Federal
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July 03, 2024
Ex-Defense Contractor Evaded Taxes On $350 Million, US Says
A former defense contractor and his wife face a 30-count indictment alleging they were involved in a decadeslong scheme to defraud the U.S. government and avoid taxes on more than $350 million in income, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
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July 03, 2024
Maryland Fends Off Chamber's Challenge To Digital Ad Tax
A disputed provision of Maryland's tax on digital advertising doesn't violate the First Amendment, a federal judge in the state found Wednesday, throwing out a challenge to the tax brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.
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July 03, 2024
Insurers Ask 10th Circ. To Rethink Toss Of $2M Tax Appeal
Captive insurance companies and their related entities that are challenging more than $2 million in IRS notices of tax deficiencies asked the Tenth Circuit to reconsider its refusal to review a U.S. Tax Court decision finding the notices were not invalid as the entities had claimed.
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July 03, 2024
Warren, Other Pols Push Yellen For Corp. Minimum Tax Rules
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and three other lawmakers urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for the department to quickly release regulations to implement the corporate alternative minimum tax in a letter released Wednesday.
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July 03, 2024
'Real Housewives' Figure Pleads Guilty To $2.5M Tax Offense
A former cast member of a "Real Housewives" TV series and owner of several restaurants and nightclubs in multiple states admitted in a North Carolina federal court to failing to pay over $2.5 million in employment taxes, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
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July 03, 2024
IRS Warns Of Scam Tied To Clean Energy Tax Credit Sales
Individuals should be wary of a scam in which tax return preparers improperly steer them to claim purchased clean energy tax credits to offset income tax from wages, retirement account withdrawals and other sources, the Internal Revenue Service warned Wednesday.
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July 03, 2024
Fox Rothschild Hires Pryor Cashman Nonprofit Leads
Fox Rothschild LLP announced Wednesday the hiring of two Pryor Cashman LLP partners for its corporate department in New York.
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July 03, 2024
IRS Reveals Final Regs For Medicare Drug Negotiation Tax
The Internal Revenue Service finalized regulations Wednesday that govern the quarterly reporting of a new excise tax that pharmaceutical companies, suppliers and importers must pay when they do not negotiate with Medicare over drug prices.
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July 02, 2024
Chevron's Fall Places State Tax Rules Under Microscope
State tax regulations could face increased judicial scrutiny in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to jettison the decades-old Chevron deference doctrine, which instructed courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous laws.
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July 02, 2024
IRS Details Accounting Change For Worthless Debt
Regulated financial companies or members of regulated financial groups can automatically get the consent of the Internal Revenue Service to change their accounting methods to the allowance charge-off method for debt instruments presumed worthless, the agency said in a revenue procedure Tuesday.
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July 02, 2024
NJ Couple Ordered To Pay $2.5M In FBAR Penalties
A New Jersey couple were ordered to pay $2.5 million in penalties and interest for failing to report their foreign bank accounts in Switzerland, according to court documents.
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July 02, 2024
8th Circ. Won't Revive IRS Fraud Docs FOIA Row
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a ruling that prevents public disclosure of the IRS' methods for verifying callers' identities, rejecting on Tuesday a retired Harvard professor's argument that the documents detailing the methods failed to qualify for an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act.
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July 02, 2024
Man Warned Against 'Tax Protester Rhetoric' In Failed Case
The U.S. Tax Court cautioned a New Jersey man Tuesday against using "tax protester rhetoric" in future disputes while rejecting his challenge to the IRS' determination that he failed to claim income and improperly claimed deductions, dismissing his arguments as frivolous.
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July 02, 2024
Eaton Needs To Cough Up Docs In IRS Probe, US Says
The U.S. government urged an Ohio federal judge to order power management multinational Eaton to produce records on certain European employees in response to an IRS investigation, arguing the company's contention the court lacks jurisdiction is "pure sophistry."
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July 02, 2024
Justices Revive Tax Tipster's Case, Citing Chevron Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court vacated and remanded on Tuesday a decision denying a whistleblower award to a tipster who reported an improper $60 million tax deduction to the IRS, saying the D.C. Circuit should reconsider its decision following the high court's ruling that overturned the Chevron doctrine.
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July 01, 2024
High Court's 1-2 Punch Sets Up Long-Standing Regs For KO
By ending its term with a stinging combination against federal agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative bloc left behind a bruised bureaucracy and a regulatory system that's now vulnerable to a barrage of incoming attacks.
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July 01, 2024
Feds Push To Keep IRS Agents Out Of Hunter Biden Tax Case
Two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers who Hunter Biden said wrongfully disclosed his confidential tax information should not be allowed to intervene in his suit against the U.S. government, the government told a D.C. federal court Monday.
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July 01, 2024
Pa. Man Gets 12 Years For $2M COVID-19 Funds Fraud
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to approximately 12 years in prison following his convictions for bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and unlawful monetary transactions related to theft of federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
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July 01, 2024
Womble Bond Adds Int'l Tax Partner In Houston Office
Womble Bond Dickinson has added a partner to its corporate and securities group in Houston who will focus on tax law and cross-border transactions, the firm announced.
