Federal
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April 18, 2024
Atty In Tax Fraud Must Pay Full $2.5M Per Plea Deal, Feds Say
A former Houston attorney set to be sentenced Friday for his role in an $18 million offshore tax scheme is trying to limit the government's ability to collect $2.5 million in restitution he promised to pay in a plea agreement last year, prosecutors told a Texas federal court Thursday.
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April 18, 2024
IRS Seeks Advisory Council Noms, Creates Fairness Panel
The Internal Revenue Service is seeking nominations for the council that advises the agency's commissioner, the IRS said Thursday, while the council is also launching a new subcommittee on fairness in tax administration.
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April 18, 2024
Transfer Pricing And Dancing: Recalling KPMG's Sean Foley
Sean Foley, who died suddenly in September, was a devoted husband, father, brother and friend and a brilliant colleague. He was one of the world's top experts in an area of international tax known as transfer pricing, where he became the global leader of KPMG's practice.
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April 18, 2024
IRS Adds 2nd Public Hearing Day On Donor-Advised Regs
The Internal Revenue Service has added a second, telephone-only public hearing in May on proposed regulations on excise taxes on certain taxable distributions made from donor-advised funds, the agency announced Thursday.
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April 17, 2024
'I Am Mad': Client Regrets Trusting Atty Accused Of Tax Fraud
Emotions ran high Wednesday in a North Carolina federal courtroom as former clients unwittingly roped into an alleged tax fraud scheme took the stand, one of whom was openly exasperated at learning he'd been misled by the two attorneys and an insurance agent who are on trial.
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April 17, 2024
Damages Still Possible In Lease Tax Reimbursement Row
A Court of Federal Claims judge has ruled that the General Services Administration could unilaterally adjust the real estate tax reimbursement methodology under a lease for the Defense Health Agency's headquarters building, but the building owner may still be owed damages.
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April 17, 2024
EV Tax Credit Restrictions, Trade Bills Advance In House
The House Ways and Means Committee advanced several trade bills Wednesday that would impose more restrictions for new electric vehicles to qualify for a federal tax credit, assert congressional authority in agreements with foreign governments, and renew the country's largest and oldest trade preferences program.
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April 17, 2024
$22B In Earned Income Tax Credits Wrongly Handed Out
The U.S. Treasury Department improperly allowed an estimated $22 billion in earned income tax credits during fiscal year 2023, according to a report made public Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office.
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April 17, 2024
EmblemHealth Pushes IRS To Hand Over $6.7M Tax Refund
Not-for-profit insurance company EmblemHealth asked a New York federal court Wednesday to grant it a nearly $6.7 million tax refund, saying the Internal Revenue Service left a voicemail accepting its refund claim in February but still hasn't delivered the money.
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April 17, 2024
Utility Energy Subsidies Not Eligible For Credits, IRS Says
A taxpayer may not claim certain clean energy credits for the amount of a subsidy provided by a public utility for the purchase or installation of energy conservation measures, the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.
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April 17, 2024
Tax Court Rejects NJ Lawyer's Protest Of IRS Collection
The Internal Revenue Service didn't abuse its discretion when it denied a New Jersey lawyer's request for collection alternatives, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Wednesday.
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April 17, 2024
9th Circ. Tosses $3.9M Tax Foreclosure Appeal As Premature
The Ninth Circuit dismissed a man's challenge to a court order that he believed allowed the government to foreclose on his property to pay his son's tax liabilities of more than $3.9 million, saying Wednesday that the appeal was premature because the order wasn't final.
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April 17, 2024
Judge Delays Trial Over $20M Allegedly Hidden From IRS
A Florida federal judge agreed Wednesday to delay the trial of a Brazilian-American businessman accused of hiding $20 million from the Internal Revenue Service by using Swiss bank accounts, but told the defendant the new deadlines are firm.
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April 17, 2024
Loeb & Loeb Adds 2 Corporate Partners From Morrison Cohen
Loeb & Loeb LLP has announced the latest in a string of corporate hires from Morrison Cohen LLP's ranks, touting two new partners with domestic and international experience with strategic transactions.
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April 17, 2024
4th Circ. Affirms No Shield From IRS For Home In Bankruptcy
A North Carolina man who filed for bankruptcy protection and owes federal tax debt cannot shield the house he owns with his wife from the Internal Revenue Service, which is pursuing the asset as a creditor in the proceedings, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Wednesday.
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April 17, 2024
Financial Planner Gets Prison For Tax Shelter Fraud Scheme
A Cleveland financial planner who colluded with a Florida attorney to promote an illegal tax scheme using fake charitable donations to score deductions for his company's high-income clients was sentenced Tuesday to 20 months in prison for his part in the fraud.
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April 17, 2024
IRS Finds Success Against 'Ghost Employers,' TIGTA Says
The Internal Revenue Service has successfully prosecuted 33 cases against employers who issue W-2 forms to workers but fail to remit payroll taxes, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Wednesday.
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April 16, 2024
Corp. Transparency Act A Valid Use Of Powers, 11th Circ. Told
The U.S. Department of Treasury told the Eleventh Circuit that a federal district court erred in finding the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, saying the lower court misunderstood the law's scope and relation to efforts to curb financial crime.
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April 16, 2024
Nothing 'Sinister' About Attys, Broker's Tax Plan, NC Jury Told
Two St. Louis attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent on Tuesday tried to poke holes in an undercover IRS agent's investigation of what the government has characterized as a criminal tax avoidance scheme, which defense counsel sought to paint for the jury as a legal interpretation of federal tax law.
