Federal
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May 13, 2025
House Panel Clears $3.8T Extension of 2017 Tax Overhaul Law
The House Ways and Means Committee voted along party lines early Wednesday to approve a $3.8 trillion tax bill that would make permanent many of the tax cuts for businesses and individuals enacted in President Donald Trump's first term.
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May 13, 2025
Trade Court Panel Looks Askance At Trump Tariff Justification
A U.S. Court of International Trade panel expressed skepticism Tuesday that the emergency law President Donald Trump is using to impose global tariffs left the determination of an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to be a political rather than legal question.
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May 13, 2025
Energy Co. Schemed On Tribal Tax Credits, Dem Senators Say
Senate Finance Committee Democrats asked an energy company's chairman Tuesday to address what they allege is evidence of a scheme involving members of President Donald Trump's new administration, including the nominee for IRS commissioner, to validate tribal tax credits the agency says are nonexistent.
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May 13, 2025
8th Circ. Urged To Enforce IRS Pricing Method On Medtronic
The U.S. Tax Court erred by tossing the IRS' suggested method to price royalties for intangible property licensed by medical device maker Medtronic to a Puerto Rican affiliate because its products differed from those of comparable uncontrolled companies, a government attorney told the Eighth Circuit on Tuesday.
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May 13, 2025
Feds Want 2½ Years For Ex-Alvarez & Marsal CPA In Tax Case
A onetime managing director at consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal should spend two-and-a-half years in prison as punishment for failing to file his personal taxes and lying on a mortgage application, prosecutors told a D.C. federal judge.
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May 13, 2025
Exxon Asks To Add 2 Chemicals To Taxable Substances List
The Internal Revenue Service asked for comments Tuesday on proposals by Exxon Mobil to add two chemicals to the agency's list of taxable substances.
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May 13, 2025
Cahill Gordon Recruits Fried Frank Digital Assets Co-Leader
Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP has added the former co-head of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP's digital assets and blockchain practice as a partner in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Tuesday.
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May 12, 2025
Feds Say Tribal Tariff Dispute Must Stay In US Trade Court
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is fighting Montana tribal members' attempt to stop the transfer of their lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's Canada tariff orders from federal court to the U.S. Court of International Trade, saying the CIT has exclusive jurisdiction over the case.
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May 12, 2025
DC Judge Declines To Block IRS From Sharing Info With ICE
A D.C. federal judge rejected Monday a trio of immigration advocacy groups' request to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing with immigration enforcement agencies the names and addresses of people suspected of being in the country illegally.
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May 12, 2025
Tax Court Calls Tax Lawyer's Arguments Against IRS Frivolous
The U.S. Tax Court found Monday that a tax lawyer who was admitted to practice before the court had advanced four frivolous arguments contesting the authority of the IRS, upholding over $1 million in deficiencies and other additions to tax.
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May 12, 2025
Ex-Senators, Judges Support Business In Trump Tariff Fight
A stationery company challenging President Donald Trump's global tariffs has received support from former U.S. senators and retired federal judges who told a Florida federal court that the power to impose trade measures remains squarely with Congress.
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May 12, 2025
Man Who Moved Failed To Fight Tax Bill On Time, Court Says
A man who didn't immediately notify the IRS that he moved missed his chance to dispute a tax bill the agency sent to his former home, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday, saying he failed to show he should've been given extra time to bring his case.
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May 12, 2025
Tax Interest Rates Will Remain Steady For July
The Internal Revenue Service's interest rates for overpayments and underpayments of tax will remain the same in the quarter starting in July, the agency said Thursday.
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May 12, 2025
Eaton Allowed To Shield Some Worker Reviews From IRS
Eaton Corp. may withhold performance evaluations for three foreign employees from the IRS' investigation of Eaton's sale of intellectual property to an Irish affiliate, an Ohio federal judge decided Monday, saying the records are not important enough to the tax investigation to justify violating European privacy law.
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May 12, 2025
Tax Court Affirms Mortgage Co.'s $7M Income For Deduction
A mortgage company can deduct nearly $7 million in corporate income for 2014, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday, affirming adjustments made to correct accounting errors tied to its warehouse-lending business.
