Federal
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May 09, 2024
'Lobster Broker' Biz Owner Liable For Dividends Deficiency
A Florida man who owned 50% of the stock of a "lobster broker business" is on the hook for a federal income tax deficiency related to nearly $193,000 in dividends from the business, the U.S. Tax Court said Thursday, but the man isn't liable for an accuracy-related penalty.
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May 09, 2024
Biz Owner Admits Hiding $3.4M In Income To Dodge Taxes
A San Francisco Bay Area man has pled guilty to tax evasion in California federal court, admitting he dodged some of the income tax he owed over a four-year period by concealing more than $3.4 million he earned from his businesses.
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May 09, 2024
IRS Lien Against Woman Properly Sustained, Tax Court Says
The U.S. Tax Court found Thursday that an Internal Revenue Service agent didn't abuse her discretion when sustaining a federal lien against a Texas anesthesiologist who repeatedly failed to address issues flagged by the agent.
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May 09, 2024
House Bill Would Increase Penalties For Tax Info Disclosure
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith introduced legislation co-sponsored by all the panel's Republican members to boost penalties for unauthorized releases of taxpayer data, according to a statement Thursday.
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May 09, 2024
IRS Details Process For Suspending Tax Pro File Numbers
The IRS described a process Thursday for suspending authorization file numbers assigned to tax professionals pending further review because of possible identity theft or other fraud and said in a statement that the risks potentially compromised numbers pose for tax pros and taxpayers are a growing concern.
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May 09, 2024
Mich. Doctor Ordered To Stay In Jail Until Assets Repatriated
A Michigan doctor fighting accusations that he failed to report his foreign bank accounts will stay in jail, as a federal court declined to release him Thursday when he didn't comply with an order to deposit over $1 million to cover the judgment against him.
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May 09, 2024
Tax Interest Rates To Stay Same In 3rd Quarter
The Internal Revenue Service's interest rates for overpayments and underpayments of tax won't change in the third quarter of 2024, the agency said Thursday.
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May 09, 2024
Plumbing Co. Owner Cops To Tax Scheme Tied To Gold Bars
The co-owner of a Boston plumbing supply company pled guilty Thursday to underreporting his business and personal income, after prosecutors said he plowed some of the unreported receipts into $10 million worth of gold and silver bars.
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May 09, 2024
Biden Taps Housing Atty, 2 More For Tax Court
President Joe Biden nominated three attorneys Thursday to serve as judges on the U.S. Tax Court, including a housing attorney who specializes in federal low-income housing tax credits, a legislative counsel for the Joint Committee on Taxation and an IRS attorney.
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May 09, 2024
Pension Plans Want Witness Stopped In $2B Danish Dispute
U.S. pension plans accused by Denmark's tax authority of committing $2.1 billion in fraud against the European country by taking illegal refunds on dividends asked a New York federal court to reject the authority's request to depose a witness who pled guilty in Denmark.
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May 09, 2024
IRS Turning to Final PFIC Rules This Year, Official Says
The Internal Revenue Service expects to "begin in earnest" this year on final regulations for partnerships that hold stock in passive foreign investment companies, including guidance that would treat partnerships as an aggregate of their partners, an agency official said Thursday.
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May 09, 2024
Chamberlain Hrdlicka Rehires Tax Atty From Atlanta Boutique
Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry PC has rehired one of its former tax attorneys, who joins the firm in Atlanta after working at a tax law-focused boutique, the firm announced Wednesday.
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May 09, 2024
IRS Publishes Inflation-Adjusted HSA Amounts
The Internal Revenue Service issued the inflation-adjusted amounts Thursday for health savings accounts for 2025 as well as the maximum amount that may be made available for excepted benefit health reimbursement arrangements.
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May 08, 2024
Fla. Man Owes $2.3M Tax For Late Mother's Estate, US Says
A Florida man spent millions of dollars on mortgage payments on his and his family members' properties using funds from his late mother's estate instead of paying the more than $2.3 million in taxes that the estate owed, the government said in its bid for an early win.
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May 08, 2024
Bill To Undo SEC Crypto Accounting Bulletin Passes House
Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to overturn the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's controversial cryptocurrency accounting guidance despite protests from Democrats to take a more targeted approach to amend the directive and a White House pledge to veto the bill.
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May 08, 2024
IRS May Float Disguised Sale Partnership Rules, Official Says
The Internal Revenue Service is considering "re-proposing" regulations that it withdrew in 2019 regarding the disguised sale of property to or by a partnership, an agency official said Wednesday.
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May 08, 2024
Top House Tax Writer Pushing Schumer For Tax Bill Vote
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith has urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring up the tax bill passed by the House in January, Smith said Wednesday, adding that the delay is jeopardizing the proposal's support.
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May 08, 2024
TCJA Extension Would Cost $4.6T, CBO Report Says
Extending the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for 10 years under a proposal from Republicans would increase the U.S. deficit by $4.6 trillion, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office after a request from Democratic senators.
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May 08, 2024
DOJ Says Man Owes $6.2M After Failing To Report Foreign Biz
A man owes tax penalties of $6.2 million to the U.S. after failing to disclose his ownership interests in two foreign entities from 1997 to 2004, the government told a California federal court Wednesday.
