Federal

  • April 25, 2024

    Attys, Insurance Agent Found Guilty Of Tax-Avoidance Scheme

    Two St. Louis tax attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent on Thursday were found guilty on all counts of conspiring to defraud the federal government and aiding in the filing of false tax returns for their role in a tax avoidance scheme that prosecutors claim cost the Internal Revenue Service more than $4 million.

  • April 25, 2024

    OECD Consolidates Past Pillar 2 Guidance Into Single Doc

    The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published administrative guidance Thursday that consolidates past publications on the interpretation and application of the international minimum tax agreement known as Pillar Two, which countries began implementing this year.

  • April 25, 2024

    Valero Seeks $75M In Tax Refunds For Fuel Mixtures

    Energy company Valero asked a Texas federal court for $75 million in excise tax refunds, claiming the Internal Revenue Service failed to recognize that its production of specific fuels such as butane blends and biomass derivatives qualified for the alternative fuel mixture credit.

  • April 25, 2024

    Treasury Finalizes Rules On Sales Of Green Energy Credits

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury released final rules Thursday to facilitate the sale or transfer of clean energy tax credits by project owners under a new way to monetize the incentives created by the 2022 landmark climate law.

  • April 24, 2024

    Tax Fraud Case Skewed By Prosecutors' Spin, NC Jury Told

    Prosecutors and defense attorneys in a tax fraud trial against two lawyers and an insurance agent traded final barbs Wednesday in a North Carolina courtroom before sending the jury to deliberate, with the defendants again defending the tax plan at the center of the government's case and accusing prosecutors of making up facts.

  • April 24, 2024

    Crypto Mixer Execs Arrested Over $2B In Illicit Transactions

    New York federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that they have arrested the co-founders of crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet over their operation of a crypto service that authorities say executed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions.

  • April 24, 2024

    House Lawmakers Warn Yellen On Donor Fund Rules

    More than 30 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives told Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that proposed regulations on donor-advised funds could hinder charitable giving, in a letter released Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    GOP Reps Seek IRS Nonprofit Info After China Reports

    House Ways and Means Republicans asked the Internal Revenue Service to provide information about how it monitors tax-exempt organizations for possible violations of their status after reports China may be funding and improperly influencing nonprofits, according to a letter sent Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Mass. Golf Course Manager Gets 13 Months For Tax Fraud

    A Massachusetts golf course manager was sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax charges, following prosecutors' accusations that he manipulated contracts with a home developer to deflate their value.

  • April 24, 2024

    Court Pauses Order To Sell Office Park In $16M Tax Battle

    A New Jersey federal court paused its order allowing the U.S. government to sell a family trust's office park to satisfy a trustee's $16.2 million tax debt Wednesday, giving the family time to appeal a decision approving the sale to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • April 24, 2024

    Fla. Woman Had Run Out Of Fixes, 11th Circ. Rules

    A district court did not err in dismissing the complaint of a Florida woman after she was given multiple opportunities to address barred claims and failed to adequately do so, the Eleventh Circuit said Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Tax Court Backs IRS On Accuracy-Related Penalty

    The Internal Revenue Service complied with supervisory approval requirements when it levied a $99,000 accuracy-related penalty on two Florida men, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Philly Tells Justices To Skip Review Of Tax Credit System

    A Philadelphia resident's claims that the city illegally refused to provide her a tax credit for her state income taxes paid to Delaware doesn't warrant U.S. Supreme Court review because case law on the related constitutional issues is thin, the city argued Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Groups Back Intuit's 5th Circ. Challenge To FTC Over Ads

    Business and conservative groups defended tax software giant Intuit Inc. in its Fifth Circuit constitutional challenge to the Federal Trade Commission's findings that the company engaged in deceptive advertising, saying the agency acts as both prosecutor and jury and that its administrative judges have unchecked power.

  • April 24, 2024

    GOP Reps. Form Work Groups To Address Expiring Tax Law

    Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee announced plans Wednesday to form 10 teams to study key provisions of the 2017 tax overhaul, aiming to set priorities for legislative action next year as the law is set to expire.

  • April 24, 2024

    R&D Cutbacks Spur Small-Biz Push To Renew Tax Breaks

    Small businesses are pushing the U.S. Senate to quickly approve a House-passed bill that would renew a tax break for research and development, saying its expiration along with the demise of other key provisions has caused reduced investment in research and increased tax bills, threatening future operations.

  • April 24, 2024

    New IRS Unit Will Seek Quicker Tax Dispute Resolutions

    The Internal Revenue Service's Independent Office of Appeals has created an alternative dispute resolution unit that will work with the agency's business operating divisions to help taxpayers resolve tax disputes sooner and more effectively, the IRS announced Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Treasury Limits Reach Of Look-Through Rule In Final Regs

    The U.S. Treasury Department finalized regulations Wednesday that retain but narrow the scope of a proposal to, in a manner of speaking, look through the corporate owners of real estate investment entities to determine whether they are domestically controlled.

