Tax

October 23, 2025
Eaton To Defend Interest Rates, Fees Paid After 2012 Inversion

Eaton is preparing to defend the interest rates and guarantee fees paid by entities in the U.S. to their newly formed Irish parent after the company's 2012 acquisition and inversion at a U.S. Tax Court trial scheduled to start Nov. 3.
October 22, 2025
Banks Want Ill. Fee Law Block Extended To Card Networks

Banking industry groups urged an Illinois federal judge Wednesday to permanently block an Illinois law that bans swipe fees on tax and tip portions of payment card transactions, arguing she has already correctly held that national banks are federally preempted from its reach, and that the court should extend that relief to card networks and others involved in the payment process.
October 22, 2025
Australia Issues Guidance For Minimum Tax Safe Harbor

Australia released guidance Wednesday detailing when companies can forgo detailed top-up tax calculations for a jurisdiction under a safe harbor for the 15% global minimum tax that is based on country-by-country reporting.
October 22, 2025
US Among Few Places With Amount B Rules, OECD Reports

The U.S. is a significant exception to a swath of countries, including China, Japan and the U.K., that lack domestic rules allowing companies to use a transfer pricing method for baseline marketing and distribution activities known as Amount B, the OECD reported Wednesday.
October 22, 2025
Tax Court Judge Warns Against Unchecked AI Use In Filings

A U.S. Tax Court judge cautioned attorneys Wednesday against relying on artificial intelligence to write filings without verifying the information it generates, saying recent "unfortunate incidents" have prompted the court to double down on accuracy in using such tools.
October 22, 2025
'The Right Facts' Can Reduce Cos.' Tariff Impacts, Atty Says

Multinational companies with U.S. distributors that typically bear fewer business risks and earn low profit margins may be able to mitigate the effect of U.S. tariffs on their business as a whole by having a foreign principal bear the tariff costs, an attorney said Wednesday.
October 22, 2025
COST Urges Ky. Justices To Reject Walgreens' Tax Valuations

Kentucky's Supreme Court should reverse an appeal court's ruling finding that a local assessor correctly took above-market contract rents into consideration when valuing several Walgreen store properties, the Council on State Taxation said, because it unfairly raised their assessed values.
October 22, 2025
Presidential Firing Limits Fight Builds At High Court

The ousted U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board chair has encouraged the U.S. Supreme Court to include a caveat for "legislative courts" if it overturns precedent that empowers Congress to limit the president's authority to fire certain agency officials, but opponents of independent agencies want a clean break from the status quo.
October 22, 2025
Trade Court OKs $235K Tax Bill On Korean Soju Imports

South Korean alcoholic beverages were improperly classified upon entering the U.S., and U.S. Customs and Border Protection correctly calculated a nearly $235,000 bill in unpaid federal excise taxes plus interest, according to the U.S. Court of International Trade.
October 22, 2025
Widow Not Liable For Husband's Tax Debt, 4th Circ. Told

An 80-year-old widow whose husband was imprisoned after hiding more than $20 million from the IRS told the Fourth Circuit that he was "abusive and controlling" and that she shouldn't have to pay the millions of dollars they jointly owe, despite contrary claims by the government.
October 22, 2025
NY Bill Seeks Clean Energy Payment Exemption For Tax Caps

New York would exempt payments in lieu of taxes for renewable energy projects from local governments' property tax cap calculations under a bill introduced in the state Assembly.
October 21, 2025
Partnership Deadline To Dispute IRS Is Fixed, Tax Court Says

A deadline to petition the U.S. Tax Court to challenge IRS adjustments to partnership returns is effectively fixed and cannot be extended, the court said Tuesday in a reviewed decision that denied an Alabama LLC's late bid to restore a $46 million deduction for donating to charity.
October 21, 2025
Discovery Against Gem Company Halted In Malawi's Tax Probe

Malawi's government can no longer proceed with discovery against a gemstone company that partnered with a mining outfit the country claims evaded billions of dollars in taxes and royalties on exported rubies and sapphires, a Washington federal judge ruled, vacating his own order.
October 21, 2025
CPA Admits $1.7M Tax Fraud, Pandemic Loan Charges

A Massachusetts certified public accountant has agreed to plead guilty to failing to disclose to the IRS nearly $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation to an employee and making false certifications to obtain pandemic relief loans.
October 21, 2025
Medtronic Says 8th Circ. Wrongly Tossed Tax Court's Method

The Eighth Circuit's rejection of the U.S. Tax Court's latest ruling on the pricing of Medtronic intangibles placed unnecessary restrictions on the court's unspecified method addressing such assets transferred to Puerto Rico, the company argued as it asked the circuit court to rethink its decision.
October 20, 2025
NY AG Reaches Deal With Accounting Firm Over Data Breaches

A certified public accounting firm has agreed to pay $60,000 and improve its data security to resolve the New York attorney general's claims that it failed to adequately protect unencrypted Social Security numbers and other personal information swept up in a pair of data breaches or swiftly notify affected clients.
October 20, 2025
Tax Pros Seek Clarity In Energy Supplier Certification Rules

The U.S. Treasury Department should clarify how developers can demonstrate new supplier certification compliance for some clean energy tax credits retooled by the Republican budget law, practitioners said Monday, noting uncertainty over what information could suffice under new restrictions on certain foreign suppliers.
October 20, 2025
Tax Startup CEO Swindled $13M From Investors, SEC Says

The CEO of a defunct tax-compliance startup lied to investors as she raised $13 million for her company, overstating its revenues by almost 900 times and falsely claiming she was a certified public accountant, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday in California federal court.
October 20, 2025
Emergency Tariffs Unlawfully Unprecedented, Justices Told

