Federal
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May 30, 2024
Chicago Kiosk Salesman Gets 1 Year For Filing False Returns
An electronic-sweepstakes kiosk salesman from Chicago was sentenced to a year in prison for filing false tax returns that included more than $500,000 in inflated business expenses, according to Illinois federal court documents.
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May 30, 2024
IRS Adds 16 Tax Court Sessions To Calendar
The Internal Revenue Service announced 16 U.S. Tax Court sessions in September and October and named calendar administrators for the sessions in a notice released Thursday.
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May 30, 2024
Tax Court Nixes $30M In Conservation Easement Deductions
The U.S. Tax Court upheld on Thursday the IRS' rejection of more than $30 million in charitable contribution deductions for Alabama conservation easements for partnerships acting as test cases for a larger group that took $187 million in deductions.
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May 30, 2024
Tax Court Tosses Whistleblower Award Contest
The U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday that it cannot review a woman's roughly $1,700 whistleblower award from the Internal Revenue Service because it does not meet a threshold for mandatory awards.
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May 30, 2024
IRS Names New Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer
The Internal Revenue Service has chosen an adviser in its Transformation and Strategy Office to serve as the agency's new chief taxpayer experience officer, according to a statement Thursday.
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May 30, 2024
Later Pillar 1 Due Date Set For June As Tax Talks Wrap Up
Diplomats agreed this week to finalize a treaty for reallocating some of large companies' tax payments and setting standards to simplify some transfer pricing in lower-income countries by June 30 after having missed a March deadline, according to a statement published Thursday by the OECD.
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May 30, 2024
Ex-KPMG Manager Joins Davis+Gilbert As Tax Partner
A former managing director at KPMG has joined New York law firm Davis+Gilbert LLP as a tax partner in its corporate and transactions practice, Davis+Gilbert announced.
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May 30, 2024
Black Business Owners Sue Over Impact Of Transparency Act
The Corporate Transparency Act creates unique burdens on businesses owned by people of color, immigrants and other marginalized groups, the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and several company owners said in the latest legal challenge to the anti-money laundering law.
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May 30, 2024
Russian Gas Ex-CFO Says $44M FBAR Penalty Is Excessive
The former chief financial officer of a Russian gas company who was sentenced to seven years in prison for hiding money in Swiss banks told a Florida federal court that the $44 million in foreign account reporting penalties the government is seeking is illegally high.
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May 30, 2024
IRS To Make E-File Program Permanent, Plans Expansions
The Internal Revenue Service will make permanent the free online tax filing system it launched as a limited pilot program this year and plans to expand its scope, Commissioner Daniel Werfel said Thursday.
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May 29, 2024
10th Circ. Tosses Insurance Co. Appeal In Tax Court Dispute
The Tenth Circuit tossed an insurance company's challenge to a U.S. Tax Court ruling rejecting the company's effort to invalidate tax deficiency notices on Wednesday, saying it lacked authority to hear the case because the Tax Court's decision wasn't a final one that would end litigation.
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May 29, 2024
Miami Tax Preparers Should Be Barred For Fraud, DOJ Says
Two Miami-based tax professionals and their businesses should be barred from preparing federal tax returns for others because they repeatedly claimed fraudulent credits without their customers' knowledge, the U.S. Department of Justice told a Florida federal court.
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May 29, 2024
Baker McKenzie Grows Tax Practice With Ex-KPMG Adviser
Baker McKenzie announced the hiring of an experienced Chicago-based tax adviser as a principal who most recently spent sixteen and a half years at Big Four accounting firm KPMG.
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May 29, 2024
Presidential Candidate Convicted For $15.5M Tax Fraud
A tax-preparation business owner and 2024 presidential candidate was convicted on 33 counts of tax fraud after being accused of inflating deductions in a scheme federal prosecutors said caused more than $15.5 million in tax losses, according to Texas federal court documents.
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May 29, 2024
Treasury Details Which Tech Would Get Clean Energy Credits
Treasury released proposed rules Wednesday outlining which technologies would qualify for new zero-emission energy tax credits, saying wind, solar and geothermal are among those that would make the cut.
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May 28, 2024
Preserving Enhanced LITC Funding Could Aid Tax System
Lawmakers haven't yet enacted funding levels for low-income taxpayer clinics for 2025, but they could grease the wheels of tax administration by preserving enhanced funding for the clinics, which helps more taxpayers comply with the law, reducing the burden on the IRS.
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May 28, 2024
Mich. Doctor Denied Release From Contempt In FBAR Fight
A Michigan doctor will stay jailed for civil contempt after a federal judge found Tuesday that he failed to back up claims that he cannot pay his more than $1 million in foreign bank account reporting penalties due to a bank's bankruptcy and his criminal history.
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May 28, 2024
Biz Groups Back BofA In Merger Interest Tax Fight At 4th Circ.
Business groups told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday that they supported Bank of America in its fight against a North Carolina federal court ruling that found the bank wasn't entitled to net the interest on the tax liabilities of Merrill Lynch after the two companies merged.
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May 28, 2024
Wisconsin Atty Gets 5½ Years For $2.3M Fraud, Tax Evasion
An attorney licensed in Wisconsin has been sentenced to 5½ years in federal prison and ordered to pay around $2.3 million in restitution for her involvement in multiple fraud schemes, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
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May 28, 2024
Home Care Co. Says It's Owed $1.1M In Pandemic Tax Credits
The IRS has unfairly delayed paying a home healthcare service in Pennsylvania more than $1.1 million in pandemic-era employee retention tax credits while the agency claims to be checking that the business doesn't owe taxes, the company told a federal court.
