Federal

  • February 09, 2023

    DC Circ. Skeptical Of Claim That ACA Penalties Aren't Taxes

    The D.C. Circuit questioned a phone retailer's argument challenging $1.1 million in taxes for failing to offer employees health insurance, with the court saying Thursday that Congress warned of such a levy by calling the penalty a tax in the Affordable Care Act.

  • February 08, 2023

    CPAs Urge Equalization Of Health Insurance Deductions

    Congress should provide the same tax treatment for health insurance tax deductions for employees and for the self-employed, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants said in a collection of legislative proposals announced Wednesday.

  • February 08, 2023

    US, Biz Owner Seek To Resolve $4M FBAR Case Without Trial

    A $4.3 million fight over a business owner's failure to report her foreign bank accounts may be resolved without a trial as the U.S. government and the owner have asked a California federal court for summary judgment, according to a joint memorandum.

  • February 08, 2023

    Court Urged To Keep Suit Over IRS Crypto Doc Seizure Alive

    A New Hampshire federal court shouldn't toss a man's suit disputing the Internal Revenue Service's procurement of his records relating to his cryptocurrency transactions, he said, arguing that he's made viable constitutional challenges to the agency's acquisition of the documents.

  • February 08, 2023

    Talks Hit Impasse In Former Mobil Oil Exec's $6.4M Tax Case

    Talks to settle a former Mobil Oil Corp. executive's $6.4 million income tax case have come to a halt, a mediator told a Florida federal court Wednesday.

  • February 08, 2023

    Senate Committee Schedules Hearing For IRS Nominee

    The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing Feb. 15 about President Joe Biden's nomination of former acting Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel to lead the agency, the committee announced Wednesday.

  • February 08, 2023

    IRS To Issue Benefit Plan Opinions This Month, Agency Says

    The Internal Revenue Service plans to start issuing opinions late this month on preapproved defined benefit plans modified and submitted to the IRS during a six-year amendment period, the agency said Wednesday.

  • February 08, 2023

    IRS Chief Counsel Seeks To Hire More Attorneys

    The Internal Revenue Service's Office of Chief Counsel wants to hire more attorneys to help tackle noncompliance, the agency said Wednesday.

  • February 08, 2023

    Tax Pros Must Be Cautious After Justices Boot Privilege Case

    Tax practitioners are facing a legal minefield and must tread carefully regarding communications that contain both legal and nonlegal advice following the U.S. Supreme Court's sudden dismissal of a case that asked the justices to decide whether such dual-purpose communications are privileged.

  • February 08, 2023

    Couple Asks 6th Circ. To Clarify Tax On Crypto Staking

    A couple who obtained cryptocurrency tokens through a process known as staking asked the Sixth Circuit to determine whether the IRS must wait until such currency is sold before taxing it, saying a lower court wrongly refused to decide the matter.

  • February 07, 2023

    Biden Calls For Tax On Wealthy In State Of The Union

    President Joe Biden called on Congress to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans, significantly increase the tax on corporate stock buybacks and make permanent the expanded child tax credit during his third State of the Union address Tuesday night.

  • February 07, 2023

    Partner's $6.5M Income May Be Taxable In US, Tax Court Says

    The U.S. Tax Court rejected a woman's arguments contending that around $6.5 million in proceeds from a partnership interest sale is non-U.S. sourced income, finding Tuesday that the proceeds are income from inventory property that can potentially be sourced to the U.S. and taxed.

  • February 07, 2023

    US Vows Transparency On EV Credits, Finance Ministers Say

    Finance ministers from France and Germany said Tuesday that they reached an agreement with senior U.S. trade and economic officials to provide full transparency on the scope of green energy tax credits used in the automobile industry.

  • February 07, 2023

    IRS Systems Modernization Plans Lacked Disposition Details

    Two-thirds of IRS plans for ongoing modernization of legacy information technology systems that should have specified the planned disposition of the systems had failed to do so as of August, the Government Accountability Office said Tuesday.

  • February 07, 2023

    House Tax Chair Demands To See IRS Spending Plan

    House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith pressed acting IRS Commissioner Douglas O'Donnell on Tuesday for a copy of the agency's plan for spending the nearly $80 billion funding increase it's due to receive.

  • February 07, 2023

    Watchdog Urges Release Of IRS' Communications With FTX

    A watchdog group asked a D.C. federal court Tuesday to force the IRS to release emails and other communication between former Commissioner Chuck Rettig and former FTX executives, saying the agency broke public records law by refusing to comply with its request.

  • February 07, 2023

    IRS Seeks Input On Form For Tax Withholding Exemption

    The Internal Revenue Service asked for feedback Tuesday on a form for seeking a tax withholding exemption on a nonresident alien's self-employment income.

  • February 07, 2023

    Kraken Ignoring IRS' Crypto Investigation Summons, US Says

    Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken Inc. hasn't complied with a court-approved IRS summons seeking records on customer identities and transactions and should be forced to furnish the records, the U.S. told a California federal court.

  • February 07, 2023

    Former Mortgage Co. Owner Ordered To Pay $2M In Taxes

    The former owner of a Florida mortgage company must pay nearly $2 million in back taxes after she failed to respond to a government lawsuit seeking to collect the decade-old debt, a federal judge ordered Tuesday.

  • February 06, 2023

    Pomerantz To Lead Avalara Shareholder Suit Over $8.4B Deal

    A Seattle federal judge on Friday appointed Pomerantz LLP lead counsel in a proposed class action accusing tax software company Avalara Inc. executives of misleading shareholders about its financial health in a bid to convince them to approve Vista Equity Partners' $8.4 billion acquisition of the company.