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May 12, 2025
US, China Agree To Temporarily Cut Soaring Tariffs
The U.S. will cut tariffs on most Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days while China will reduce tariffs on most U.S. goods to 10%, the countries announced Monday after the two governments agreed to relax soaring tariffs.
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May 12, 2025
Gunster Tax Ace Jumps To Spencer Fane In Tampa
Spencer Fane LLP announced Monday that it has bolstered its tax, trusts and estates practice group in Tampa with the addition of a former Gunster shareholder.
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May 12, 2025
GOP Floats $30,000 SALT Cap, Renewed R&D Credit
House Ways and Means Republicans proposed a $30,000 state and local tax deduction cap and a renewed research and development credit in updated legislation to extend their 2017 tax overhaul law, which the committee plans to consider Tuesday.
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May 12, 2025
IRS Paid $21B In Improper Tax Credits, TIGTA Says
The Internal Revenue Service made $21.4 billion in improper refundable tax credit payments last year and again failed to meet lawmakers' goal to reduce its rate of incorrect payments to 10%, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Monday.
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May 12, 2025
Biz Groups Back Bill To Expand FDII Tax Benefits
A coalition of business lobbying groups has thrown its weight behind proposed legislation that would expand tax breaks for domestically held intellectual property, saying the changes would build on the goals of the 2017 federal tax overhaul.
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May 12, 2025
Jury Clears Biz Owner's Wife Of $2M Payroll Tax Debt
The wife of a man found liable for construction company employment taxes is off the hook for $2 million in liabilities, a New York federal jury found, saying she was not responsible for collecting the taxes and paying them over to the federal government.
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May 12, 2025
Exxon Wants Chemicals Added To Taxable Substances List
The Internal Revenue Service is seeking comments on proposals to add nine chemicals to its list of taxable substances, eight of which were put forward by Exxon Mobil, the agency said Monday.
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May 09, 2025
'Proud' Judge Says No Prison For $1.3B Tax Fraud Witnesses
A Georgia federal judge handed down a pair of what he called "stunningly lenient" no-prison sentences Friday to two brothers who served as key cooperating witnesses in a first-of-its-kind federal case against a sprawling, $1.3 billion tax fraud scheme.
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May 09, 2025
PL 86-272 Expansion May Face Rocky Path Through Congress
The fate of an element of a House budget reconciliation bill that would broaden state income tax protections for businesses may rest with the Senate parliamentarian's view on whether the provision passes muster under reconciliation rules.
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May 09, 2025
Tariffs And Tax Breaks Offer Risky Lifeline To US Film Industry
President Donald Trump's call for a 100% tariff on films made outside the U.S. has potential to improve a struggling domestic industry if it is considered in conjunction with new federal tax incentives to restore production, but the idea hasn't yet gathered support in Congress, according to lawyers who spoke to Law360.
Expert Analysis
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How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms
Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital
Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
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How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition
Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.
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Tariffs And FCA Create Perfect Storm For Importers
The Trump administration's aggressive tariff policies pose a high risk to certain importation practices that are particularly likely to trigger False Claims Act enforcement, say attorneys at Jeffer Mangels.
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US Reassessment Of OECD Tax Deal Is Right Move
The wholesale U.S. reevaluation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's global tax deal ordered by President Donald Trump is a positive step that could ultimately create a more durable international tax system, says Anne Gordon at the National Foreign Trade Council.
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Measuring And Mitigating Harm From Discriminatory Taxes
In response to new tariffs and other recent "America First Trade Policy" pronouncements, corporations should assess and take steps to minimize their potential exposure to discriminatory and reciprocal tax measures that are likely to come, say economists at Charles River Associates.
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Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw
The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.
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How The CRE Industry Is Adapting To Tariff Uncertainty
Amid uncertainty about pending tariffs and their potential ripple effects, including higher material costs, supply chain delays and tighter margins, commercial real estate industry players are focusing on strategic planning and risk mitigation, says Daniel Diaz Leyva at Day Pitney.
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Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield
Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.
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Trade Policy Shifts Raise Hurdles For Gov't And Cos. Alike
The persistent tension between the Trump administration's fast-moving and aggressive trade policies and the compliance-heavy nature of the trade industry creates implementation challenges for both the business community and the government, says Sara Schoenfeld at Kamerman.
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Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind
As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.
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How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence
As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.
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Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw
Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.