Federal
-
March 27, 2024
Justices Grapple With Complex $3M Estate Tax Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court confronted a complicated dispute Wednesday over whether the estate of a deceased building supply company owner should be taxed on $3 million in life insurance proceeds the company used to buy his shares after his death, with two justices seeming to take opposing sides.
-
March 27, 2024
Groups Urge IRS To Keep Strict Hydrogen Tax Credit Rules
Some supporters of the Internal Revenue Service's proposed rules for the clean hydrogen production tax credit encouraged the agency Wednesday to maintain strict qualification criteria for the incentive to further discourage the use of fossil fuels in the manufacturing process and to reduce pollution.
-
March 27, 2024
NY County Seeks To Bar NYC Congestion Prices As Illegal Tax
A New York county with limited access to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's service system jumped into the litigation fray against New York City's congestion pricing plan, arguing that the proposed charges for driving into portions of Manhattan are illegal taxes.
-
March 27, 2024
Worker Credit Cutoff Seen As Harsh But Fair Potential Fix
Tax legislation pending in the Senate would retroactively end the employee retention tax credit program and leave businesses with a legitimate need for the credit out in the cold, but lawmakers say the move is necessary given the magnitude of fraud in the program.
-
March 27, 2024
Advice-Of-Counsel Defense Curbed From NC Tax Fraud Trial
Two St. Louis attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent can't fall back on advice-of-counsel defenses during their upcoming tax fraud trial after a federal judge found that they had failed to follow court orders requiring them to hand over information about the advice they sought.
-
March 26, 2024
Meta Can't Escape Suit Over Collection Of Taxpayers' Data
A California federal judge refused to release Meta from a consolidated class action accusing it of unlawfully collecting sensitive information from tax filing websites H&R Block, TaxAct and Tax Slayer, allowing state and federal wiretapping claims to move forward and permitting the plaintiffs to amend several deficient privacy allegations.
-
March 26, 2024
Adjusting To Amount B's Rules May Bring Growing Pains
Countries designed a new tax framework known as Amount B to streamline the pricing of certain cross-border operations, but the criteria for determining whether transactions qualify for the regime, which negotiators recently made optional, may complicate the goal of simplicity.
-
March 26, 2024
$4.5M Microcaptive Insurance Deduction Nixed By Tax Court
An eye doctor can't deduct more than $4.5 million in insurance premiums that he paid to two microcaptive companies because the payments don't qualify as valid insurance purchases for federal income tax purposes, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday.
-
March 26, 2024
$23M Easement Deduction Worth Only $480K, Tax Court Says
The U.S. Tax Court significantly reduced the value of a $23 million deduction taken by the members of a Delaware partnership Tuesday, instead allowing them $480,000 for the charitable donation of an easement.
-
March 26, 2024
NC Software Execs Ask To Raze Payroll Tax Fraud Conviction
Two former software executives found guilty of failing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in employment taxes have sought to wipe out their conviction based on what they allege was insufficient evidence presented by the government at trial.
-
March 26, 2024
Producers Push IRS For Flexible Clean Hydrogen Credit Regs
The IRS should adopt flexible metrics to measure greenhouse gas emissions in proposed rules for the clean hydrogen production tax credit to accommodate energy companies' transition toward cleaner production methods, stakeholders said during a hearing on the regulations Tuesday.
-
March 26, 2024
9th Circ. Judges Skeptical Senior Care Facility Owes IRS $20M
Ninth Circuit judges seemed skeptical of the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to force a California-based senior care facility to pay a $20 million tax bill, saying the facility's deferral of unamortized portions of resident fees didn't run afoul of generally accepted accounting methods.
-
March 26, 2024
Nev. Foreclosed Property To Be Sold To Pay Co.'s Tax Debt
A Nevada federal court approved the sale of a foreclosed Las Vegas property in the federal government's efforts to recoup nearly $943,000 in taxes owed by a security company.
-
March 26, 2024
IRS Fixes Typo In Contribution Rules
The Internal Revenue Service issued a correction notice Tuesday fixing a typographical error within regulations about contributions to certain organizations.
-
March 25, 2024
Clean Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs' Pillars Too Strict, IRS Told
The so-called three pillars in proposed clean hydrogen production tax credit rules used to determine the incentive's value would prevent the rapid scaling of a nascent sector that aims to produce zero-carbon emissions fuel, stakeholders told the Internal Revenue Service on Monday.
-
March 25, 2024
Tax Groups Urge Justices To Review Philly Tax Credit System
The U.S. Supreme Court should hear a woman's claims that Philadelphia unconstitutionally declined to credit her Delaware state income taxes paid against her city wage tax liabilities, a taxpayer advocacy organization and a group of tax lawyers told the justices Monday.
-
March 25, 2024
Alaskans Hit By Storms Can Delay IRS Tax Filings, Payments
Taxpayers in Alaska impacted by severe storms, landslides and mudslides that started Nov. 20 now have until July 15 to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the Internal Revenue Service said Monday.
-
March 25, 2024
Tax Court Upholds Med Spa Owner's Fraud Penalties
A registered nurse and her medical spa that offered botox and liposuction treatments in Kansas owe more than $700,000 in civil fraud penalties related to the nurse's conviction for tax evasion for misusing cash payments from clients, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday.
