Federal

  • March 18, 2024

    Ariz. Rebates Trigger Federal Tax, IRS Tells Court

    Arizona's one-time 2023 payments to taxpayers are subject to federal taxation because they do not qualify for exclusions for general welfare or disaster relief payments, the Internal Revenue Service told a federal court.

  • March 18, 2024

    Werfel Calls Online Biz Account Authentication A Challenge

    Establishing an effective user authentication method for companies using online business tax accounts is a challenge for the Internal Revenue Service and the agency wants suggestions on how to do it, commissioner Daniel Werfel said Monday.

  • March 18, 2024

    Treasury Mulling Whether To Keep Foreign Tax Credit Regime

    The U.S. Treasury Department is considering whether the best way to provide administrable foreign tax credit rules and address related policy concerns is to retain the framework from paused final regulations or develop a new one, a Treasury official said Monday.

  • March 18, 2024

    Tennis Job No Reason To Slice 'Varsity Blues' Term, Feds Say

    A tennis instructor job in New York is no reason to grant an early end to the home confinement portion of a sentence given to a former Georgetown University coach for his role in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scandal, prosecutors told a Massachusetts federal judge Monday.

  • March 18, 2024

    Wyden, Whitehouse Scrutinize DOJ's Caterpillar Investigation

    Two top Democratic senators asked the U.S. Justice Department about its handling of a criminal inquiry into Caterpillar for potential financial crimes and corporate tax fraud after receiving evidence corroborating a report that former DOJ officials may have suppressed the investigation, according to a letter released Monday.

  • March 18, 2024

    Feds Want 12 Years For Ex-Broker In Fraud, Tax Case

    A former mortgage broker whose decadelong fraud scheme tricked more than a dozen people out of $8 million and caused more than $3 million in tax losses should spend 12 and a half years in prison, the government told a Rhode Island federal court.

  • March 18, 2024

    IRS Schedules Hearing On Hydrogen Production Taxes

    The Internal Revenue Service plans to hold a three-day public hearing this month on proposed rules affecting the tax treatment of the production of clean hydrogen, the agency announced Monday.

  • March 15, 2024

    Ohio Ambulance Co. Says HR Firm Botched Tax Returns

    An Ohio ambulance company accused its human resources management firm of failing to accurately prepare and submit amended tax returns that would have allowed the company to claim pandemic-era tax credits, according to a complaint filed in an Ohio federal court.

  • March 15, 2024

    Justices Told Estate Incorrectly Taxed On Insurance Payout

    The federal government's argument that the $3.5 million in life insurance proceeds a company used to redeem a deceased owner's shares increased both the company's value and its dead owner's estate tax liability ignores "economic reality," the estate told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday.

  • March 15, 2024

    IRS Asked To Change Effective Date In Part-Time Worker Rule

    The effective date for proposed IRS rules on participation of long-term, part-time employees in retirement plans would violate administrative law if not changed in final regulations, an attorney speaking for a benefits organization told the agency and the U.S. Treasury Department at a hearing Friday.

  • March 15, 2024

    Applicable Federal Interest Rates To Rise In April

    Applicable federal rates for income tax purposes will rise in April, the Internal Revenue Service said Friday.

  • March 15, 2024

    Tax Foundation Says UN Should Avoid Duplicating Tax Efforts

    The United Nations should only create global tax rules in areas where it can effectively reduce uncertainty and should avoid duplicating negotiations underway elsewhere, the Tax Foundation said Friday in a response to the organization.

  • March 15, 2024

    Feds Want 6 Years For 'Poster Boy' Of Mass. Police Corruption

    Boston federal prosecutors have recommended nearly 6 years in prison for a former Massachusetts trooper who they say is the living embodiment of police misconduct in light of his trial convictions for stealing overtime pay, lying on his taxes and cheating to get student financial aid for his son.

  • March 15, 2024

    Attys, Broker Fight For Advice-Of-Counsel Defense In Tax Trial

    Two St. Louis attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent staring down criminal tax charges in North Carolina federal court said the government can't prevent them from relying on advice-of-counsel defenses at their upcoming trial, arguing they've handed over all the information prosecutors need to prepare.

  • March 15, 2024

    $3B In Employment Tax Credits Claimed In Scheme, Feds Say

    Three New Jersey men who said they were leaders of religious and charitable organizations fraudulently claimed nearly $3 billion in employment tax credits from a federal pandemic loan program, according to a criminal complaint filed in New Jersey federal court.

  • March 15, 2024

    Direct Hit On Tax Regs Unlikely If Justices Ditch Chevron

    A decision from the U.S. Supreme Court later this year on two cases challenging the so-called Chevron doctrine, which gives federal agencies wide latitude to interpret ambiguous laws, isn't likely to immediately affect tax regulations.

  • March 15, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Freshfields, Kirkland

    In this week's Taxation with Representation, AstraZeneca acquires Amolyt Pharma, XCF Global Capital goes public and EQT Corp. merges with Equitrans Midstream Corp.

  • March 15, 2024

    Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin

    The Internal Revenue Service issued its weekly bulletin Friday, featuring updated tax treatment for certain public utility debt.

