Federal

  • January 22, 2025

    Madigan Used ComEd As 'Personal Piggy Bank,' Jurors Told

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his devoted surrogate Michael McClain conspired to enhance and preserve Madigan's power and line his pockets, both by steering business to the ex-speaker's law firm and rewarding his political allies with do-nothing jobs, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury during closing arguments Wednesday.

  • January 22, 2025

    Seven Charged In $600 Million COVID Tax Credit Scheme

    Seven people have been accused of trying to defraud the federal government of more than $600 million by filing more than 8,000 false tax returns in what the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday called "the nation's largest COVID-19 tax credit scheme."

  • January 22, 2025

    GOP, Dems From High-Tax States Push To Kill SALT Cap

    Republican and Democratic lawmakers from high-tax states said Wednesday that raising or eliminating the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction would be essential to gaining their support for a bill to renew expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax breaks.

  • January 22, 2025

    Renewing TCJA Will Deepen Economic Divide, Oxfam Says

    Renewing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would cost the U.S. more than $4.5 trillion in revenue that could be used to reduce economic inequality, nongovernmental organization Oxfam said in the release of its annual report on inequality.

  • January 22, 2025

    Sheriff's Fund Withdrawal Not Embezzlement, Tax Court Says

    A former county sheriff did not embezzle money from an account used to buy food for prisoners when she invested the funds in a business that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Wednesday in a dispute over whether she owed taxes on the money.

  • January 22, 2025

    GOP Again Floats Reciprocal Taxes In Affront To Global Deal

    Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday renewed their proposal for reciprocal taxes against countries that participate in an international minimum tax agreement, following up on President Donald Trump's rejection of the global accord.

  • January 22, 2025

    Wyden Urges National Standard For Hemp Regulation

    Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., rallied on Wednesday for his bill that would beef up regulation of products with hemp-derived cannabinoids in order to protect consumers, particularly children.

  • January 22, 2025

    Foreclosed Property Owner's Claims Too Late, Tax Court Says

    The U.S. Tax Court sustained more than $100,000 in tax liabilities Wednesday against the owner of foreclosed properties, saying she is not entitled to deductions for net operating losses and capital loss carry-forwards that she claimed late.

  • January 22, 2025

    Captive Insurance Co. Head Seeks Tax-Shelter Fine Refund

    A tax attorney who heads a business that creates captive insurance companies said the IRS wrongly accused him of promoting an abusive tax shelter, telling an Ohio federal court the agency owes him a refund of penalties he handed over.

  • January 21, 2025

    Tax Court Slashes $33M Easement Deduction

    The U.S. Tax Court reduced a partnership's claimed $33 million tax deduction for a donation of a Georgia conservation easement Tuesday, saying the easement was only worth $4.7 million, partly because the partnership overestimated its development potential in a rural area.

  • January 21, 2025

    IRS Office Can't Verify Low-Income Aid Meets Requirements

    The Internal Revenue Service office in charge of a program that provides assistance to low-income people dealing with tax disputes can't access information that would allow it to make sure grant recipients meet requirements, potentially harming the program's effectiveness, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Tuesday.

  • January 21, 2025

    Expat Facing $6.9M In FBAR Penalties, Interest

    An American woman living in Switzerland faces $6.9 million in penalties, interest and late fees because she did not report her accounts that were held at a Swiss bank, the U.S. government told a D.C. federal court.

  • January 21, 2025

    Union Calls For Block To Trump's Federal Workers Order

    President Donald Trump must halt efforts to enforce his executive order easing the process to fire certain federal employees, the National Treasury Employees Union argued in a lawsuit, claiming thousands of workers could be at risk of termination "for any reason including political agenda."

  • January 21, 2025

    Co. Seeks IRS Refund In $2.7M Captive Insurance Case

    A Delaware federal court should refund tax penalties a company paid on a $2.7 bill from the IRS for activities related to captive insurance companies and promoting abusive tax shelters, the company argued Tuesday, saying the government provided no proof it did anything wrong.

  • January 21, 2025

    Tribal Tax Status Regs Leave Energy Credit Access Up In Air

    While recently proposed regulations would provide long-awaited clarity that enterprises wholly owned by Native American tribes are exempt from federal taxes, the rules leave glaring questions open about whether tribes can access clean energy tax credits through business structures like joint ventures.

