Federal
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May 01, 2024
Overtime Theft Scheme Earns Ex-Mass. Trooper 3 Years
The former second-in-command of a Massachusetts state police traffic safety unit was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in a widespread conspiracy to steal federally funded overtime through no-work shifts.
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May 01, 2024
Tax Credit Transfer Regs Show IRS Caution In Rulemaking
The IRS and Treasury's final rules on the sale and transfer of green energy credits maintained a strict reading of the statute while making few changes, a sign of caution by regulators amid judicial scrutiny of the government's rulemaking authority.
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May 01, 2024
Celeb Charity Says Law Firm Partner Went Rogue, Leaked Info
The nonprofit responsible for handling more than $8 million donated to NFL safety Damar Hamlin following his on-field cardiac arrest has lodged a suit in Illinois federal court against its former counsel, claiming a lawyer leaked private documents to the press as retribution for his firing after publicizing faulty information.
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April 30, 2024
Ex-Autonomy VP Says CEO Lynch Told Him To Lie To Investors
A former Autonomy business development executive testified Tuesday that CEO Mike Lynch directed him to lie to a hedge fund investor about prepaid royalty deals that boosted the company's upfront revenue numbers, saying at Lynch's criminal fraud trial that it was hard to say no to the "big boss."
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April 30, 2024
'Bitcoin Jesus' Dodged Nearly $50M In Taxes, Feds Say
The U.S. has charged an early bitcoin investor dubbed "Bitcoin Jesus" over allegations that he dodged approximately $48 million in taxes by filing false tax returns and concealing how much of the cryptocurrency he owned, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday.
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April 30, 2024
TCJA Expiration Would Lead To Tax Hikes, GOP Reps. Say
House Ways and Means Committee Republicans pressed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday on whether President Joe Biden would support the extension of the 2017 tax law's expiring provisions, saying allowing them to end would cause tax hikes for low- and middle-income taxpayers.
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April 30, 2024
Crypto Exec Denies $2B Laundering Charges, Is Out On Bail
The CEO of crypto mixer Samourai Wallet has pled not guilty to charges he helped facilitate over $2 billion in illegal transactions and was released on $1 million bail after surrendering to federal authorities voluntarily.
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April 30, 2024
Yellen Says US Pushing To Protect R&D Credit Under Pillar 2
U.S. Treasury Department negotiators are continuing to advocate for more favorable treatment of the country's research and development tax credit under the Pillar Two global minimum tax rules, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday.
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April 30, 2024
IRS Issues Automatic Changes To Tax Code Procedures
The Internal Revenue Service issued Tuesday its annual list of automatic changes to Internal Revenue Code procedures, including provisions for gross income, trade or business expenses and capital expenditures, among others.
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April 30, 2024
IRS Rejects Arizona's Effort To Exempt State Tax Rebates
The state of Arizona can't sue the federal government to litigate the personal claims of its taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service told a federal court in an effort to dismiss a bid by the state to exempt state tax rebates from federal income taxes.
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April 30, 2024
Attys, Broker Can't Escape $4M Tax Fraud Convictions
A North Carolina federal judge has denied acquittal requests from two tax attorneys and an insurance agent who were convicted for their roles in a $4 million tax avoidance scheme, saying he agreed with federal prosecutors who argued there was sufficient evidence for the underlying charges.
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April 30, 2024
Feds Endorse Easing Marijuana Status In Big Policy Shift
Federal drug enforcers will recommend loosening restrictions on cannabis for the first time since the drug was made federally illegal decades ago, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
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April 30, 2024
IRS Updates Guidance For Clean Jet Fuel Tax Credits
The Internal Revenue Service released guidance Tuesday that updated an environmental model that manufacturers of a low-carbon alternative to conventional jet fuel, such as ethanol, can use to qualify for a new tax credit and provided a safe harbor for producers to meet the incentive's requirements.
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April 30, 2024
The Tax Angle: TCJA Teams, Dear Colleague Letters
From a look at House GOP efforts to prepare for next year's expiration of their 2017 tax overhaul to ongoing attempts by lawmakers to draw attention and support for their own tax legislation, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few of the week's developing tax stories.
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April 30, 2024
Ex-Mass. Pol Can't Sink Fraud Case With 'Imaginative' Attacks
A Boston federal judge on Tuesday rejected what he called an "imaginative and novel" effort by a former Massachusetts politician to dismiss charges of lying to get COVID-19 relief funds and underreporting income on his taxes.
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April 30, 2024
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Schedules May Meeting
The Internal Revenue Service's Taxpayer Advocacy Panel has scheduled its next meeting for May 23, the agency said Tuesday.
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April 30, 2024
IRS Tax Prep Assistance Grants Open May 1
The Internal Revenue Service will begin accepting applications for certain tax preparation assistance grants May 1, the agency said Tuesday.
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April 29, 2024
Hunter Biden Threatens To Sue Fox News For 'Revenge Porn'
An attorney representing Hunter Biden threatened Fox News with a lawsuit over allegations it violated New York's "revenge porn" law by publishing nude pictures of him taken off his notorious laptop, according a letter obtained Monday by Law360.
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April 29, 2024
Drop In Giving Fuels Push To Restore Above-Line Deduction
Advocates for nonprofits want Congress to revive an above-the-line charitable contribution deduction this year in order to reverse a continuing drop in donations, but prospects for enactment appear limited until an end-of-year tax package.