  • April 24, 2024

    IRS Followed Protocol In Choosing Higher IT Bid, GAO Says

    The Internal Revenue Service reasonably assessed proposals for information technology engineering services before choosing an offer that was higher than others, the Government Accountability Office found.

  • April 24, 2024

    TIGTA Helps Stop $3.5B Pandemic Credit Scam, Agency Says

    The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service, has cracked down on a scheme where individuals potentially improperly claimed $3.5 billion in coronavirus relief tax credits, the office said Wednesday.

  • April 23, 2024

    Treasury Says Aussie Royalty Ruling Contradicts US, OECD

    Australia's updated draft ruling regarding when payments for the rights to distribute software would be considered royalties conflicts with OECD and U.S. standards on the treatment of such deals, a U.S. Department of the Treasury official said in a letter made public Tuesday.

  • April 23, 2024

    Tax Court OKs IRS Notice After Petitioner Spews 'Gibberish'

    The U.S. Tax Court ruled in favor of the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday after a Nevada woman used "tax protester gibberish," the court said, in an attempt to circumvent more than $37,000 in unreported income.

  • April 23, 2024

    Biz Ownership Law Constitutional, Lawmakers Tell 11th Circ.

    The Corporate Transparency Act is a garden-variety exercise of Congress' powers to address threats to national security, foreign affairs, commerce and tax collection, five Democratic lawmakers told the Eleventh Circuit, disputing a ruling that the law is unconstitutional.

  • April 23, 2024

    DC Circ. Backs Tax Penalties Against Swiss Couple

    A Swiss couple who incurred $500,000 in penalties for failing to report millions of dollars they held in Swiss bank accounts can't get out of paying, the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday, rejecting their argument that the IRS didn't properly approve the fines.

  • April 23, 2024

    Int'l Pricing Pact Guidance Is Coming Soon, IRS Official Says

    Updated Internal Revenue Service guidance that would help multinational corporations pursue advance pricing agreements will likely be released in a few months, an agency official said Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • The Corporate Transparency Act Isn't Dead Yet

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    After an Alabama federal court's ruling last week rendering the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, changes to the law may ultimately be required, but ongoing compliance is still the best course of action for most, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

  • How New EU Tax And Transfer Pricing Rules May Affect M&A

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    Companies involved in mergers and acquisitions may need to adjust fiscal due diligence procedures to ensure they consider potential far-reaching effects of newly implemented transfer pricing measures, such as newly implemented global minimum tax and European Union anti-tax avoidance directives and proposals, says Patrick Tijhuis at BDO.

  • Employers, Prep For Shorter Stock Awards Settlement Cycle

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    Companies that provide equity compensation in the form of publicly traded stock will soon have one less day to complete such transactions under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq rules — so employers should implement expedited equity compensation stock settlement and payroll tax deposit procedures now, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Demystifying IRS' Claims Of $851B Return On Investment

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    The IRS' recently released analysis, estimating a $851 billion return on the government’s $80 billion investment in the agency, represents a huge increase over its 2022 estimate and that of the Congressional Budget Office and may be best viewed as a best-case scenario, says Joyce Beebe at the Baker Institute.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • A Proposal For Fairer, More Efficient Innocent Spouse Relief

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    Adding a simple election to the current regulatory framework for innocent spouse claims would benefit both taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service by alleviating the undue burdens placed on those the program was intended to help and improving agency collections in such cases, says Laurie Kazenoff at Kazenoff Tax.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Proposed Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs May Be Legally Flawed

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    While the recently proposed regulations for the new clean hydrogen production tax credit have been lauded by some in the environmental community, it is unclear whether they are sufficiently grounded in law, result from valid rulemaking processes, or accord with other administrative law principles, say Hunter Johnston and Steven Dixon at Steptoe.

  • Navigating ACA Reporting Nuances As Deadlines Loom

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    Stephanie Lowe at Liebert Cassidy walks employers through need-to-know elements of Affordable Care Act reporting, including two quickly approaching deadlines, the updated affordability threshold, strategies for choosing an affordability safe harbor, and common coding pitfalls.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Why Biz Groups Disagree On Ending Chevron Deference

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    Two amicus briefs filed in advance of last month's U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo highlight contrasting views on whether the doctrine of Chevron deference promotes or undermines the stable regulatory environment that businesses require, say Wyatt Kendall and Sydney Brogden at Morris Manning.

  • US-Chile Tax Treaty May Encourage Cross-Border Investment

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    Provisions in the recently effective U.S.-Chile bilateral income tax treaty should encourage business between the two countries, as they reduce U.S. withholding tax on investment income for Chilean taxpayers, exempt certain U.S. taxpayers from Chilean capital gains tax, and clarify U.S. foreign tax credit rules, say attorneys at Kramer Levin.

  • A Look Ahead For The Electric Vehicle Charging Industry

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    This will likely be an eventful year for the electric vehicle market as government efforts to accelerate their adoption inevitably clash with backlash from supporters of the petroleum industry, say Rue Phillips at SkillFusion and Enid Joffe at Green Paradigm Consulting.

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