  • January 21, 2025

    Senate Finance Committee Approves Trump's Treasury Pick

    The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump's nominee for treasury secretary, sending his nomination to the full Senate for a vote.

  • January 21, 2025

    Trump Order Places IRS Under Indefinite Hiring Freeze

    President Donald Trump said a hiring freeze that he ordered at federal government agencies will be harsher at the Internal Revenue Service, with the agency requiring an extra layer of review, with no specified end date, before hiring can restart.

  • January 17, 2025

    Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

    Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2024, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.

  • January 17, 2025

    Law360 Names Firms Of The Year

    Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 54 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2024 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • January 17, 2025

    Par Funding's Fraud Caused $288M In Losses, Pa. Judge Says

    Par Funding caused $288 million in losses stemming from a scheme to defraud investors who poured money into its cash advance business, a Pennsylvania federal judge said Friday, days after holding an evidentiary hearing where the government and the defendants sparred over dueling loss amounts.

  • January 17, 2025

    Feds Say Pa. Investment Adviser Stole $20M From Clients

    A Pennsylvania investment adviser's alleged misappropriation of more than $20 million worth of client funds has landed him criminal charges and civil enforcement action from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • January 17, 2025

    US Guidance On Amount B Carries Potential For Disputes

    Recent IRS guidance on a simplified and streamlined transfer pricing method for certain cross-border transactions, known as Amount B, suggests rulemakers want feedback on how it would work if it were made mandatory, but that approach could lead to controversy without global cooperation.

  • January 17, 2025

    Bill Aims To Extend Biogas Investment Credit Through 2025

    A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would extend the clean energy investment tax credit available for certain biogas facilities' equipment through the end of 2025 instead of at the end of 2024, the bill's sponsors said Friday.

  • January 17, 2025

    11th Circ. Urged To Reject Biz Owners' Tax Penalty Challenge

    The owners of an electronic parts company who asked the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a tax penalty and find that Tax Court judges have unconstitutional job protections failed to link the two and are not entitled to tax relief, the U.S. government said Friday.

  • January 17, 2025

    LA Crypto 'Godfather' Admits To $36M Meta Hacking Fraud

    A Los Angeles-based cryptocurrency founder who called himself "The Godfather" will plead guilty to earning $36 million through the sale of hacked Meta Platforms advertising accounts and evading taxes on the fraudulent profits, according to federal court documents unsealed Friday,

Expert Analysis

  • The Corporate Transparency Act Isn't Dead Yet

    Author Photo

    After an Alabama federal court's ruling last week rendering the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, changes to the law may ultimately be required, but ongoing compliance is still the best course of action for most, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

  • How New EU Tax And Transfer Pricing Rules May Affect M&A

    Author Photo

    Companies involved in mergers and acquisitions may need to adjust fiscal due diligence procedures to ensure they consider potential far-reaching effects of newly implemented transfer pricing measures, such as newly implemented global minimum tax and European Union anti-tax avoidance directives and proposals, says Patrick Tijhuis at BDO.

  • Employers, Prep For Shorter Stock Awards Settlement Cycle

    Author Photo

    Companies that provide equity compensation in the form of publicly traded stock will soon have one less day to complete such transactions under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq rules — so employers should implement expedited equity compensation stock settlement and payroll tax deposit procedures now, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Demystifying IRS' Claims Of $851B Return On Investment

    Author Photo

    The IRS' recently released analysis, estimating a $851 billion return on the government’s $80 billion investment in the agency, represents a huge increase over its 2022 estimate and that of the Congressional Budget Office and may be best viewed as a best-case scenario, says Joyce Beebe at the Baker Institute.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

    Author Photo

    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • A Proposal For Fairer, More Efficient Innocent Spouse Relief

    Author Photo

    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.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Proposed Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs May Be Legally Flawed

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Navigating ACA Reporting Nuances As Deadlines Loom

    Author Photo

    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.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Why Biz Groups Disagree On Ending Chevron Deference

    Author Photo

    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.

  • US-Chile Tax Treaty May Encourage Cross-Border Investment

    Author Photo

    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.

  • A Look Ahead For The Electric Vehicle Charging Industry

    Author Photo

    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.

Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Tax Authority Federal archive.