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May 08, 2024
Biz Groups Tell 10th Circ. Economic Substance Doesn't Apply
The economic substance doctrine doesn't apply when a business considers tax in making a choice between two legally permissible alternatives, two organizations told the Tenth Circuit in their briefs supporting Liberty Global's position in its $109 million tax refund bid.
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May 08, 2024
Auto Cos. Brace For EV Battery Compliance Hurdles
New federal regulations aimed at shoring up the domestic electric vehicle manufacturing supply chain give automakers a much-needed two-year cushion to navigate a compliance minefield, and to figure out how to reinvigorate the recent waning consumer demand for electric vehicles.
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May 08, 2024
Minn. Man Sentenced To Prison For Role In $6.7M Fraud
A Minnesota man was sentenced in federal court to 108 months in prison and told to pay more than $4.7 million in restitution for running a scheme that led to the filing of false tax returns that caused roughly $6.7 million in tax losses, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
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May 08, 2024
Ambulance Co.'s Former Owner Gets 6 Years For Tax Evasion
The former owner of an ambulance company was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for failing to pay employment taxes to the federal government and obstructing the Internal Revenue Service as it tried to collect, according to Virginia federal court documents.
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May 08, 2024
A Foley Hoag Co-Chair Joins Litigation Firm As Name Partner
Litigation and dispute resolution firm Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw LLP will operate under a new name after welcoming as its newest name partner a former federal prosecutor who most recently co-chaired Foley Hoag LLP's white-collar crime and government investigations practice.
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May 08, 2024
DOD Trucking Contractor Owner Indicted On $1M Tax Evasion
The owner of a trucking company that hauled military supplies for the U.S. Department of Defense tried to evade more than $1 million in taxes partly by using a nominee company headed by her former dispatcher, according to an indictment by a federal grand jury in Ohio.
Treasury's Energy Tax Credit Regs Leave Room For 'Chaining'
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has said it is prohibiting the practice known as chaining that links two new ways to monetize clean energy tax credits, but recent final rules governing the two methods left the door open to possible exceptions.
4th Circ. Asks If High Court Ruling Bars Credit Suisse Tipster
A Fourth Circuit panel questioned Wednesday whether a U.S. Supreme Court ruling prevented it from reviving a whistleblower case by a former Credit Suisse employee alleging the bank helped U.S. citizens evade taxes after paying a $2.6 billion criminal penalty.
Treasury Floats Foreign Trust Reporting Rules
The U.S. Treasury Department proposed regulations Tuesday that provide guidance on the requirements for individuals to report their transactions with foreign trusts to the Internal Revenue Service, including the receipt of large gifts.
Featured Stories
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Treasury's Energy Tax Credit Regs Leave Room For 'Chaining'
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has said it is prohibiting the practice known as chaining that links two new ways to monetize clean energy tax credits, but recent final rules governing the two methods left the door open to possible exceptions.
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Auto Cos. Brace For EV Battery Compliance Hurdles
New federal regulations aimed at shoring up the domestic electric vehicle manufacturing supply chain give automakers a much-needed two-year cushion to navigate a compliance minefield, and to figure out how to reinvigorate the recent waning consumer demand for electric vehicles.
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US Trade Position Seen Contradicting Stance In Pillar 1 Talks
The U.S. trade representative's withdrawal of support for digital trade proposals has caused tax policy observers to worry that the U.S. position on trade is undermining that of U.S. Treasury Department officials negotiating a taxing rights overhaul at the OECD known as Pillar One.
Expert Analysis
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Should NIL Collectives Be Allowed Tax-Favored Status?
Arguments are being made for and against allowing organizations to provide charitable contribution tax deductions for donations used to compensate student-athletes, a practice with impacts on competition for student-athletes and overall tax fairness, but ultimately it is a question for Congress, say Andres Castillo and Barry Gogel at the University of Maryland School of Law.
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Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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Unpacking The Bill To Extend TCJA's Biz-Friendly Tax Breaks
Attorneys at Skadden examine how a bipartisan bill currently being considered by the U.S. Senate to save the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's tax breaks for research and development costs, and other expiring business-friendly provisions, would affect taxpayers.
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
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IRS Sings New Tune: Whistleblower Form Update Is Welcome
In a significant reform at the Internal Revenue Service's Whistleblower Office, the recently introduced revisions to the Form 211 whistleblower award application use new technology and a more intuitive approach to streamline the process of reporting allegations of tax fraud committed by wealthy individuals and companies, says Benjamin Calitri at Kohn Kohn.
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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Energy Community Tax Credit Boost Will Benefit Wind Sector
Recent Internal Revenue Service guidance broadening tax credit eligibility to more parts of offshore wind facilities in so-called energy communities is a win for the industry, which stands to see more projects qualify for a particularly valuable bonus in the investment tax credit context due to the capital-intensive nature of offshore wind projects, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues
Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Why Supreme Court Should Allow Repatriation Tax To Stand
If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't reject the taxpayers' misguided claims in Moore v. U.S. that the mandatory repatriation tax is unconstitutional, it could wreak havoc on our system of taxation and result in a catastrophic loss of revenue for the government, say Christina Mason and Theresa Balducci at Herrick Feinstein.