  • February 06, 2023

    House Panel's Republicans Push Renewal Of TCJA Tax Cuts

    Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee began making their case Monday to rural Americans for renewing the 2017 Trump administration tax cuts during the panel's first full committee hearing, held in Petersburg, West Virginia.

  • February 06, 2023

    IRS Proposes New Service Industry Tip Reporting Program

    The Internal Revenue Service is proposing a new voluntary tip reporting program for employers in all service industries other than gambling in a plan meant to promote compliance and accurate reporting, the agency said Monday.

  • February 06, 2023

    Trump Seeks To Revive Bid To Toss NY $250M Tax Fraud Suit

    Former President Donald Trump, some of his children and Trump Organization executives have appealed a New York state judge's order that threw out their bid to dismiss New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 million tax fraud suit against them.

  • February 06, 2023

    Attys Fight Yacht Donor's Malpractice Suit Over $4.6M Tax Bill

    A New York federal court should toss a woman's malpractice lawsuit accusing two attorneys of giving shoddy legal advice relating to a yacht donation that led to a $4.6 million tax bill, the attorneys said, arguing the case was brought more than three years too late.

  • February 06, 2023

    Solar Cos. Ask Courts Not To Boot National Grid Tax Suits

    Four solar companies that sued electric giant National Grid saying it illegally charged them for taxes in an effort to dampen competition from renewables asked federal courts in Massachusetts and New York to keep the lawsuits alive, claiming National Grid wrongly argued the courts lacked authority.

Expert Analysis

  • A Tough Road Ahead for Democrats' Ambitious Policy Agenda

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    While Democrats in Congress are well on their way to enacting an initial COVID-19 relief bill, they will face challenges when pivoting to President Joe Biden's Build Back Better goals for job creation and economic revitalization, say Russell Sullivan and Radha Mohan at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Coca-Cola Tax Ruling Offers 5 Lessons For Multinationals

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    The U.S. Tax Court's decision that Coca-Cola owes more than $3.3 billion in taxes is instructive on important transfer pricing concepts, including those regarding intercompany agreements, the arm's-length standard and tax certainty, says ​​​​​​​Justin Radziewicz at Duff & Phelps.

  • Small Biz Should Self-Advocate For Tax Relief Under Biden

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    Small and medium-sized businesses have significant potential for achieving regulatory relief from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and other federal agencies during the Biden administration, but to do so they must define their priorities, leverage two federal statutes that require the Treasury to protect them and make their voices heard through communal e-advocacy, says Monte Silver at Silver & Co.

  • SD Ruling Threatens Marijuana Legalization Momentum

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    A South Dakota state court decision in Thom v. Barnett, invalidating a state constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana, serves as a reminder that legalization efforts at any level could meet some resistance, says David Standa at Locke Lord.

  • Opportunity Zone Pandemic Relief Is Welcome, But Limited

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    The Internal Revenue Service's new notice relaxing deadlines and requirements for opportunity zone investors during the pandemic is helpful, but misses an opportunity to clarify important safe harbors, says Jessica Millett at Duval & Stachenfeld.

  • Driving Forces Shaping The Life Settlements Market

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    The life settlements market is evolving as a result of several recent legislative developments and cases concerning stranger-originated life insurance, and will likely see continued growth this year, say Brian Casey and Thomas Sherman at Locke Lord.

  • Key Trade Secret Developments Of 2020: Part 2

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    Last year, federal courts issued several important rulings on trade secret issues that will affect litigation practice, including the importance of narrow, well-supported sealing requests, whether refining trade secret identification after discovery is permissible, and when punitive damages comport with due process, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • A Road Map For US Involvement In Europe's Cum-Ex Probe

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    The dividend arbitrage trading strategy known as cum-ex continues to face regulatory scrutiny in Europe, and stateside regulators may soon follow suit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent American depositary receipt probe as a guide for enforcement, says Joshua Ray at Rahman Ravelli.

  • What Energy Sector Should Expect From Biden's Tax Policies

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    The energy sector may find new investment opportunities or the need to adjust holdings, depending on whether company goals align with the Biden administration's potential rollback of Trump-era tax reforms, and push for clean energy, reduced carbon emissions and increased domestic manufacturing, says Gregory Matlock at Mayer Brown.

  • Congress Should Make TCJA Income Definition Permanent

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    Congress should not allow the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's definition of adjusted taxable income, which includes depreciation and amortization, to expire in 2022 because it would discourage debt-free investment, running counter to the law's intent, says George Callas at Steptoe & Johnson.

  • Raising Capital For Real Estate Deals During The Pandemic

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    Real estate sponsors looking to invest in the current environment should consider the various advantages and risks of forming a commingled real estate investment fund versus raising capital on a deal-by-deal basis, says Matt Ertman at Allen Matkins.

  • Bankruptcy Ruling Highlights Longer Lookback Trend

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    The U.S. Bankruptcy Court's recent decision in Zagaroli underscores a trend among bankruptcy courts to allow longer lookback periods in certain types of fraudulent transfer cases, which could be a significant source of estate recovery for creditors, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • OECD Delays Are Imperiling Digital Tax Deal

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    As the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development continues to push back its deadline for a digital tax overhaul, countries are beginning to pursue unilateral solutions and the negotiations are turning political, decreasing the likelihood of an agreement, says Joyce Beebe at Rice University.

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