Federal
-
May 06, 2024
10th Circ. Urged To Alter Substance Finding In Liberty Global
To preserve the stability of federal tax law, the Tenth Circuit should reverse a lower court's finding that it needn't determine the economic substance doctrine is relevant before disallowing a transaction's tax benefits, the National Foreign Trade Council said Monday, supporting telecommunications firm Liberty Global.
-
May 06, 2024
IRS Urged To Drop Investment Advisers From Donor Rules
The IRS should change regulations on donor-advised funds so that personal investment advisers wouldn't be considered donor-advisers, stakeholders told the agency at a hearing Monday, saying failure to do so could chill charitable giving and would exceed regulatory authority.
-
May 06, 2024
Man's FBAR Filing Makes Challenge Moot, 7th Circ. Says
The Seventh Circuit upheld Monday the dismissal of a man's challenge to the constitutionality of filing reports of foreign accounts because after filing the suit, the man reported his bank account, making the case moot.
-
May 06, 2024
Texas Health Coordinator Urges Nonprofit Status At 5th Circ.
A Texas company that coordinates healthcare for chronically ill patients should not be barred from claiming tax-exempt status, it told the Fifth Circuit on Monday, arguing that the U.S. Tax Court applied an incorrect legal standard when it revoked the group's status.
-
May 06, 2024
Engineering Co. Can't Claim Research Credits, 8th Circ. Says
The Eighth Circuit declined Monday to revive an engineering company's bid for research tax credits for its work on several building projects, finding the credits are limited to endeavors where funding is contingent on the success of the research.
-
May 06, 2024
Missouri CPA Barred From Promoting Annuity Trusts
A Missouri certified public accountant accused of operating a charitable trust scheme that cost the government $8 million in tax was permanently barred from marketing tax arrangements involving charitable remainder annuity trusts, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.
-
May 06, 2024
Marcum Expands Into Mich. By Adding Croskey Lanni
Accounting and advisory firm Marcum LLP acquired Detroit-based Croskey Lanni PC, adding six partners and more than 50 associates, Marcum announced Monday.
-
May 06, 2024
Clifford Chance Continues 2024 Growth In New York, Houston
Clifford Chance continued its recent aggressive expansion by growing its Houston and New York offices with two attorneys specializing in energy, taxation and mergers and acquisitions, bringing the firm's lateral hires up to 10 attorneys in 2024.
-
May 06, 2024
Trump Media Hires Auditor To Replace Firm Accused Of Fraud
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has hired a new auditor, replacing its predecessor firm, which was permanently suspended by securities regulators Friday for alleged "massive fraud" regarding its work with hundreds of clients, according to a filing Monday.
-
May 04, 2024
IRS Seeks More Info On Purpose Test In Buyback Tax Regs
The IRS is seeking more information on fine-tuning a test in proposed rules on the stock buyback tax meant to assess whether the principal purpose of a U.S. subsidiary's funding purchase of its foreign parent's stock is to avoid the tax, an agency attorney said Saturday.
-
May 03, 2024
Gannett Can't Dodge Tax Firm's Defamation Case
Gannett Co. can't escape a defamation case accusing it of writing misleading articles saying Ryan LLC, a tax services and technology firm, engaged in shady business practices, a Texas appeals court ruled, finding the media giant isn't shielded from the claims by the Lone Star State's anti-SLAPP law.
-
May 03, 2024
US Resisting More Scoping On Amount B, Economist Says
In negotiations over the streamlined transfer pricing approach for baseline marketing and distribution functions known as Amount B, the U.S. has resisted calls for additional scoping criteria that would exclude more companies from the safe harbor, a former U.S. Treasury economist said Friday.
-
May 03, 2024
Sidley Liable For Ex-Partner's Tax Sheltering, Ga. Judge Told
Counsel for a family of business magnates who say they were duped into an illegal tax shelter scheme over 25 years ago by Sidley Austin urged a Georgia federal judge Friday to let their suit against the firm continue, arguing its defense that the suit is time-barred should be done away with.
-
May 03, 2024
Dems, GOP Favor Extending Pass-Through Break, Staff Says
Democrats and Republicans are both interested in extending the 2017 tax law's pass-through deduction, which expires at the end of 2025, though Democrats would like to limit its availability to upper-income earners, a pair of congressional staffers said Friday.
-
May 03, 2024
No Climate Law Corrections Bill Expected, Senate Staffer Says
Congress is unlikely to pass a so-called technical corrections bill that would change noncontroversial and revenue-neutral tax provisions in the 2022 climate law known as the Inflation Reduction Act, a Senate Finance Committee Democratic staffer said Friday.
-
May 03, 2024
Feds Can Introduce Prior Guilty Plea In Tax Fraud Case
Federal prosecutors can introduce a man's prior admissions of tax evasion in a trial over separate tax crime charges because it could show his willingness and knowledge to commit the crime, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled.
-
May 03, 2024
Foreign Trust Reporting Rules Coming Soon, IRS Official Says
The Internal Revenue Service is about to issue proposed regulations that will provide guidance on the reporting obligations for individuals who have transactions with foreign trusts, an agency official said Friday.
-
May 03, 2024
IRS Details Penalty-Free Retirement Withdrawals For Disasters
The Internal Revenue Service detailed procedures Friday for taking penalty-free withdrawals of up to $22,000 from Internal Revenue Code Section 401(k) retirement accounts and other retirement plans under the permanent disaster tax relief granted in the Secure 2.0 Act.
-
May 03, 2024
HMRC Director Rejoins KPMG To Boost Tax Dispute Offering
A former deputy director at HM Revenue & Customs has returned to KPMG as director of KPMG Law's tax disputes teams, the firm has announced.
