Tax

August 21, 2025
Property Owners Say SF Vacancy Tax Violates Rights

A San Francisco levy on vacant residential units is not a tax, but a penalty, and violates property owners' constitutional rights to keep their private property from being taken for public use without just compensation, the owners told a California appellate court.
August 21, 2025
Tax Court Says Civil Fraud Penalty Cases Don't Require Juries

The U.S. Tax Court rejected Thursday a Mississippi partnership's bid, based on the Supreme Court's landmark 2024 decision requiring a jury to adjudicate common law fraud penalties, to dismiss civil fraud penalties the IRS imposed on a conservation easement transaction.
August 21, 2025
NC Judge Warns Sabotage Trial Might Be A 'Slugfest'

A North Carolina Business Court judge hinted Thursday that he might let a jury decide whether an ordinary person could deduce the identities of a couple who claim they were defamed online by their former friends, but he also urged the feuding families to consider what it might ultimately cost to take their case to trial.
August 21, 2025
Minnesota Tax Court Cuts Abbott Labs Property Value By $7M

A property owned by Abbott Laboratories Inc. was overvalued, and its 2022 assessment should be reduced by about $7 million, the Minnesota Tax Court found.
August 21, 2025
EU, US Agree To Eliminate Industrial Tariffs

The European Union and the U.S. have agreed on new terms to the trade agreement to eliminate EU tariffs on U.S. industrial products and implement a 15% U.S. tariff cap for most other sectors, according to a joint statement issued Thursday.
August 21, 2025
Treasury Gets New Acting International Tax Counsel

A deputy international tax counsel for the U.S. Department of the Treasury has been elevated to serve as acting counsel, he said in a post on LinkedIn.
August 21, 2025
Gov't Shrugs Off Sentencing Errors, IRS Leaker Tells DC Circ.

The IRS contractor appealing his five-year prison sentence for leaking thousands of wealthy people's tax returns to the media accused the U.S. of glossing over sentencing errors that unfairly burdened him with "the harshest sentence possible," he told the D.C. Circuit.
August 21, 2025
NY Appeals Court Throws Out Trump's $500M Fraud Penalty

A divided New York state appeals court panel on Thursday tossed a nearly $500 million civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump and his sons, companies and their executives, ruling that the fine was "excessive," but kept in place a judge's finding of liability.
August 20, 2025
Fla. Man Who Evaded $7M In Federal Taxes Gets Probation

A Florida investor who admitted to cheating the Internal Revenue Service out of $7 million in taxes was sentenced Wednesday to probation after telling a federal judge he suffers from serious health issues, including Stage 4 kidney cancer and early-onset dementia.
August 20, 2025
Morris Manning Faces $5M Ga. RICO Suit Over Tax Strategy

Morris Manning & Martin LLP is facing allegations of racketeering and tax fraud in a suit brought in Georgia state court by three investors that names a number of professional services firms.
August 20, 2025
Nutter Welcomes Tax Atty In NY From Fox Horan

Less than a month after announcing it had grown its ranks by 8% with the addition of 13 attorneys in three states, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP said earlier this week that it has hired a New York-based tax attorney from Fox Horan & Camerini LLP.
August 20, 2025
IRS Lost Lien In Bankruptcy, Man Says In $28M Tax Battle

The Internal Revenue Service jettisoned any federal tax lien it claims to have against a man by filing an unsecured claim in his bankruptcy case, he told a Florida federal court Wednesday in response to the government's $28 million lawsuit against him.
August 19, 2025
IRS Told To Explain Granting $142M Contract Without Bids

The IRS must explain why it thinks an executive order mandating electronic tax payments required it to skip the competitive bidding process in awarding a $142 million contract for scanning and digitizing incoming tax filings, the Court of Federal Claims said.
August 19, 2025
Reasoning For IRS Firings Clashes With Reality, TIGTA Says

Probationary workers at the Internal Revenue Service who were told earlier this year that they were fired for performance had been rated highly or had not been there long enough to be evaluated, according to a report Tuesday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
August 19, 2025
Fed. Circ. Won't Revisit Steel Duties On German Companies

The Federal Circuit denied Tuesday a request for it to reconsider a precedential opinion upholding steel duties on German companies imposed after the U.S. Department of Commerce applied adverse facts available in an antidumping investigation.
August 19, 2025
Home Depot To Raise Some Prices Due To Tariffs