-
March 25, 2024
Unpaid Taxes Fall On CEO's Shoulders, Tax Court Says
The CEO of a company is responsible for settling any unpaid liabilities despite his hiring of an accountant who embezzled a portion of the company's employment taxes, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday.
-
March 25, 2024
Student Loan Refinancing Doesn't Affect Borrower Eligibility
Students as well as parents are considered eligible borrowers of a refinancing qualified student loan under a state supplemental loan program, regardless of who was the original borrower, the Internal Revenue Service said Monday.
-
March 25, 2024
7th Circ. Affirms Co. Can't Get $3.5M Software Deduction
A healthcare company that helps nursing homes buy equipment is not entitled to $3.5 million in tax deductions meant for domestic software production, the Seventh Circuit ruled, saying the company failed to meet the threshold for the break because it didn't actually provide software to customers.
-
March 22, 2024
Up Next At High Court: Abortion, Jury Trials And Estate Tax
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this week over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision expanding access to popular abortion pill mifepristone as well as whether juries should determine a defendants' eligibility for repeat offender enhanced sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act and how long federal employees have to appeal adverse employment decisions.
-
March 22, 2024
Ill. Atty Tampered With Witness In Own Fraud Case, Feds Say
A Chicago-area lawyer facing criminal tax fraud charges has been slapped with a superseding indictment accusing him of witness tampering by trying to script a bookkeeper's testimony, according to an announcement made Friday.
-
March 22, 2024
IRS Proposes Annuity Trusts As Listed Transactions
The Internal Revenue Service unveiled proposed rules Friday that would list certain charitable remainder annuity trusts as transactions that can potentially be abusive tax shelters, requiring additional disclosures under the threat of penalty for participants involved in such arrangements.
-
March 22, 2024
Businessman Indicted Over Hiding Of $20M In Swiss Accounts
A Brazilian-American businessman accused by the government in a criminal complaint of hiding $20 million from the Internal Revenue Service over 35 years by using Swiss bank accounts was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami and charged with tax evasion, according to a Florida federal court.
Expert Analysis
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
A Closer Look At Rep. Santos' Claims And Potential Charges
Skadden partner and former federal prosecutor Maria Cruz Melendez discusses Rep. George Santos' legal exposure following his alleged misrepresentations and the possible scope of investigations into his conduct — noting that if history is any indication, the congressman could face prison time if convicted.
-
Stock Buyback Excise Tax Guidance A Mixed Bag For SPACs
Recent IRS guidance on the new stock repurchase excise tax includes a welcome exception for publicly traded special-purpose acquisition companies but does not exclude redemptions in connection with a de-SPAC transaction, and further guidance is needed to clarify ambiguities around the exception's application, say Olga Bogush and Evgeny Magidenko at ArentFox Schiff.
-
Crypto Coverage After FTX Fall: Accountant And Atty Liability
The recent fall of cryptocurrency firm FTX highlights complexities regarding accounting and tax reporting for digital assets, and reveals lawyers’ potential liability exposure when providing services to crypto firms — as a result, insurers may face unintended vulnerabilities related to this nebulous landscape, say Anjali Das and Farzana Ahmed at Wilson Elser.
-
The Forces Defining Sales Tax Policy And Compliance In 2023
In the coming year, expect to see tax policymakers grapple with the complexity of state and local tax compliance, cryptocurrency, metaverse transactions, and more, says Scott Peterson at Avalara.
-
Inflation Reduction Act's Methane Tax May Be Unenforceable
Recent legislation directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to impose a first-ever direct charge on methane emissions from oil and gas operations — but two fundamental problems with the formula for calculating this tax could make it impossible for the EPA to implement, say Poe Leggette and Bailey Bridges at BakerHostetler.
-
Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target
Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
-
Industry Takeaways From IRS Guidance On EV Tax Credits
The IRS and U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recently issued documents on tax credit eligibility for clean vehicle purchases showcases three important points for the electric vehicle industry, including emphasis on the importance of in-service dates, guidance on how leased vehicles could be evaluated, and insight into manufacturing requirements, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.
-
States Must Align Distribution Age Rules With Secure 2.0
To prevent unintended escheatment of retirement benefits, states will need to undertake legislative efforts to amend unclaimed property standards that conflict with the Secure 2.0 Act's required minimum distribution age increases, says Michael Giovannini at Alston & Bird.
-
The IRS' APA Rulemaking Journey: There And Back Again
Attorneys at Dentons examine recent challenges in which taxpayers successfully argued Internal Revenue Service rulemaking was invalid under the Administrative Procedure Act, how tax exceptionalism and U.S. Supreme Court regulatory deference prompted such challenges, and similar challenges the agency will likely face following this line of cases.
-
Tax Court Ruling Should Allay Post-Boechler Concerns
An unusually long U.S. Tax Court ruling in Hallmark Research Collective v. Commissioner, confirming that deficiency deadlines are jurisdictional, should reassure practitioners concerned about the statutory time limit implications of last year's U.S. Supreme Court Boechler v. Commissioner ruling and reaffirm the vital role of the Tax Court itself, says James Creech at Baker Tilly.