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act has never been used until President Donald Trump to impose tariffs, and nowhere does the law provide that explicit authority, a dozen states, several small businesses and a pair of Illinois toymakers told the U.S. Supreme Court Monday.
October 20, 2025
Justices Won't Review Repeat Indictment For Medicare Fraud

The U.S. Supreme Court let stand Monday the repeat indictment of a health clinic manager for what the Second Circuit called a massive, yearslong scheme to submit false claims to Medicare and Medicaid, effectively rejecting the manager's claims that his original trial was irreparably delayed.
October 17, 2025
Arson, Stalking Claims Not Defamatory, NC Biz Court Rules

A Virginia couple has lost their bid for a pretrial win on claims their former friends defamed them online, with a North Carolina Business Court judge finding the posts weren't defamatory and their identities couldn't otherwise be easily deduced.
October 17, 2025
NM Medical Cannabis Co. Tells Tax Court 280E Does Not Apply

A New Mexico medical marijuana company said Friday that a federal policy barring cannabis enterprises from taking ordinary business deductions should not apply, and the company is entitled to a refund for overpayment.
October 17, 2025
3rd Circ. Won't Rethink IRS Collections For Preparer Fraud

The Third Circuit declined Friday to reconsider a panel decision allowing the IRS to pursue a woman's unpaid taxes more than 20 years later — well after the normal three-year deadline — because her return preparer committed fraud on her filings without her knowledge.
October 17, 2025
Georgia Justices Affirm Stormwater Charge Is Fee, Not Tax

A stormwater utility charge levied by a local government in Georgia is a fee, not a tax, the state Supreme Court said, upholding a trial court's finding that the charge did not violate the state constitution's uniformity provision on property taxation.
October 17, 2025
Federal Courts To Scale Back Operations Amid Shutdown

The federal court system has run out of money and will scale back operations beginning Monday as a result of the ongoing government shutdown, possibly leading to case delays.

Expert Analysis

The Ins And Outs Of Consensual Judicial References

As parties consider the possibility of judicial reference to resolve complex disputes, it is critical to understand how the process works, why it's gaining traction, and why carefully crafted agreements make all the difference, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
Opinion

The BigLaw Settlements Are About Risk, Not Profit

The nine Am Law 100 firms that settled with the Trump administration likely did so because of the personal risk faced by equity partners in today's billion‑dollar national practices, enabled by an ethics rule primed for modernization, says Adam Forest at Scale.
House Bill Tax Tweaks Would Hinder Renewable Projects

Provisions in the budget reconciliation bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would rapidly phase out clean energy tax credits, constrain renewable energy financing arrangements and impose sweeping restrictions on projects with foreign ties, which may create compliance and supply chain issues for many developers, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
Series

Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.
Series

Power To The Paralegals: An Untapped Source For Biz Roles

Law firms looking to recruit legal business talent should consider turning to paralegals, who practice several key skills every day that prepare them to thrive in marketing and client development roles, says Vanessa Torres at Lowenstein Sandler.
How Trucking Cos. Can Keep Rolling Under Tariff Burdens

Recent Trump administration tariffs present major challenges for the transportation and logistics sector — and, in particular, trucking — but providers who focus on operational efficiency, cost control, customer relationships, creative contract structures and unique offerings will stand out from the competition, say attorneys at Benesch.
Series

Playing Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Poker is a master class in psychology, risk management and strategic thinking, and I’m a better attorney because it has taught me to read my opponents, adapt when I’m dealt the unexpected and stay patient until I'm ready to reveal my hand, says Casey Kingsley at McCreadyLaw.
Ch. 7 Marshaling Ruling Rests On Shaky Legal Grounds

In its recent holding in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case that marshaling may not be applied against the IRS, a Texas federal court misapplied a bankruptcy code section and case law, leaving a draconian decision that could limit the scope of a powerful equitable estate tool, says Brian Shaw at Cozen O'Connor.
3 Tax Issues Manufacturers Should Watch In 2025 Budget Bill

As Congress works toward a budget reconciliation bill, manufacturing companies should keep a keen eye on proposals to change bonus depreciation, the qualified business income deduction and energy tax credits, which could have a significant impact on capital-intensive industries, say attorneys at Frost Brown Todd.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Becoming A Firmwide MVP

Though lawyers don't have a neat metric like baseball players for measuring the value they contribute to their organizations, the sooner new attorneys learn skills frequently skipped in law school — like networking, marketing, client development and case evaluation — the more valuable, and less replaceable, they will be, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
$38M Law Firm Settlement Highlights 'Unworthy Client' Perils

A recent settlement of claims against law firm Eckert Seamans for allegedly abetting a Ponzi scheme underscores the continuing threat of clients who seek to exploit their lawyers in perpetrating fraud, and the critical importance of preemptive measures to avoid these clients, say attorneys at Lockton Companies.
Series

Teaching Business Law Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Teaching business law to college students has rekindled my sense of purpose as a lawyer — I am more mindful of the importance of the rule of law and the benefits of our common law system, which helps me maintain a clearer perspective on work, says David Feldman at Feldman Legal Advisors.
Jurisdictional Issues At Play In 9th Circ.'s FCA Trade Case

A decision by the Ninth Circuit in Island Industries v. Sigma Corp. could result in the U.S. Court of International Trade’s exclusive jurisdiction over trade-related FCA cases, a big shift in the enforcement landscape just as tariffs take center stage in trade policy, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
Evolving Federal Rules Pose Further Obstacles To NY LLC Act

Following the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent changes to beneficial ownership information reporting under the federal Corporate Transparency Act — dramatically reducing the number of companies required to make disclosures — the utility of New York's LLC Transparency Act becomes less apparent, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.