Federal

Expert Analysis

• Corporate Reporting Considerations As Tax Meets ESG

  

  With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing season upon us amid increasing pressure for greater transparency around effective tax rates and tax strategies, multinational companies must decide how they will approach voluntary tax reporting and prepare their responses if they want to control the narrative, say Michael Lebovitz and Jenny Austin at Mayer Brown.

• How To Navigate Equity Rollovers In A Tight M&A Market

  

  As heavy competition for acquisition targets allows buyers to be more flexible in fulfilling their desire for management to roll equity and invest with them, businesses should be mindful that equity rollover transactions, which take many forms, also require thorough review as part of the overall transaction assessment, says Joshua Klein at Neal Gerber.

• 11th Circ. Ruling Moves Circuits Closer To Tax Procedure Split

  

  The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in the conservation easement case Hewitt v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, holding a long-standing tax regulation procedurally flawed under the Administrative Procedure Act, is unusual and may presage a circuit split over the APA's applicability in tax cases, say Maria Jones and Samuel Lapin at Miller & Chevalier.

• How Justices May Interpret Statutory Time Bar In Tax Context

  

  In Boechler PC v. Commissioner, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on whether a tax court filing deadline acts as a jurisdictional limitation, and whether to broaden a jurisprudential trend that requires Congress to clearly state its intent if statutory time periods are to limit jurisdiction, say Saul Mezei and Terrell Ussing at Gibson Dunn.

• Money Laundering Regs Too Unwieldy To Police Art Market

  

  As the arts and antiquities trade awaits the U.S. Department of the Treasury's new money laundering regulations — which apply the Bank Secrecy Act to the arts for the first time — whether they are reasonable, optimal or practical remains in question, says Alexandra Darraby at The Art Law Firm.

• Why US Businesses May Stop Accepting Cryptocurrency

  

  New reporting requirements from the IRS and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network could be game changers that dramatically curtail U.S. businesses that accept cryptocurrency, says cybersecurity consultant John Reed Stark.

• The Highs And Lows Of Tax Controversy In 2021

  

  Lawrence Hill at Steptoe & Johnson reviews the ups and downs of tax controversy practice in 2021, including the continued effects of the pandemic, troubling decisions on attorney-client privilege and an IRS comeback on transfer pricing.

• A Look At Tax Treatment Of Noncompetes In M&A: Part 2

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Covenants that restrict a seller of business assets from competing against the purchasing party can be prone to challenges because the allocation of value to intangible assets is a subjective exercise with significant tax implications that may affect the merits of the deal, says Peter Miller at LexisNexis.

• A Look At Tax Treatment Of Noncompetes In M&A: Part 1

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  In negotiating to consummate a deal, parties must pay attention to the tax consequences of covenants that restrict a seller of business assets from competing against the purchasing party, says Peter Miller at LexisNexis.

• How Budget Bill Could Affect Employer Health, Benefit Plans

  

  Following the House's recent passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion spending bill — the Build Back Better Act — employers should carefully consider several of the proposal’s health care and benefits provisions, which could pose immediate compliance challenges if the act is signed into law this year, say Anne Hall and Tim Kennedy at Hall Benefits Law.

• 3 Forces That Will Define Sales Tax Compliance In 2022

  

  As we head into 2022, it's likely that many of the legal and cultural shifts we saw this year — such as increased adoption of economic nexus and marketplace facilitator laws, growth in state budgets and continuation of remote work — will define sales tax compliance in the new year, says Liz Armbruester at Avalara.

• When And How To Depose Fact Witnesses Remotely In 2022

  

  Tim Tryniecki and Thomas Mudd at MG+M offer a series of practice tips for successfully conducting remote depositions of often-inexperienced fact witnesses, as the virtual court proceedings sparked by COVID-19 look set to become a part of the legal landscape next year.

• EU, US Carbon Import Tax Proposals: What Cos. Must Know

  

  With the European Union working on a carbon border adjustment mechanism, and congressional Democrats formulating their own carbon import tax plans, U.S. businesses — especially those in emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industry sectors — could face adverse trade effects, supply chain problems and increased transactional costs, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.