Federal
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February 01, 2023
Dykema Promotes 10 Attorneys To Member In 7 Offices
National law firm Dykema promoted 10 attorneys to member in its offices in Texas, Michigan and Illinois, ranging in practice from real estate to tax to litigation and environmental, the firm recently announced.
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January 31, 2023
Black Americans Face Much Greater Audit Rates, Study Finds
Black taxpayers are audited at a much higher rate than others due to Internal Revenue Service policies, according to a study published by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
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January 31, 2023
Getty Images Wants Foreign Tax Credit Exceptions Clarified
The U.S. Treasury Department should clarify that an exception outlined in proposed foreign tax credit regulations applies to withholding taxes on royalty payments for intangible property licensing based on where the taxes were levied, an attorney representing media company Getty Images said in a letter to the department.
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January 31, 2023
Petroleum Refiner Believes $48M Tax Suit Still Live, Court Told
A petroleum refiner doesn't believe the entirety of its suit seeking a $47.6 million refund for fuel mixture tax credits is dead after the Fifth Circuit sided with the government in a similar suit, according to a filing Tuesday in Texas federal court.
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January 31, 2023
IRS Can Release Tax Return Info In Lawsuits, Court Says
The Internal Revenue Code gives the IRS the right to release tax information that is part of a legal proceeding on tax administration, a D.C. federal court said in explaining why it dismissed an expatriate attorney's challenge to disclosure of his returns.
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January 31, 2023
Cos. Urge Broad Qualifications For Chipmaking Tax Credit
Two technology companies asked the U.S. Department of the Treasury for clarification on a new 25% tax credit for semiconductor manufacturers and suggested the department take a wide view when deciding which companies qualify to receive it.
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January 31, 2023
Former Eversheds Sutherland Counsel Returns As Partner
A former Eversheds Sutherland tax practice group counsel with extensive experience advising businesses on the state and local tax implications of their transactions will rejoin the group as a partner, the firm said Tuesday.
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January 31, 2023
IRS Remains Mum On Revenue Procedure Updates
The Internal Revenue Service hasn't yet decided whether it will seek comments in response to upcoming updates to revenue procedures for advance pricing agreements and U.S. tax treaty disputes, an agency official said Tuesday.
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January 31, 2023
Fla. Consultant Owes $1.2M In FBAR Penalties, US Says
A dual U.S.-Saudi citizen and consultant should pay $1.2 million in foreign bank account reporting penalties for failing to disclose his Swiss bank account on time for 2010 through 2012, the U.S. government told a Florida federal court.
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January 31, 2023
Chamber, ACLU Urge Justices To Limit IRS Summons Power
The Internal Revenue Service infringed on the civil rights of taxpayers by expanding its summons power to obtain taxpayer records from third parties without warning, groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Civil Liberties Union said in amicus briefs filed at the U.S. Supreme Court.
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January 31, 2023
NY AG Wants Trump And Attys Sanctioned In $250M Suit
New York Attorney General Letitia James told a state judge Tuesday that former President Donald Trump, the Trump Organization and its officers are attempting to "deny facts" they have previously admitted to in their responses to her $250 million fraud suit, asking the court to sanction the defendants and their counsel.
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January 31, 2023
BankUnited Says It's Owed $39.8M Tax Refund On Acquisition
BankUnited told a Florida federal court it is owed a $39.8 million tax refund stemming from its acquisition of a failed bank, arguing it can deduct $1.1 billion for its involvement in the transaction.
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January 31, 2023
Ex-Tech CEO Gets Almost 3 Years For Tax Evasion
A former Florida tech CEO who pled guilty to tax evasion and causing a $600,000 tax loss was sentenced to almost three years in prison, just shy of federal prosecutors' demand for a full sentence, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.
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January 31, 2023
IRS Seeks Comments On Accounting Period Change Form
The Internal Revenue Service asked Tuesday for comments on a form that must be submitted to apply for certain annual accounting period changes.
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January 30, 2023
New ACA Birth Control Exemptions Cover Faith, Not Morality
The Biden administration on Monday proposed tightening the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate to eliminate a moral exemption that the Trump administration crafted and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld, eliciting both praise and outcry in the long-running saga's latest chapter.
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January 30, 2023
Couple's Mileage Log Lacked Credibility, Tax Court Says
A South Carolina couple cannot deduct driving expenses for a side business because their mileage logs showed discrepancies and their explanations of the discrepancies lacked credibility, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday.
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January 30, 2023
Seychelles Co. Fights To Keep $22M Award Alive
The Republic of Guinea's move to throw out a $22 million award against it is another attempt to relitigate a dispute it lost, a Seychelles-based consultant told a U.S. federal court.
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January 30, 2023
IRS Seeks Input On Tuition Payment Form
The Internal Revenue Service said Monday that it wants feedback on several forms, including one that certain educational institutions use to report tuition payments.
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January 30, 2023
Trump Drops Deutsche Bank Suit Over Financial Docs
Former President Donald Trump is voluntarily dropping his suit against two House committees that had sought his financial records from Deutsche Bank, telling a New York federal court that the newly Republican-led House hasn't reissued the subpoenas seeking the records.
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January 30, 2023
V&E Hires Include Former Co-Chair Of Cooley's Tax Practice
Vinson & Elkins LLP announced Monday that it is bolstering its tax controversy and litigation practice with the hires of two former Cooley LLP partners, including the former co-chair of Cooley's tax practice, who will now co-head V&E's practice.