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July 01, 2024
Tax Court Again Rules Against Couple On Social Security Pay
A California couple should have included Social Security disability payments in their income on their federal tax return, the U.S. Tax Court said Monday, upholding an Internal Revenue Service determination against the couple in such a case for a second time.
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July 01, 2024
US-Taiwan Biz Groups Push For True Double-Tax Treaty
Top-ranking Senate members should push for the start of consultations on a bilateral tax treaty to avoid double taxation between the U.S. and Taiwan as opposed to measures already included in a stalled larger bill, two groups focused on business relations between the countries said.
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July 01, 2024
Nelson Mullins Adds 9-Attorney Tax Team In Houston
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP announced Monday that five partners and four other tax attorneys have joined its new Houston office from Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry, including a former Texas Supreme Court justice.
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July 01, 2024
Longtime IRS Trial Atty Joins Jones Day In NY
An attorney who spent his entire career at the IRS has moved to private practice at Jones Day, the firm said on Monday.
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July 01, 2024
Firm Can't Cast Off $1.5M Tax Levy In Alter Ego Case
A Baltimore law firm can't stop a $1.5 million tax levy that allowed the IRS to freeze its bank account, a Maryland federal judge ruled, saying the firm failed to prove at this point in its suit that one of its clients lacked an interest in the money.
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July 01, 2024
IRS Floats Taking Tax Payments Directly By Credit Card
Taxpayers using credit cards could sidestep third-party payment processors and make tax payments directly to the IRS under regulations the agency proposed Monday that align with the Taxpayer First Act.
Federal Tax Policy To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024
Congressional lawmakers are grappling with the looming 2025 expiration of the 2017 GOP tax overhaul, a situation made more difficult by the coming elections in November that could define what, if any, tax legislation is eventually signed into law this year. Here, Law360 examines federal tax policy to watch in the second half of 2024.
Top Federal Tax Cases Of 2024: Midyear Report
In the first half of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court torpedoed the Chevron doctrine of judicial deference to federal agencies and affirmed the denial of a tax refund to a business owner's estate related to a life insurance payout, while the U.S. Tax Court reversed itself regarding a rule for conservation easements. Here, Law360 reviews federal court decisions from the past six months that tax attorneys should know.
IRS Faces Rulemaking Pressure Following Chevron's Demise
The Internal Revenue Service will likely face more pressure to develop tax regulations that are more firmly grounded in the law and tailored to ensure certainty for individuals, businesses and other organizations after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision to overturn the decades-old Chevron doctrine.
Featured Stories
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Federal Tax Policy To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024
Congressional lawmakers are grappling with the looming 2025 expiration of the 2017 GOP tax overhaul, a situation made more difficult by the coming elections in November that could define what, if any, tax legislation is eventually signed into law this year. Here, Law360 examines federal tax policy to watch in the second half of 2024.
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Chevron's Fall Places State Tax Rules Under Microscope
State tax regulations could face increased judicial scrutiny in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to jettison the decades-old Chevron deference doctrine, which instructed courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous laws.
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Top Federal Tax Cases Of 2024: Midyear Report
In the first half of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court torpedoed the Chevron doctrine of judicial deference to federal agencies and affirmed the denial of a tax refund to a business owner's estate related to a life insurance payout, while the U.S. Tax Court reversed itself regarding a rule for conservation easements. Here, Law360 reviews federal court decisions from the past six months that tax attorneys should know.
Expert Analysis
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A Tale Of 2 Trump Cases: The Rule Of Law Is A Live Issue
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week in Trump v. U.S., holding that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, undercuts the rule of law, while the former president’s New York hush money conviction vindicates it in eight key ways, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.
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Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Tracking Implementation Of IRA Programs As Election Nears
As the Biden administration races to cement key regulations implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, a number of the law's programs and incentives are at risk of delay or repeal if Republicans retake control of Congress, the White House or both — so stakeholders should closely watch ongoing IRA implementation and guidance, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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Takeaways From Justices' Redemption Insurance Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Connelly v. U.S. examines how to determine the fair market value of shares in a closely held company for estate tax purposes, and clarifies how life insurance held by the company to enable redemption of a decedent’s shares affects that calculation, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.
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6 Tips For Maximizing After-Tax Returns In Private M&A Deals
With potential tax legislation likely to spur a surge in private business sales, sellers can make the most of after-tax proceeds with strategies that include price allocation and qualified investment options, say Isaac Grossman and Daniel Studin at Morrison Cohen.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers
BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.
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What DOL Fiduciary Rule Means For Private Fund Managers
Attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the U.S. Department of Labor's recently released final fiduciary rule, which revises the agency's 1975 regulation, could potentially cause private fund managers' current marketing practices and communications to be considered fiduciary advice, and therefore subject them to strict prohibitions.
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Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence
As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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How Associates Can Build A Professional Image
As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.