Federal
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October 31, 2024
Man Didn't Justify His Claims He Couldn't Pay, Tax Court Says
The Internal Revenue Service didn't abuse its discretion when it upheld levies to collect over $58,000 in outstanding tax liabilities, including penalties and interest, after a man failed to substantiate his claims of medical hardship, the U.S. Tax Court said Thursday.
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October 31, 2024
Treasury Using Help To Clear Pillar 1 'Logjam,' Official Says
Other executive agencies in President Joe Biden's administration have backed the U.S. Treasury Department in urging negotiators at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to reach a final deal on the international taxing rights overhaul known as Pillar One, a top Treasury official said Thursday.
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October 31, 2024
Exxon Entitled To Interest Deduction On Qatar Deal
Exxon Mobil is entitled to an interest expense deduction on payments to Qatar under a natural gas deal, a Texas federal judge ruled, rejecting the U.S. government's classification of an underlying transaction as a royalty rather than a loan.
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October 31, 2024
Treasury Official Previews M&A Details For Corp. AMT Rules
U.S. rulemakers plan to further address how the country's corporate alternative minimum tax applies to transactions including spinoffs and deals that involve a member of a tax consolidated group, a U.S. Treasury Department official said Thursday.
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October 31, 2024
Pro Baller Avoids Prison Over Tax, Child Support Scam
A professional basketball player was sentenced to three years of probation in Ohio federal court after being charged with conspiracy and wire fraud for allegedly attempting to avoid paying child support and taxes for several years.
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October 31, 2024
6th Circ. Wary Of Bid To Overturn $500M Win For Truck Co.
Sixth Circuit judges seemed skeptical Thursday of the government's $500 million bid to overturn a Tennessee jury's decision that a company's refurbished trucks qualified for a safe harbor from excise taxes, saying the government's reading of a tax provision was unclear.
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October 31, 2024
The 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard
Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which firms made the list of leaders in all-around excellence this year.
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October 31, 2024
Firms' Hiring Strategies Are Evolving In Fight For Top Spot
Competition for top talent among elite law firms shows no signs of slowing down, even amid economic uncertainty, with financially strong firms deploying aggressive strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to solidify their market position.
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October 31, 2024
11th Circ. Nixes ERISA Claim To John Hancock's $100M Credit
John Hancock Life Insurance Co. had no fiduciary duty to pass on to retirement plans $100 million in foreign tax credits that it had taken from taxes paid on foreign investments, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit said in upholding a lower court ruling.
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October 30, 2024
FinCEN Extends BOI Report Deadline For Hurricane Victims
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has extended deadlines for submitting beneficial ownership information for victims of recent hurricanes, offering an additional six months to file or update reports, or to correct prior reports.
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October 30, 2024
Jury Finds Importer Didn't Report $17M On Tax Returns
A Los Angeles jury found an importer of Chinese clothing guilty of skirting more than $8 million in customs duties and failing to report more than $17 million in cash transactions on tax returns, federal prosecutors in California announced Wednesday.
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October 30, 2024
Tax Court Stands By Couple's Tax Liability After Remand
An investor couple whose case was remanded by the Sixth Circuit is still liable for over $603,000 in deficient taxes tied to $3 million in claimed losses from a complex foreign-exchange derivative arrangement since their actions were not made with legitimate intentions of turning a profit, the U.S. Tax Court said Wednesday.
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October 30, 2024
GOP Lawmakers Criticize Treasury's Start Of Taiwan Tax Talks
The top tax-writing Republicans in Congress said Wednesday that the U.S. Treasury Department's announcement that it would begin negotiations with Taiwan on a double-tax relief agreement risks undermining legislation to address the issue that is stalled in the Senate.
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October 30, 2024
Mayo Shouldn't Get Tax Break For Education, 8th Circ. Told
The Eighth Circuit should overturn a ruling that found the Mayo Clinic's intertwined medical and educational purposes qualified it for a tax exemption on certain business income for educational institutions, the U.S. government argued, saying a recent Fifth Circuit ruling supports its argument that only exclusively educational organizations qualify.
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October 30, 2024
IRS Seeks Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Members From 14 States
The Internal Revenue Service is accepting applications for its Taxpayer Advocacy Panel from 14 states and Puerto Rico, the agency said Wednesday.
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October 29, 2024
Ex-Cleveland Councilman Can't Cut 6-Year Fraud Sentence
An Ohio federal judge will not allow a former Cleveland city councilman to get out of jail on compassionate release, ruling the ex-politician "has never demonstrated any remorse for his criminal conduct" and should serve the remainder of his six-year fraud sentence.
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October 29, 2024
Partnership Must Reduce Year-End Outside Basis By $4.8M
A California partnership must decrease its outside basis in a lower-tier partnership by $4.8 million in excess losses determined by the IRS, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday, saying the agency's concession on the partnership's related deduction didn't stop the court from making the ruling.
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October 29, 2024
IRS Taps EY Principal For Newly Formed Pass-Through Office
The Internal Revenue Service selected a former agency lawyer who has most recently worked as a principal at EY to serve as associate chief counsel for its new pass-through office that will focus entirely on partnerships, S corporations, trusts and estates, the agency said Tuesday.
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October 29, 2024
Building Co. Cops To Worker Scheme Tied To Tax Fraud
A truss building company pled guilty to conspiring to hide its employment of dozens of unauthorized workers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with a former employee, who admitted to filing false tax returns as part of the scheme, according to Florida federal court documents.