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January 30, 2023
IRS Controls Over Purchase Cards Effective, TIGTA Says
The Internal Revenue Service is largely effective at preventing employees from abusing government purchase cards, with only eight confirmed reportable violations from April 2022 through September 2022, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report released Monday.
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January 30, 2023
Mellon Estate Pushes For $69M Tax Refund After Settlement
Executors of the estate of Pittsburgh billionaire and newspaper publisher Richard Mellon Scaife asked a Pennsylvania federal court to force the IRS to refund nearly $69 million in estate taxes, saying a $200 million settlement with Scaife's children retroactively reduced the estate's value.
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January 30, 2023
Interest Expense Deduction Cap May Sting More This Year
U.S. companies grappling with rising interest rates may face related tax complications under a measure that restricts deductions for interest paid on borrowed funds, in part because of a tightened cap that remained intact under Congress' recent spending bill.
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January 27, 2023
Int'l Details In Trump's Taxes Revive Constitutional Questions
The disclosure of former President Donald Trump's tax returns showing the extent of foreign taxes paid and holdings overseas during his presidency has revived questions about the constitutionality of his foreign business interests.
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January 27, 2023
Ex-IRS Worker Found Guilty Of Tax Crimes, Identity Theft
A California federal jury convicted a former IRS customer representative on more than a dozen counts of identity theft and tax crimes after prosecutors said she directed trumped-up refunds for her personal clients into her own bank account, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.
Expert Analysis
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US Economy Needs Cannabis Banking Bill More Than Ever
The cannabis industry is helping generate much-needed tax revenue and has kept people employed during the pandemic — it's time to provide these essential businesses with mainstream banking services, says Aaron Smith at the National Cannabis Industry Association.
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7 Considerations For Gift And Estate Valuation Amid COVID-19
As pandemic-related uncertainty continues to challenge business appraisals this year, practitioners should know that methods exist to help produce reliable gift and estate valuations, says Angela Sadang at Marks Paneth.
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Blockchain Holds Potential For Commercial Real Estate
Blockchain-based tokenization of commercial real estate has the capacity to bring about a paradigm shift in how real estate finance is conducted, as lower intermediary costs and minimum investment requirements unlock trillions of dollars in illiquid global real estate assets, says Josh Morton at Pillsbury.
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Prep For Increased Pay Equity Enforcement In Gov't Contracts
Federal contractors can prepare for an uptick in Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs compensation enforcement under President-elect Joe Biden by conducting regular pay equity audits that identify and resolve gender- and race-based compensation disparities, says Jack Blum at Polsinelli.
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Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2021
As the new year begins, employers will need to plan for several paradigm shifts, including the potential for tougher independent contractor classification standards, state-level medical and recreational marijuana legalization, and federal and state changes to paid and unpaid leave, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Linda Spencer at Lawrence & Bundy.
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Mitigating IRS Cryptocurrency Enforcement Risk In 2021
The IRS seems poised to shift focus in 2021 from education to enforcement of virtual currency tax laws, and noncompliant taxpayers should consider whether they are eligible to file amended returns or voluntary disclosures to mitigate the risk of civil penalties, criminal investigation or prosecution, say Don Fort and Lawrence Sannicandro at Kostelanetz & Fink.
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2020's Key Tax Controversy Developments
Andrew Roberson and Kevin Spencer at McDermott highlight 2020's key tax controversy developments, offering their perspective on important tax decisions, the Internal Revenue Service’s cooperative audit program, informal tax return amendment procedures, Large Business & International Division campaigns, and handling virtual appeals conferences during the pandemic.
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What The Biden Administration Can Expect From State AGs
With the nationwide split between Republican and Democratic state attorneys general unchanged post-election, the Biden administration can anticipate challenges to major health care, energy and environmental policy initiatives, continued activity from state solicitors general, and increased consumer protection enforcement, say William Hurd and Christopher Carlson at Troutman Pepper.
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Justices Likely To Shield Treasury From Preemptive Action
Recent U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in CIC Services v. Internal Revenue Service suggest the court will resolve a circuit split by ruling the Anti-Injunction Act shields the U.S. Department of the Treasury from preemptive challenges — bad news for those hoping to challenge unfavorable regulations, says Monte Silver at Silver & Co.
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Outlook For Digital Assets May Improve In 2021
Attorneys at Ropes & Gray evaluate several factors that may advance the burgeoning blockchain industry, such as the proliferation of decentralized tokens, the creation and acceptance of digital asset trading platforms, and greater clarity on tax and regulatory structure.
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Opportunity Zone Investment Options Should Be Expanded
Future opportunity zone legislation should limit the capital gains requirement and broaden tax incentives to allow participation from currently excluded investors with deep connections to community revitalization, says Venroy July at Miles & Stockbridge.
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Post-Election Financial Services Regulatory Outlook
Attorneys at Arnold & Porter explore regulatory expectations for the financial services sector in the wake of the presidential election, including federal agency leadership, banking regulation and agency actions, renewed focus on consumer protection, predictions for fintech, and prospects for a new financial transaction tax.
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What To Expect From Federal Agency Leadership Changes
Attorneys at Morgan Lewis discuss how quickly companies may see policy changes from new leadership at the U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Labor Relations Board after the Biden administration takes office.