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May 28, 2024
Global Tax Body Provides Crypto Risk Assessment Red Flags
The Internal Revenue Service and four international tax authorities issued an advisory to financial institutions on the dangers of cryptocurrency in relation to tax evasion, money laundering and other illicit activities, identifying certain risk factors worth their attention.
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May 28, 2024
Tax Lawyer Rejoins Mayer Brown In DC From Latham
Mayer Brown LLP has rehired a tax partner from Latham & Watkins LLP, who joins the firm in Washington, D.C., to continue working with clients to best utilize renewable energy tax credits, the firm announced Tuesday.
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May 28, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Touch IRS Bid For Tax Liability On Bookie
A bookie who pled guilty to helping run an illegal sports gambling ring out of Peru can't escape his ensuing $100,000 tax liability under a Ninth Circuit ruling that declined to expunge his conviction after he argued the taxes are disproportionately punishing.
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May 24, 2024
Court Upholds Limit To Award In Ecopetrol, Texas Co. Dispute
An arbitration tribunal was within its authority to limit the number of years and the amount that a Houston-based oil company had to reimburse Colombia's state-owned entity, Ecopetrol, for the value-added tax liability of a subsidiary while owned by the company, a New York federal judge determined.
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May 24, 2024
CohnReznick Adds Tax Planning Partner From Mazars
CohnReznick LLP added a top accountant and tax partner from Mazars USA LLP to its roster of tax professionals, the firm announced.
Expert Analysis
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Substantiation Is Key When Gifting Crypto To Charity
A recent Internal Revenue Service memorandum makes clear that the agency will require substantiation when gifting cryptocurrency to charity, even for relatively small amounts, so donors need to be aware of the important differences between crypto and typical cash donations, says Sheryl Morrison at Lathrop GPM.
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Senate Credit Suisse Report Puts Attention On Banks, Trusts
The Senate Finance Committee's recent finding that Credit Suisse violated a plea agreement struck over its role in enabling offshore tax evasion has important ramifications for banks and trusts, including how they onboard, document and report on transactions relevant to U.S. reporting requirements, say Will Barry and Ian Herbert at Miller & Chevalier.
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Seeking IRS Accountability For Faulty Microcaptive Notice
Like the taxpayers in Standard Insurances v. U.S. seeking to expand earlier wins in microcaptive insurance cases that limit IRS use of improperly obtained information, others should consider ways to hold the agency accountable and provide incentive for it to follow the law going forward, says Joshua Smeltzer at Gray Reed.
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Biden Admin. Proposals Both Encourage And Thwart EV Adoption
While the Biden administration has been aggressively focused on promoting electric vehicles from the start, its recently issued guidance on EV tax credits and its restrictive new auto emissions proposal create a sense of implementation whiplash that may frustrate manufacturers and consumers, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.
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Heed PCAOB's Warning On Proof-Of-Reserves Reports
While directed at investors, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's recent advisory on proof-of-reserves reports is a timely and stark warning to crypto entities, as well as their customers and accounting firms, to tread carefully in their reliance on these reports as proof of financial stability, say Patrick Bryan and Deborah Meshulam at DLA Piper.
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Cos. Should Heed IRS Warnings About Employee Tax Credit
The IRS has recently been cautioning employers claiming the pandemic-related employee retention credit to carefully review all the eligibility requirements and be wary of relying on third-party advisers regarding their qualification for the credit, say Eric Pearson and Timothy Voigtman at Foley & Lardner.
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Renewable Energy M&A Is Still Strong, Despite Challenges
The recent history of renewable energy has included ongoing supply chain issues, legislative challenges and rising interest rates — but mergers and acquisitions in the sector are expected to remain robust this year, fueled by growing demand and Inflation Reduction Act incentives, say consultants at FTI Consulting.
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Issues And Opportunities In Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development
A variety of tax incentives, funding opportunities and state programs have the potential to provide value across the hydrogen fuel cell business chain and alleviate existing hurdles, establishing a stronger business case for the continued development of hydrogen infrastructure, says Pamela Wu at Morgan Lewis.
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IRS Green Energy Tax Credit Notice Provides Needed Clarity
Recent IRS guidance clarifying how the government will determine energy community locations for purposes of bonus clean energy tax credits should help resolve risk allocation disagreements among financing parties and parties to merger and acquisition transactions, say Casey August and Paul Gordon at Morgan Lewis.
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SVB Collapse Highlights Ch. 11 Issues With Bank Holding Cos.
Amid recent banking turmoil, including Silicon Valley Bank's collapse and subsequent Chapter 11 filing of its parent company, distressed debt investors and board members must understand the distinct rules in bank holding company bankruptcies, including Bankruptcy Code provisions granting significant advantages to federal regulatory agencies like the FDIC, say attorneys at Skadden.
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9th Circ. Ruling Legitimizes Classwide Injury In Predominance
The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling that vacated class certification in Van v. LLR makes clear that the question of injury is highly relevant to the predominance analysis, and underscores the importance of making a persuasive argument that injury is individualized within the class, say attorneys at Skadden.
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IRS' Cost Method Update Is Favorable For RE Developers
The Internal Revenue Service's recent update to its alternative cost method will allow real estate developers to accelerate their cost recovery of improvements in certain circumstances and make it easier for practitioners to satisfy the method's tax compliance requirements, says Benjamin Oklan at Weil.
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The Key Issues Keeping Transfer Pricing A Top Tax Concern
Several challenges preventing a global economic reemergence from the pandemic era are making practitioners reevaluate commonly used transfer pricing models, and embrace new technologies and ways of doing business, say Farnaz Amini and Sophia Castro Jurado at Marcum.