Federal
-
June 11, 2024
US Issues Sanctions For $50M Guyana Gold Tax Evasion
Two Guyanese businessmen and a Guyanese official were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday after a probe into a corruption scheme that helped the businessmen evade $50 million in gold export taxes that should have been paid to Guyana's government, Treasury said.
-
June 11, 2024
Trucks Don't Qualify For $400M Tax Exemption, 6th Circ. Told
A Tennessee company's refurbished trucks do not qualify for the safe harbor from the heavy-truck excise tax and should not be exempt from roughly $400 million in excise taxes, penalties and interest, the U.S. government told the Sixth Circuit.
-
June 11, 2024
Aflac Matriarch's Estate Says IRS Missing Info In $11.7M Fight
The Internal Revenue Service's push to recover $11.7 million in deficiencies and penalties from the estate of the matriarch of the family that founded Aflac is predicated on a "mistaken understanding" regarding a trust, the estate told the U.S. Tax Court.
-
June 11, 2024
Compliance Costs Outweigh Min. Tax Gains, Biz Reps Say
Multinational businesses are concerned that the burden of complying with the 15% global minimum tax outweighs any potential revenue gains associated with the burgeoning system, tax attorneys and a trade association representative said during a panel Tuesday.
-
June 11, 2024
House Panel Chair Seeks To End Media Org's Tax Exemption
The House's top tax writer wants the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of a nonprofit Mideast-focused news outlet, telling Commissioner Daniel Werfel that the organization is aiding Hamas.
-
June 11, 2024
Lawmakers Urge Biden To Back Brazil's Int'l Wealth Tax Plan
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic lawmakers asked the Biden administration Tuesday to support the global minimum tax on billionaires being proposed by Brazil, which is encouraging the Group of 20 nations to endorse the initiative at its meetings next month.
-
June 11, 2024
Kostelanetz Partners Talk Benefits Of Atlanta Tax Firm Tie-Up
Kostelanetz LLP partners Bryan Skarlatos and Todd Welty discuss the firm’s recent combination with Atlanta boutique Welty PC.
-
June 11, 2024
Charity Founder Charged With Embezzling $2.5M, Evading Tax
The founder of a New York City charity embezzled $2.5 million in donations meant for low-income families and then failed to report the earnings to the Internal Revenue Service or pay tax on them, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in New York federal court.
-
June 11, 2024
IRS Schedules 3 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Meetings For July
Three Taxpayer Advocacy Panel committees will hold public meetings in July focused on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service, the agency announced Tuesday.
-
June 10, 2024
Ex-LA Chinatown Bank CFO Gets 3 Years For Embezzlement
The former chief financial officer of a bank based in Los Angeles' Chinatown has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to bank fraud for embezzling more than $700,000 from his employer.
-
June 10, 2024
Exec Wants IRS To Destroy Or Yield Docs In Summons Fight
The IRS should be forced to destroy or return bank records it obtained from a cryptocurrency executive charged in a 2020 bitcoin fraud investigation because the agency failed to notify him and his company of the summonses for the records, they told a Texas federal court Monday.
-
June 10, 2024
Tax Court Rejects 'Shoebox' Method To Support Biz Expenses
The U.S. Tax Court rejected Monday the tax deductions that three California residents had claimed on their businesses' returns, saying their "shoebox" method of bundling receipts as evidence failed to substantiate their business expenses.
-
June 10, 2024
Big Tech Urges US Reprisal Over Canada's Impending DST
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative should open formal dispute proceedings with the Canadian government in response to a 3% digital services tax that is expected to soon pass in the Canadian Senate, business groups with members in the U.S. tech industry said Monday.
-
June 10, 2024
IRS Needs Plan To Reduce Office Space, TIGTA Says
While the Internal Revenue Service has successfully decreased its unneeded office space by 8% since 2018, it needs a long-term space reduction plan with annual targets to efficiently continue to reduce its footprint, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report released Monday.
-
June 10, 2024
Judge Unseals Some Testimony Of Trump Tax Info Leaker
A federal magistrate judge on Monday ordered the unsealing of some testimony from a former IRS contractor about how he illegally gained access to former President Donald Trump's tax returns in a billionaire's case suing the agency over the breach.