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April 16, 2024
Biden Pushes For Permanent Premium Tax Credit Expansion
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that should he be reelected one of his first actions would be to seek to make permanent the expansions that were made to the health insurance premium tax credit to increase eligibility and lower premiums.
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April 16, 2024
Ex-Mich. Speaker, Wife Charged With Embezzlement
Former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield was charged Tuesday with criminally misusing money from his nonprofit to pay for family trips and designer clothing while in office, as the state attorney general called on lawmakers to beef up Michigan's "worthless" campaign finance laws.
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April 16, 2024
Veteran's Signature On IRS Doc Not Forged, Tax Court Finds
U.S. Air Force veteran and his wife failed to convince the U.S. Tax Court on Tuesday that their signatures were forged on an agreement to pay federal income taxes while working in Australia for defense contractor Raytheon.
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April 16, 2024
GOP Senators Call IRS' E-File Program Too Costly
Senate Republicans continued to criticize the Internal Revenue Service's free tax filing pilot program during a Finance Committee hearing Tuesday, saying the program has not followed best practices and will be costly to implement long term.
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April 16, 2024
IRS Publishes 2024 Average Residence Purchase Price Data
The Internal Revenue Service published data Tuesday on the average purchase price for U.S. residences in different areas, which is used to determine whether bond interest can be excluded from gross income.
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April 16, 2024
IRS Extends Excise Tax Relief For Min. Plan Distribution
Plans that fail to make certain required minimum distributions in 2024 will not be assessed an excise tax under changes made to retirement plan legislation, the Internal Revenue Service said in guidance released Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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Unpacking The Shift In DOJ Corporate Enforcement Policy
Attorneys at Paul Hastings provide takeaways for companies seeking to mitigate increased enforcement risks from the U.S. Department of Justice's recent corporate prosecution policy changes, including greater focus on individuals, requirements for cooperation credits, evaluations of prior misconduct, expectations for compliance programs and factors for determining whether to impose a monitor.
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What AML Bill Could Mean For Firms, Funds And FinCEN
If passed, an amendment within Congress’ annual defense bill would expand the list of institutions subject to anti-money laundering regulations, from law firms to investment funds, creating potential rulemaking and enforcement challenges for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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How Inflation Reduction Act Will Lift Offshore Wind Projects
The Inflation Reduction Act should promote the development of offshore wind energy in multiple ways — including by improving the planning and permitting process for transmission infrastructure, expanding potential lease areas and making beneficial changes to the tax credits available for renewable energy developers, say attorneys at Day Pitney.
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CORRECTED: New Tax Credits For Renewables Should Offer Investors Relief
The Inflation Reduction Act's changes to tax credits for renewable energy projects should finally liberate tax equity investors from the restraints of the complex and onerous federal anti-abuse regime, says Kay Hobart at Parker Poe. Correction: Because of an editing error, a previous version of this article incorrectly characterized tax enforcement regimes in North Carolina and other states. This error has been corrected.
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Inflation Reduction Act A Boon To Hydrogen, Carbon Capture
The Inflation Reduction Act's tax credits and direct payments, extension of existing renewable electricity subsidies, and other benefits will accelerate hydrogen and carbon capture projects across the U.S. — and will likely draw capital into the country that would otherwise have gone to projects elsewhere, say attorneys at Shearman.
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What The Inflation Reduction Act Has To Do With Crypto
The recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act’s $80 billion supplemental funding allotment for the IRS could have unexpectedly significant implications for the cryptocurrency market, which may find itself the target of ramped-up tax audits and enforcement, says cybersecurity consultant John Reed Stark.
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Unpacking The New Stock Buyback Tax And Its Exceptions
Xenia Garofalo and Kyle Colonna at Eversheds Sutherland discuss provisions of the recently enacted tax on corporate stock repurchases, how its exceptions may be applied and what companies should consider when evaluating the cost of new or existing programs.
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Health Issues To Watch In Inflation Act, Other Policy Initiatives
The newly signed Inflation Reduction Act includes a number of significant drug pricing reforms, and the future holds a wider array of health issues that may be addressed in pending legislation when Congress returns in September, says Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.
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How New Markets Tax Credit Can Help Pandemic Recovery
The New Markets Tax Credit program, designed to spur private investment in low-income, nonmetropolitan and distressed communities, is one potential remedy that can help alleviate the pandemic's negative impact on especially vulnerable areas, says Julia Fendler at Butler Snow.
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Senate Cannabis Bill May Give Some Cos. A Competitive Edge
Though the recently introduced Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is unlikely to pass, it provides a bellwether for federal legalization, with a robust regulatory framework that would offer large food and beverage companies a structural advantage and poise multistate cannabis operators for further growth, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Lessons For Federal Lawmakers As Calif. Alters Cannabis Tax
California recently eliminated a cultivation tax that had for years burdened the state’s licensed cannabis market, providing important lessons for federal lawmakers on cumbersome regulations and unduly high taxes as they debate legalization, says Raza Lawrence at Zuber Lawler.
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Tips On Qualified Small Business Stock Exclusions
While awaiting more Internal Revenue Service guidance on the maze of requirements a taxpayer must satisfy for the qualified small business stock exclusion, there are steps proactive taxpayers can take to ensure their ability to establish their qualifications if they are audited, says Stephen Josey at Kostelanetz & Fink.
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Inside The OECD Transfer Pricing Documentation Guidance
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's recently modified documentation guidelines can assist tax administrations in developing requirements for transfer pricing risk assessments and evaluations, and help multinational entity taxpayers demonstrate satisfaction of the arm's-length principle, says Neil Aragones at Lexis Tax.