-
May 03, 2024
IRS Expects Updates To Hydrogen Credit Emissions Model
The Internal Revenue Service expects the U.S. Department of Energy to update a model used to determine eligibility for the new clean hydrogen production tax credit under recently proposed rules, an IRS attorney said Friday.
-
May 03, 2024
IRS Program In Miss. Delta Struggling, TIGTA Says
Attempts by the Internal Revenue Service to expand operations to economically distressed areas in the Mississippi Delta have fallen well short of a goal of hiring 160 employees by the end of fiscal 2024, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report.
-
May 03, 2024
Medical Testing Co. Not In Health Field For Taxes, IRS Says
A company that fills medical testing orders for its customers is nonetheless not a business involved in performing services in the health field for certain tax purposes, the Internal Revenue Service said in a private letter ruling released Friday.
-
May 03, 2024
IRS May Again Extend Corp. AMT Penalty Relief, Official Says
The Internal Revenue Service could again extend the penalty waiver for companies that fail to make estimated quarterly payments of the corporate alternative minimum tax, an agency official said Friday.
-
May 03, 2024
US Trade Position Seen Contradicting Stance In Pillar 1 Talks
The U.S. trade representative's withdrawal of support for digital trade proposals has caused tax policy observers to worry that the U.S. position on trade is undermining that of U.S. Treasury Department officials negotiating a taxing rights overhaul at the OECD known as Pillar One.
-
May 03, 2024
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service issued its weekly bulletin Friday, which included updated rates for foreign insurance company equations and an extension on excise tax relief for minimum plan distributions.
Expert Analysis
-
IRS Will Use New Resources To Increase Scrutiny In 2023
The new year promises to be a busy one for the Internal Revenue Service, which is poised to apply the boost in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act to bolster and expand its enforcement capability, and there are four areas to watch, say attorneys at Skadden.
-
How Cos. Can Prep For Alcohol Beverage Excise Tax Changes
The Craft Beverage Modernization Act will soon undergo a transition in administration to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and importers or producers should address any issues that may arise under the act, such as foreign producers not being familiar with the mechanics of the TTB, say Louis Terminello and Bradley Berkman at Greenspoon Marder.
-
New R&E Capitalization A Costly Change For Companies
Unless modified by legislation in the coming weeks, radical new capitalization rules for research and experimentation costs mean companies should brace for the loss of a major tax break starting with their 2022 tax returns, says Nancy Dollar at Hanson Bridgett.
-
Congress Is Right To Advance Comprehensive Retirement Bill
As 2022 comes to a close, Congress' move to include the Secure 2.0 Act, a comprehensive retirement bill, in its omnibus spending package will bring retirees and those nearing retirement more peace of mind regarding their 401(k)s, IRAs and pensions, while reducing red tape for employers, says Andy Banducci at the ERISA Industry Committee.
-
10 Pre-Deal Considerations In Cross-Border M&A Transactions
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Sergio Galvis and Benjamin Kent at Sullivan & Cromwell discuss steps that can be taken to preemptively address important issues that acquirers of foreign businesses encounter in cross-border M&A transactions, including tax planning and political risk.
-
Clean Hydrogen Developers Should Track Incentives, Risks
Clean hydrogen project developers and investors should be aware of new funding opportunities from the U.S. Department of Energy and tax benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act, but must also guard against risks associated with new and evolving technologies, say Pamela Wu and Kirstin Gibbs at Morgan Lewis.
-
IRS Starts Clock On Energy Projects' Labor Rule Exemption
A U.S. Department of the Treasury notice published this week started the 60-day clock for clean energy projects seeking to be grandfathered from having to meet new labor requirements to qualify for enhanced tax credits, and uncertainty about how the provisions will apply should be incentive for some investors to begin construction soon, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
-
Foreign Tax Credit Proposal Is Some Help, But More Is Needed
New foreign tax credit regulations proposed by the U.S. Treasury Department provided some measure of relief on cost recovery and royalty withholding, two of the most troublesome aspects of the 2021 final foreign tax credit regulations, but the final regulations are still harmful to many taxpayers, making litigation inevitable, say attorneys at Fenwick.
-
Anticipating The New Congress' Private Sector Investigations
With Republicans claiming a new majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming Congress, corporates and individuals should expect a sea change in Congress' investigative priorities and areas of focus — and private sector entities can take prudential steps in the near term to best prepare for and mitigate risk, say attorneys at Latham.
-
Tax Equity Requires Reinstating The Home Office Deduction
Congress should restore the home office deduction for W-2 workers in the interest of tax equity because permanently remote workers now bear the cost of creating quiet, dedicated work spaces, a pandemic-related shift unforeseen when the deduction was eliminated by 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, say James Mahon and Samantha Lesser at Becker.
-
Keys To IRA Tax Breaks For US Green Energy, EV Production
The Inflation Reduction Act includes three powerful tax incentives for domestic production of renewable energy projects and electric vehicles — but there are key questions that investors and manufacturers must ask when evaluating whether they can take advantage of these incentives, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
-
Crypto Case Failed To Clarify Taxation Of Staking Rewards
A Tennessee federal court's recent dismissal of Jarrett v. U.S. — after the IRS issued a refund for taxes paid on cryptocurrency and mooted a greater question about the tax treatment of staking rewards — leaves the crypto industry in need of guidance on the IRS’ position, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
-
How The IRS May Define 'Clean Hydrogen'
The Internal Revenue Service is still taking comments on how to define "clean hydrogen" for purposes of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, but developers can look to the IRA's legislative history — as well as the European Union's struggle to define "green hydrogen" — as guideposts, says Ben Reiter at Nixon Peabody.