatory trends that have emerged recently, including issues surrounding hydraulic fracturing, climate change, pipeline tariffs and a resurgence of regulation under the Biden administration, say Justin Hoffman and Thomas Blackwell at Baker Botts.

• Employer Considerations For Leave Donation Programs

  

  As the battle for talent continues and workers return to the office, companies may consider allowing employees to donate accrued leave time to a shared bank, but employers should first review these programs' complex design issues to comply with state laws and avoid tax consequences, says Rebecca Hudson at Holland & Hart.

• Crypto Cos. Should Prep For More IRS John Doe Summonses

  

  In anticipation of new reporting requirements that will go into effect in 2024, cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians should inform themselves on the John Doe summons, a unique mechanism that allows the IRS to obtain expansive information about cryptocurrency transactions, say Shivani Poddar and Andrew Heighington at Herrick Feinstein.

• Employer Travel Benefits Options For Abortion Care Post-Roe

  

  Given the likelihood that Roe v. Wade will be overturned, and with the proliferation of state legislation restricting abortion access, employers may want to consider the legal implications of several options to expand travel reimbursement benefits for employees who seek abortion services, say Danita Merlau and Ben Conley at Seyfarth.

• Global Tax Chiefs Should Look To US Whistleblower Programs

  

  As the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement develops its international whistleblower program to address tax evasion and money laundering schemes in new areas like cryptocurrency, it should take lessons from highly successful U.S. programs on which features to include and pitfalls to avoid, say Neil Getnick and Nico Gurian at Getnick & Getnick.