  • March 14, 2024

    Tupperware Pans Investor Suit Over 'Small' Accounting Errors

    Tupperware wants to dismiss a proposed class action accusing it of damaging investors by knowingly issuing misleading financial reports, arguing the suit fails to show it acted with ill intent when releasing the allegedly inaccurate information to the public, and that its restatements did not actually hurt shareholders.

  • March 14, 2024

    Man Who Hid Income Had Fraudulent Intent, Tax Court Says

    An Arizona man who hid self-employment income from the Internal Revenue Service in a sham partnership of family trusts owes additional taxes for fraudulently failing to file returns, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday.

  • March 14, 2024

    Ariz. Reps. Urge IRS To Scrap Tax On State Rebates

    Arizona's one-time state tax rebates should not be subject to federal income tax, members of the state's congressional delegation told the Internal Revenue Service, saying the rebates should be exempt under agency guidance issued last year.

  • March 14, 2024

    Israel Tax Authority Claims Owner Of US Biz Underpaid Tax

    A Jerusalem man is suspected of failing to report 50 million Israeli new shekels ($13.7 million) of his income from companies in Israel and abroad, the Israel Tax Authority said Thursday.

  • March 14, 2024

    Absent Returns Justify Rejecting Offers, Tax Court Rules

    The Internal Revenue Service properly sustained a collection action against a Maryland man with a record of failing to file his income tax returns, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday.

  • March 14, 2024

    8th Circ. Questions IRS Ax Of Engineering Co.'s R&D Credit

    Eighth Circuit judges probed claims by the IRS that a Minnesota engineering company didn't qualify for $276,000 in research and development tax credits, asking during oral arguments whether the agency may have overlooked the inherently specialized nature of the company's engineering work.

  • March 14, 2024

    Tax Court Judge John O. Colvin, Ex-Chief, Dead At 77

    John O. Colvin, a senior judge of the U.S. Tax Court, has died, the court announced in a news release Thursday.

Featured Stories

  • The Tax Angle: House GOP Plots TCJA Renewal Strategy

    Stephen K. Cooper

    House Republicans left Washington this week for their annual two-day legislative issues conference, hoping to expand their control of the chamber in the upcoming November elections and planning their strategy for renewal of their historic 2017 tax overhaul law.

  • Direct Hit On Tax Regs Unlikely If Justices Ditch Chevron

    Kat Lucero

    A decision from the U.S. Supreme Court later this year on two cases challenging the so-called Chevron doctrine, which gives federal agencies wide latitude to interpret ambiguous laws, isn't likely to immediately affect tax regulations.

  • Direct Pay Regs Would Lift Major Barrier For Energy Projects

    Kat Lucero

    A U.S. Treasury Department proposal to give partnerships access to direct payments of tax credits for green energy projects would lift a significant barrier that has prevented tribes, municipalities, schools and nonprofits from capitalizing on joint ownership arrangements. 

Expert Analysis

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • How FinCEN Proposal Expands RE Transaction Obligations

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    Against a regulatory backdrop foreshadowing anti-money laundering efforts in the real estate sector, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's proposed rule significantly expands reporting requirements for certain nonfinanced residential real estate transfers and necessitates careful review, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • What To Know About Employee Retention Credit Disclosures

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    Employers that filed potentially erroneous employee retention credit claims should take certain steps to determine whether the IRS’ voluntary disclosure program is a good fit and, if so, prepare a strong application before the window closes on March 22, say attorneys at Dentons.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Unpacking FinCEN's Proposed Real Estate Transaction Rule

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    Phil Jelsma and Ulrick Matsunaga at Crosbie Gliner take a close look at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recently proposed rulemaking — which mandates new disclosures for professionals involved in all-cash real estate deals — and discuss best next steps for the broad range of businesses that could be affected.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

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    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • The Corporate Transparency Act Isn't Dead Yet

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    After an Alabama federal court's ruling last week rendering the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, changes to the law may ultimately be required, but ongoing compliance is still the best course of action for most, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

  • How New EU Tax And Transfer Pricing Rules May Affect M&A

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    Companies involved in mergers and acquisitions may need to adjust fiscal due diligence procedures to ensure they consider potential far-reaching effects of newly implemented transfer pricing measures, such as newly implemented global minimum tax and European Union anti-tax avoidance directives and proposals, says Patrick Tijhuis at BDO.

  • Employers, Prep For Shorter Stock Awards Settlement Cycle

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    Companies that provide equity compensation in the form of publicly traded stock will soon have one less day to complete such transactions under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq rules — so employers should implement expedited equity compensation stock settlement and payroll tax deposit procedures now, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Demystifying IRS' Claims Of $851B Return On Investment

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    The IRS' recently released analysis, estimating a $851 billion return on the government’s $80 billion investment in the agency, represents a huge increase over its 2022 estimate and that of the Congressional Budget Office and may be best viewed as a best-case scenario, says Joyce Beebe at the Baker Institute.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • A Proposal For Fairer, More Efficient Innocent Spouse Relief

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    Adding a simple election to the current regulatory framework for innocent spouse claims would benefit both taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service by alleviating the undue burdens placed on those the program was intended to help and improving agency collections in such cases, says Laurie Kazenoff at Kazenoff Tax.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.