Federal
-
January 10, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Davis Polk, Wachtell
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Constellation acquires Calpine, Cintas seeks a deal with UniFirst Corp., Stryker Corp. acquires Inari Medical Inc., and Paychex Inc. buys Paycor.
-
January 10, 2025
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin, issued Friday, included finalized rules aimed at simplifying how corporations determine taxable income or loss with respect to certain affiliates that conduct business in a foreign currency.
-
January 10, 2025
Treasury Floats Rules For Commercial Green Vehicle Credits
The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service proposed rules Friday for obtaining tax credits for commercial green vehicles under provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, suggesting ways for determining the credit amount and identifying which vehicles are eligible.
-
January 10, 2025
Senate Finance Panel To Vet Treasury Nominee Thursday
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing Thursday to consider the nomination of Scott Bessent to serve as the new U.S. Treasury secretary under the incoming administration, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said Friday.
-
January 09, 2025
Suspended Atty Seeks To Avoid Prison Over Payroll Tax Fraud
A suspended Ohio attorney who managed his wife's dental practice and admitted causing a $750,000 tax loss by failing to pay over employment taxes asked a federal court Thursday to spare him a prison sentence, saying he is not the "greedy liar" depicted by federal prosecutors.
-
January 09, 2025
JCT Details TCJA Tax Provisions Scheduled To Expire
A report released Thursday by the Joint Committee on Taxation provided details on the numerous tax provisions implemented under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.
-
January 09, 2025
Warren Presses IRS Pick On Employee Tax Credit Involvement
Sen. Elizabeth Warren pressed President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for internal revenue commissioner Thursday for more information about his promotion of the employee retention tax credit, a pandemic relief measure associated with rampant fraud.
-
January 09, 2025
EisnerAmper Adds Tax Pro As Partner In Dallas
International business adviser EisnerAmper LLC announced it appointed a certified public accountant from Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC to serve as a tax partner in the firm's private client services group based in Dallas.
-
January 09, 2025
Delaware Law Firms Kick Off New Year With Atty Promotions
As the new year gets underway, numerous Delaware law firms recently announced attorney promotions, including Bayard PA, Morris James LLP, Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP and Gordon Fournaris & Mammarella PA.
-
January 09, 2025
IRS Gets First Dibs On $1M BP Oil Spill Payout, 11th Circ. Says
The IRS gets first priority to a $1 million settlement BP paid to a staffing company that racked up $23 million in federal tax debt and went bankrupt following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed, denying an insurer's claim to the money.
-
January 08, 2025
Ex-FBI Informant Who Smeared Bidens Gets 6 Years
A former FBI informant who falsely told agents that a Ukrainian energy company had paid off President Joe Biden and his son Hunter was sentenced Wednesday in California federal court to six years in prison.
-
January 08, 2025
Pension Plan Official's Estate Excused From Danish Tax Suit
A New York federal court approved Wednesday an agreement for Denmark's tax authority to settle its claims against the estate of a pension plan official whose plan allegedly defrauded the agency out of $9 million.
-
January 08, 2025
Final Treasury Regs Grow Low-Income Bonus Energy Credits
New hydropower, nuclear, solar, geothermal and other nonpolluting energy facilities developed in areas designated as low-income communities are eligible for bonus investment tax credits under final regulations the U.S. Treasury Department unveiled Wednesday.
-
January 08, 2025
H&R Block To Pay $7M Fine In False Ad Settlement With FTC
Tax preparation giant H&R Block will pay a $7 million fine to help customers harmed by what the Federal Trade Commission called its deceptive advertising practices and make it easier for customers to downgrade to cheaper products under a settlement with the agency announced Wednesday.
-
January 08, 2025
IRS Updates Guidance For Taxes In Employment Disputes
The Internal Revenue Service updated guidance Wednesday related to disputes over whether individuals are considered employees for employment tax purposes as well as clarified situations in which an employer can remit unpaid taxes at reduced rates in cases where the employer treated an employee as a nonemployee.
-
January 08, 2025
Consultant Owes Taxes, Fraud Penalties, Tax Court Says
A healthcare consultant digitally altered documents to claim unwarranted deductions, including one for a three-day hospital stay the medical facility said never happened, according to a U.S. Tax Court ruling Wednesday that sustained $53,000 in taxes and fraud penalties against her.
-
January 08, 2025
Worker Tax Credit Processing Delays Called Serious Problem
Continued delays in processing employee retention tax credit claims is the most serious problem facing the Internal Revenue Service, the national taxpayer advocate said Wednesday in her annual report to Congress, recommending that the agency lift its moratorium on processing new claims.
-
January 08, 2025
US, Swiss To Give Retirement Plans Lower Dividend Tax Rates
The Swiss and U.S. competent authorities agreed to provide lower tax rates on dividends for several types of retirement entities such as trusts that run pensions, qualified annuity plans and individual plans under the two countries' tax treaty, the Swiss government said Wednesday.
-
January 08, 2025
5th Circ. Remands Tax Restitution Nonpayment Sentence
The Fifth Circuit ordered a lower court to reconsider its decision to send a woman who evaded taxes back to prison, saying it should hear her new argument that only a civil punishment was allowed for her failure to pay restitution after she was released.
-
January 08, 2025
Feds Want 2 Years In Prison For Atty In Payroll Tax Fraud
A former Ohio attorney who managed his wife's dental practice should spend at least two years in prison for causing $750,000 in federal tax losses and failing to pay employment taxes, prosecutors urged Wednesday, saying he used the business as a personal piggy bank.
-
January 08, 2025
IRS Delays Thursday Deadlines For Carter Day Of Mourning
Any federal tax payments or returns due Thursday can now be paid or filed Friday due to the national day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter, the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.
-
January 07, 2025
H&R Block Accused Of Negligence In Data Breach
An H&R Block user who claims cybercriminals disseminated his personal information on the dark web, after a data breach at the tax preparation firm, accused the company in a proposed class action of failing to properly protect consumer data.
-
January 07, 2025
Cos. Seek Pause Of Retention Credit Processing In Litigation
Two companies that helped clients obtain pandemic-era employee retention tax credits asked Arizona federal district court Tuesday to pause the IRS' use of a system for automatically processing claims, saying harm caused by this process cannot be remedied after litigation.
-
January 07, 2025
7th Circ. Upholds Tax Penalties For Life Insurance Scammer
The Seventh Circuit upheld Tuesday nearly $400,000 in tax penalties against a man who served prison time for falsifying his returns as part of a scheme to poison his wife and collect on a $20 million life insurance policy.
-
January 07, 2025
Treasury Finalizes Clean Electricity Tax Credit Regs
The U.S. Treasury Department released final regulations Tuesday for a pair of new tax credits that reward various types of electricity generation from technologies that don't emit greenhouse gases, replacing recently expired incentives that benefited only renewable energy sources.
Expert Analysis
-
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.
-
Lessons From Country Singer's Personal Service Saga
Recent reports that country singer Luke Combs won a judgment against a Florida woman who didn’t receive notice of the counterfeit suit against her should serve as a reminder for attorneys on best practices for effectuating service by electronic means, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
-
7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond
The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.
-
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024
Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.