Home Depot expects to raise prices for some of its products as tariffs weigh its costs, while Congress' latest tax package will boost its cash flow, executives said Tuesday.
August 18, 2025
IRS Sharing Tax Info With ICE Amid Legal Challenge

The Internal Revenue Service has begun sharing taxpayer return information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the government told a D.C. federal court, revising the tax agency's previous stance that it had not received or responded to any such requests.
August 18, 2025
Tax Court Finds Bankrupt Couple Owes Back Taxes

An Internal Revenue Service settlement officer didn't abuse her discretion by sustaining a tax levy against a Texas couple's abandoned assets, because the couple failed to file the correct paperwork, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday.
August 18, 2025
3rd Circ. Says IRS Can Pursue Taxes In Decades-Old Fraud

The IRS can go after a woman's unpaid taxes more than 20 years later because her return preparer committed fraud on her filings, even though the woman did not mean to evade taxes, the Third Circuit ruled Monday.
August 18, 2025
Founder Of 'Modest Needs' Charity Admits Stealing Millions

A New York City man who operated a crowdsourcing charity for the poor copped to fraud and tax evasion charges Monday, telling a Manhattan federal judge that he stole millions and spent the money on a lavish lifestyle.
August 18, 2025
Del. OKs Property Tax Installment Payments, Refund Change

Delaware made property tax changes, including allowing installment payments and changing refund rules, under bills signed by the governor.
August 15, 2025
IRS Strips 5% Safe Harbor In Solar, Wind Tax Credit Guidance

Large-scale clean energy projects seeking to claim solar and wind tax credits before they expire under a new accelerated sunset schedule can no longer rely on a safe harbor to incur 5% of the building costs to establish eligible construction start dates under Internal Revenue Service guidance released Friday.
August 15, 2025
US Eyeing Tariffs, Port Levies Over Shipping Emissions Plan

The U.S. government is considering tariffs, visa restrictions or port levies — and potentially a combination of those measures — in response to an intergovernmental plan to push the global shipping industry toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson told Law360.
August 15, 2025
New Jersey AG Slams Power Broker's 'Flawed' Appeal Brief

South Jersey power broker George Norcross used a flawed argument in pushing back against New Jersey's effort to revive a dismissed criminal case against him, Attorney General Matthew Platkin has argued in a reply brief filed in state appellate court.
August 15, 2025
Md.'s Digital Ad Tax Violates 1st Amendment, 4th Circ. Says

A provision in Maryland's digital advertising tax that prevents tech companies from directly passing the tax on to customers is unconstitutional, the Fourth Circuit said Friday, ruling that it unfairly suppresses companies' ability to explain the tax to consumers.

Expert Analysis

Top Considerations For Insurance Companies In 2025

As insurance industry participants look to plan for the year, regulatory changes, climate-related challenges, the ongoing effects of social inflation and the potential for significant mergers and acquisitions will be among the key items for insurer boards and management to have on their radar, say attorneys at Debevoise.
Scope And Nature Of Judicial Relief Will Affect Loper's Impact

The practical result of post-Loper Bright rulings against regulatory actions will depend on the relief courts grant — and there has been controversy in these types of cases over whether the ruling is applied just to the parties or nationwide, and whether the action can be left in place while it's corrected, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
Series

Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.
5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.
Opinion

Congress Should Pass Sex Abuse Settlement Tax Exemptions

The proposed Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act would expand tax exemptions more clearly for sexual abuse cases, and finally remove the stigma around compensation for emotional and psychological damage, says Rocco Strangio at Milestone & Co.
What's Next For Accounting Enforcement After SEC's Big 2024

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Trump administration will likely continue to focus enforcement efforts on many of the same accounting and auditing issues that it pursued over the past year — but other areas, such as ESG, internal controls and cryptocurrency cases, may fall out of focus, say attorneys at Debevoise.
Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.
Series

Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
Small Biz Caught In Corporate Transparency Act Crossfire

Despite compliance being put on hold due to a nationwide preliminary injunction, small businesses have been caught in the middle of the legal battle over the Corporate Transparency Act — and confusion over the law's requirements could result in major penalties, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
5 Notable Information Security Events In 2024

B. Stephanie Siegmann at Hinckley Allen discusses 2024's largest and most destructive data breaches seen yet, ranging from ransomware disrupting U.S. healthcare systems on a massive scale, to tensions increasing between the U.S. and China over cyberespionage and the control of U.S. data.
Series

Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.
Opinion

No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.