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October 29, 2024
Rimon Adds International Tax Expert In Philadelphia
Rimon PC has added an expert in international tax and trusts and estates who joined the firm's Philadelphia office after working for his own practice.
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October 29, 2024
4th Circ. Unclear On LeClairRyan Founder's Tax Liability
A Fourth Circuit panel appeared confused and noncommittal Tuesday as it wrestled with a narrow question of contract interpretation that could determine whether Gary LeClair of defunct LeClairRyan PLLC is on the hook for massive tax bills tied to the firm's collapse.
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October 29, 2024
US, Taiwan To Begin Talks On Double-Tax Agreement
The U.S. and Taiwan announced Tuesday that they will begin a first round of negotiations to craft a double-tax avoidance agreement that would provide certain treaty-like benefits.
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October 28, 2024
Crypto Co. Operator Faces Money Laundering, Tax Charges
Federal prosecutors accused an Indiana property owner of laundering the proceeds of a crypto money transmitter — AurumXchange — that they say should have been licensed and of failing to file tax returns despite realizing six figure gains from investing the proceeds.
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October 28, 2024
Metals Co. Owner Convicted Of Tax Fraud In $58M Theft Case
A Delaware federal jury convicted the owner of a gold and silver depository of tax fraud and other crimes tied to the government's accusations that he stole $58 million in precious metals from his customers, according to court filings.
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October 28, 2024
5th Circ. Affirms Texas Health Coordinator Is Not Tax-Exempt
A Texas nonprofit corporation that coordinates healthcare mostly for privately insured patients does not qualify for tax-exempt status because its business fails to help the larger community, the Fifth Circuit ruled Monday in affirming a U.S. Tax Court decision.
4 Ways Congress Could Try To Close The Tax Gap
The gap between federal taxes owed and paid — recently estimated at $696 billion for 2022 — could be addressed in several ways, including increasing information reporting or simplifying the tax code, experts told Law360.
Pillar 2 Likely To Cast Shadow Over US Tax Bill Talks
The international minimum tax agreement known as Pillar Two won't officially factor into upcoming tax bill negotiations in the U.S. Congress, but the global regime's potential grab at U.S. tax revenue could informally influence policy choices.
Investments In Energy Tax Credit Boom Could Draw IRS' Eye
The 2022 climate law's green energy tax incentives sparked a surge of big-ticket development projects nationwide, and tax practitioners expect that the investments could be subject to intense scrutiny from the IRS amid a crackdown on abusive schemes in other areas.
4 Ways Congress Could Try To Close The Tax Gap
The gap between federal taxes owed and paid — recently estimated at $696 billion for 2022 — could be addressed in several ways, including increasing information reporting or simplifying the tax code, experts told Law360.
Pillar 2 Likely To Cast Shadow Over US Tax Bill Talks
The international minimum tax agreement known as Pillar Two won't officially factor into upcoming tax bill negotiations in the U.S. Congress, but the global regime's potential grab at U.S. tax revenue could informally influence policy choices.
Investments In Energy Tax Credit Boom Could Draw IRS' Eye
The 2022 climate law's green energy tax incentives sparked a surge of big-ticket development projects nationwide, and tax practitioners expect that the investments could be subject to intense scrutiny from the IRS amid a crackdown on abusive schemes in other areas.
Featured Stories
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4 Ways Congress Could Try To Close The Tax Gap
The gap between federal taxes owed and paid — recently estimated at $696 billion for 2022 — could be addressed in several ways, including increasing information reporting or simplifying the tax code, experts told Law360.
-
Pillar 2 Likely To Cast Shadow Over US Tax Bill Talks
The international minimum tax agreement known as Pillar Two won't officially factor into upcoming tax bill negotiations in the U.S. Congress, but the global regime's potential grab at U.S. tax revenue could informally influence policy choices.
-
Investments In Energy Tax Credit Boom Could Draw IRS' Eye
The 2022 climate law's green energy tax incentives sparked a surge of big-ticket development projects nationwide, and tax practitioners expect that the investments could be subject to intense scrutiny from the IRS amid a crackdown on abusive schemes in other areas.
Expert Analysis
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How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources
Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.
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How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment
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Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.
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Ex-Chicago Politician's Case May Further Curb Fraud Theories
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Thompson v. U.S. to determine whether a statement that is misleading but not false still violates federal law, potentially heralding the court’s largest check yet on prosecutors’ expansive fraud theories, with significant implications for sentencing, say attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
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Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity
Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.
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Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules
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The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO
The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.
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Tariffs' Economic Downsides Outweigh Potential Revenue
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Import tariffs proposed by the campaign of former president Donald Trump would generate revenue like other taxes, but policymakers must consider the net-negative impact of associated consumer and downstream-industry costs, harm to exporters, potential foreign retaliation and reduction in economic output, says Erica York at the Tax Foundation.
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Navigating The Last Leg Of The Worker Retention Tax Credit
Whether a business has applied for the pandemic-era employee retention tax credit, received a denial letter or is still considering making a claim before the April 15 deadline, it should examine recent developments significantly affecting the program before planning next steps, say attorneys at Nixon Peabody.
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How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program
During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.
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Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code
As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.
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What To Make Of Dueling Corporate Transparency Act Rulings
Although challenges to the Corporate Transparency Act abound — as highlighted by recent federal court decisions from Alabama and Oregon taking opposite positions on its constitutionality — the act is still law, so companies should comply with their filing requirements or face the potential consequences, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.