Federal
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July 26, 2024
Two Admit Trying To Bribe IRS Official On China's Behalf
Two people admitted to secretly acting on behalf of the Chinese government and bribing an undercover agent in connection with a scheme to revoke the tax-exempt status of U.S. participants in a spiritual practice banned in China, according to New York federal court filings.
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July 26, 2024
Uber Accused Of Illegally Charging Tax On Delivery Fees
Uber illegally collects sales tax on food delivery fees in Florida, a customer claimed in a proposed class action removed to federal court, saying the company cannot charge the tax if customers have the option of picking up the order themselves.
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July 26, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Wachtell, Polsinelli, Kirkland
In this week's Taxation With Representation, T-Mobile partners with KKR to acquire Metronet, Exclusive Networks gets a takeover offer, KKR buys Instructure Holdings Inc., and Bally's Corp. merges with The Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc.
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July 26, 2024
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin, issued Friday, included reporting requirements for brokers of digital assets such as cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens.
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July 25, 2024
Global Tax Revamp Continues To Progress, OECD Tells G20
Implementation of the Pillar Two minimum tax portion of the OECD's international plan to address tax base erosion and profit shifting is well underway, while an agreement is close on the Pillar One taxing rights overhaul, the organization told the Group of 20 nations Thursday.
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July 25, 2024
Global Tax Police Unit Probes More Than 30 Cybercrime Cases
The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, an intergovernmental tax enforcement group, is investigating more than 30 active cybercrime cases tied to financial and tax criminal activities all over the world, the group announced Thursday in its first report.
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July 25, 2024
Teacher Not Entitled To Business Deductions, Tax Court Says
A teacher who told the U.S. Tax Court that she had self-published six books and was passionate about conducting missing persons research was denied business deductions for the activities Thursday after the court determined she wasn't primarily trying to turn a profit.
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July 25, 2024
Wyden Seeks Swiss Bank Info On Indicted Defense Contractor
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden asked Swiss bank UBS in a letter published Thursday for information about a former U.S. defense contractor who the Department of Justice says avoided taxes on more than $350 million in income.
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July 25, 2024
Senate Confirms First Tax Court Judge Since 2020
The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed a U.S. Tax Court judge for the first time since 2020.
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July 25, 2024
Clark Hill Adds Tax And Estate Atty From Plunk Smith In Texas
A former Plunk Smith PLLC senior associate jumped to Clark Hill in Collin County, Texas, to serve as a member in the tax and estate planning practice, the firm announced Thursday.
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July 25, 2024
GOP Control Could Muddle Tax Picture For Multinationals
Republican lawmakers and former President Donald Trump could create more confusion for multinationals with their tax and trade policies if they sweep the U.S. elections in November, because they are likely to pursue retaliatory measures in opposition to the OECD's global tax rewrite.
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July 25, 2024
IRS, Zaxby's Co-Founder To Settle $43M Easement Suit
The Internal Revenue Service agreed to settle a $43 million valuation dispute over a conservation easement donated by the co-founder of the Zaxby's restaurant chain and his wife, prompting a Georgia federal court Thursday to cancel next month's anticipated jury trial.
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July 25, 2024
Vanguard Opposes Investors' Cert. Bid In Tax Liability Suit
A group of investors accusing Vanguard of violating its fiduciary duties by triggering a sell-off of assets that left smaller investors with massive tax bills shouldn't be granted class certification, the asset manager told a Pennsylvania federal court.
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July 25, 2024
GOP House Bill Would End IRS Direct Filing Program
Two House Republicans introduced legislation that would end the Internal Revenue Service's Direct File online filing system.
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July 25, 2024
IRS Adds Audit Updates To Individual Online Accounts
The Internal Revenue Service has added features to individual online taxpayer accounts, including a way to get updates on audits, thanks to increased funding provided by the 2022 tax and climate law, the agency said Thursday.
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July 24, 2024
NC Man Gets Prison, $4.4M Fine For Stealing From Customers
A North Carolina businessman who admitted to stealing customers' bank and credit account information and spending their funds at casinos has been ordered to serve almost three years in prison and to pay a penalty of more than $4.4 million, prosecutors announced this week.
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July 24, 2024
Atty Can't Deduct Car Racing Costs As Ads, US Tells 10th Circ.
A personal injury lawyer who also races cars shouldn't be allowed to deduct about $300,000 for racing-related costs as ordinary business advertising expenses because they're unrelated to his law practice, the U.S. government told the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday.