-
June 10, 2024
10th Circ. Affirms Couple Can't Ax $833K Income Tax Payment
A couple's wide-ranging arguments that the Internal Revenue Service should not have been allowed to assess that they owe over $833,000 in unpaid income taxes and penalties failed to sway the Tenth Circuit on Monday, as the court affirmed a ruling against them.
-
June 10, 2024
Treasury Dept. Beats IRS Agent's Religious Bias Suit
The U.S. Department of the Treasury defeated an Internal Revenue Service agent's suit claiming he was disciplined for a three-day celebration of Easter mandated by his Christian faith, with a Florida federal judge finding the reprimand was based on performance rather than religion.
-
June 07, 2024
LIHTC Developer Asks 11th Circ. To Undo Investor Takeover
A developer told the Eleventh Circuit on Friday it is a victim of a scheme by investors using a lower court ruling to complete a takeover of two Tampa, Florida, senior housing complexes developed with federal low-income housing tax credits.
-
June 07, 2024
Trust Can Deduct Property Income As Gift, IRS Says
A trust can deduct gross income set aside as a charitable contribution stemming from the distribution of real property from the corporation that is the trust's sole shareholder, the IRS said in a private letter ruling released Friday.
-
June 07, 2024
IRS Delays Deadlines In W.Va., Ky. Counties Hit By Tornadoes
Certain West Virginia and Kentucky taxpayers impacted by tornadoes and other major weather events that hit the area April 2 now have until Nov. 1 to file various individual and business tax returns and make payments, the Internal Revenue Service said Friday.
-
June 07, 2024
No Loss On Terminated Rate Agreements, Chief Counsel Says
A company that executed forward-rate agreements cannot claim a loss in connection with the termination of the agreements because its adjusted basis in the agreements was zero, according to a memo released Friday by the IRS Office of Chief Counsel.
-
June 07, 2024
IRS Updates EV Battery Reporting Guide For Tax Credits
The Internal Revenue Service provided updated guidance Friday for automakers planning to provide a report on meeting the battery sourcing requirements that can qualify their new electric vehicle models for the consumer tax credit of up to $7,500.
-
June 07, 2024
6th Circ. Finds Ethical Lapses Justify Bar On Firm's Outreach
The Sixth Circuit said Thursday a Michigan federal judge shouldn't have faulted a law firm for attacking a proposed tax foreclosure class-action settlement in solicitation letters, but nevertheless upheld the judge's order barring contact with certain class members because of the firm's actual ethical lapses.
-
June 07, 2024
Subsidiary Won't Lose Status Before Dissolving, IRS Says
A court-ordered liquidation of an insurance company won't cause it to lose its status as a corporation before it completes its final dissolution, the Internal Revenue Service said in a private letter ruling released Friday.
-
June 07, 2024
Dentons Adds Pair Of Husch Blackwell Tax Attys
Two South Carolina tax attorneys have joined Dentons' corporate, tax and private client practice as partners after moving from Husch Blackwell LLP, the firm announced on Thursday.
Expert Analysis
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
-
As Promised, IRS Is Coming For Crypto Tax Evaders
The IRS is fulfilling its promise to crack down on those who have neglected to pay taxes on cryptocurrency earnings, as demonstrated by recently imposed prison sentences, enforcement initiatives and meetings with international counterparts — suggesting a few key takeaways for taxpayer compliance, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
-
5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.
-
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.
-
Parsing Treasury's Proposed Clean Hydrogen Tax Credit Rules
Regulations recently proposed by the IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury concerning two types of tax credits for clean hydrogen production facilities should resolve many of the most pressing questions around qualification for the credits — albeit in a relatively stringent manner, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
-
Employee Experience Strategy Can Boost Law Firm Success
Amid continuing business uncertainty, law firms should consider adopting a holistic employee experience strategy — prioritizing consistency, targeting signature moments and leveraging measurement tools — to maximize productivity and profitability, says Haley Revel at Calibrate Consulting.
-
6 Practice Pointers For Pro Bono Immigration Practice
An attorney taking on their first pro bono immigration matter may find the law and procedures beguiling, but understanding key deadlines, the significance of individual immigration judges' rules and specialized aspects of the practice can help avoid common missteps, says Steven Malm at Haynes Boone.