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April 29, 2024
Ex-COO Of Mo. Charity Gets 3 Years For Bribing Officials
The former chief operating officer of a Missouri-based healthcare charity was sentenced to three years in prison Monday after admitting she and her husband, the charity's ex-chief financial officer, conspired to bribe elected officials in Arkansas, according to Missouri federal court documents.
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April 29, 2024
Court Can Make Widow Pull $2.5M From Swiss Bank, US Says
A Colorado federal court can force a widow to send $2.5 million from a Swiss bank to the U.S. to repay her late husband's penalties and interest for failing to report his foreign accounts, the U.S. told the court.
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April 29, 2024
AICPA Seeks Clarity On IRS' 401(k) Proposal
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants asked the Internal Revenue Service to clarify regulations impacting the treatment of employees under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, according to a letter made public Monday.
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April 29, 2024
IRS Rightly Denied Md. Woman's Meeting Request, Court Says
A Maryland woman's request for a face-to-face meeting with the Internal Revenue Service was properly rejected after she failed to meet the proper prerequisites, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday.
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April 29, 2024
11th Circ. Should Nix Tax Court Judges' Shield, Widow Says
The widow of a supermarket butcher told the Eleventh Circuit that the U.S. Tax Court not only wrongly upheld tax liabilities against her stemming from her husband's tax filings but also erroneously affirmed unconstitutional job protections for its judges.
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April 29, 2024
IRS Botching Noncompliant Biofuel Credit Claims, TIGTA Says
The Internal Revenue Service must take additional steps to address noncompliant claims for biodiesel-related tax credits that resulted in the agency wrongly issuing more than $30 million in credits, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report released Monday.
Expert Analysis
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Cannabis Cos. Must Heed Growing Federal Investigatory Risks
As state-regulated cannabis markets expand rapidly, so too does government oversight, and industry participants must plan ahead to avoid potential liabilities related to workplace health and safety requirements, tax audits, securities regulations and foreign bribery laws, say Alicia Corona and Amy Rubenstein at Dentons.
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5 Ways Taxpayers Can Spot Employee Retention Credit Scams
On Monday, the Internal Revenue Service added the employee retention credit to its list of prevalent tax scams because of ERC promoters seeking to take advantage of employers, but taxpayers who may qualify for the credit can protect themselves by recognizing certain red flags, say attorneys at Potomac Law and Stout Risius.
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Could The Supreme Court Legalize Marijuana Federally?
Amid slow legislative and executive movement on cannabis reform, it’s worth examining whether the U.S. Supreme Court could provide a pathway to federal cannabis legalization — a decision that would surely require strange bedfellows given the court’s current ideological makeup, say Whitt Steineker and Mason Kruse at Bradley Arant.
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Tax Pitfalls To Avoid In Employment Litigation Settlements
Downsizing companies should keep certain questions in mind when settling claims with departing employees to ensure they understand associated tax withholding and reporting obligations, and avoid costly interest and penalties down the road, says Matthew Meltzer at Flaster Greenberg.
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Key Considerations For Taxpayers Deducting Crypto Losses
While a recent Internal Revenue Service memorandum is helpful in providing insight into how the agency is considering guidance related to cryptocurrency, questions remain with respect to whether a taxpayer can claim a tax deduction for cryptocurrency losses, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Justices' MoneyGram Opinion Could Spur State Legislation
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision that federal law governs the escheatment of over $250 million in unclaimed MoneyGram checks provides clarity for some issuers, but aspects of related common law remain uncertain and states may take the opportunity to pass multistate escheatment legislation, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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Justices Leave Questions Open On Dual-Purpose Atty Advice
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury on grounds that certiorari was improvidently granted leaves unresolved a circuit split over the proper test for deciding when attorney-client privilege protects a lawyer's advice that has multiple purposes, say Susan Combs and Richard Kiely at Holland & Hart.
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Employee Retention Tax Credit: Gray Areas And Red Flags
The subjective nature of the pandemic-prompted employee retention credit, coupled with a lack of Internal Revenue Service guidance, have created fertile ground for opportunists, so businesses seeking this tax benefit should be mindful of tax advisers who would involve them in fraudulent ERC claims, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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Clean Energy Tax Credits' Wage, Apprentice Rules: Key Points
The Inflation Reduction Act's complicated prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements for clean energy facility construction tax credits recently took effect — and the learning curve will be more difficult for taxpayers who are not already familiar with such programs, say attorneys at Shearman.
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Crypto Coverage After FTX Fall: Crime And Custody Coverage
Cryptocurrency firm FTX's recent implosion provides a case study for potential crypto exposure under traditional insurance policies, and suggests carriers should ask some basic underwriting questions, including whether a company engages in transactions involving cryptocurrencies or holds digital assets in custody, says Anjali Das at Wilson Elser.
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US-India Advance Pricing Resolutions Should Reassure Cos.
The United States' and India's tax authorities' recent resolution of a significant number of pending advance pricing agreements should reduce taxpayer uncertainty, reassure companies of the nations' good working relationship and improve India's investment environment, say Miller Williams and Caroline Setliffe at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Reimagining Benefits For A World Without Noncompetes
Though the Federal Trade Commission's recently proposed noncompete ban is still in its infancy, companies should begin considering whether they would need to retool their payment and benefits packages to comply, while still protecting their competitive edge, say Melissa Ostrower and Alec Nealon at Jackson Lewis.