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July 24, 2024
Senate Tees Up Votes On Two Tax Court Nominees
The U.S. Senate set the stage Wednesday for the chamber to proceed with votes on two of President Joe Biden's picks for U.S. Tax Court seats.
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July 24, 2024
IRS' $15M Jeopardy Assessment OK'd In Offshore Tax Fight
A Florida federal court has upheld a $15 million immediate tax assessment against a man who transferred his father's estate into trusts for himself and his mother and refused to pay what the IRS claimed was tax debt on his father's undisclosed offshore accounts.
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July 24, 2024
IRS Sets Criteria For Carbon Capture Credit Life Cycle Report
The Internal Revenue Service detailed standards and procedures Wednesday for a written report on a carbon sequestration facility's greenhouse gas emissions that project owners must submit and get agency approval on before claiming the carbon oxide tax credit.
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July 24, 2024
Affordable Housing Pro Moves Practice To Nelson Mullins
An attorney who specializes in advising clients on completing affordable housing development projects has recently moved her practice to Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough's Pittsburgh office.
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July 24, 2024
New Jersey Joining IRS Free E-File Program in 2025
The IRS' Direct File free electronic tax return filing program will be available in New Jersey in the 2025 tax filing season, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.
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July 24, 2024
Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Tax Suit Seeking $35M In Gold Coins
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims correctly tossed a man's lawsuit seeking more than $35 million in gold coins as restitution for claims regarding a decades-old tax bill, as that court does not have jurisdiction, a Federal Circuit panel affirmed Wednesday.
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July 24, 2024
Senate Finance Committee Holding Tax Court Noms Session
The Senate Finance Committee will host an open executive session Thursday to consider three nominations to the U.S. Tax Court, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Wednesday.
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July 24, 2024
Dentons Brings On Former Big 4 Exec As New Global CEO
Global law firm Dentons, which has made a name for itself by aggressive growth through combinations, has tapped a new global chief executive officer with leadership experience at accounting giant EY, the firm's first change at the top in over a decade.
Expert Analysis
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A Proposal For Fairer, More Efficient Innocent Spouse Relief
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.
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7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves
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.
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Proposed Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs May Be Legally Flawed
While the recently proposed regulations for the new clean hydrogen production tax credit have been lauded by some in the environmental community, it is unclear whether they are sufficiently grounded in law, result from valid rulemaking processes, or accord with other administrative law principles, say Hunter Johnston and Steven Dixon at Steptoe.
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Navigating ACA Reporting Nuances As Deadlines Loom
Stephanie Lowe at Liebert Cassidy walks employers through need-to-know elements of Affordable Care Act reporting, including two quickly approaching deadlines, the updated affordability threshold, strategies for choosing an affordability safe harbor, and common coding pitfalls.
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.
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Why Biz Groups Disagree On Ending Chevron Deference
Two amicus briefs filed in advance of last month's U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo highlight contrasting views on whether the doctrine of Chevron deference promotes or undermines the stable regulatory environment that businesses require, say Wyatt Kendall and Sydney Brogden at Morris Manning.
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US-Chile Tax Treaty May Encourage Cross-Border Investment
Provisions in the recently effective U.S.-Chile bilateral income tax treaty should encourage business between the two countries, as they reduce U.S. withholding tax on investment income for Chilean taxpayers, exempt certain U.S. taxpayers from Chilean capital gains tax, and clarify U.S. foreign tax credit rules, say attorneys at Kramer Levin.
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A Look Ahead For The Electric Vehicle Charging Industry
This will likely be an eventful year for the electric vehicle market as government efforts to accelerate their adoption inevitably clash with backlash from supporters of the petroleum industry, say Rue Phillips at SkillFusion and Enid Joffe at Green Paradigm Consulting.
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A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise
After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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Planning A Defense As IRS Kicks Off Sports Losses Campaign
Sports team owners and partnerships face potential examination under the Internal Revenue Service’s recently announced sports industry losses campaign, and should be preparing to explain what drove their reported losses and assembling documentation to support their tax return positions and accounting methods, say Sheri Dillon and Jennifer Breen at Morgan Lewis.
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What New Calif. Strike Force Means For White Collar Crimes
The recently announced Central District of California strike force targeting complex corporate and securities fraud — following the Northern District of California's model — combines experienced prosecutorial leadership and partnerships with federal agencies like the IRS and FBI, and could result in an uptick in the number of cases and speed of proceedings, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.