Federal
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October 25, 2024
MVP: Wachtell's Tijana J. Dvornic
Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz's Tijana J. Dvornic led the firm's tax team in representing Lumen Technologies in the largest liability management transaction outside of bankruptcy protections, including addressing over $15 billion of existing debt, earning her a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Tax MVPs.
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October 24, 2024
IRS To End Automatic Foreign Gift Reporting Penalty
Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Danny Werfel told the UCLA Tax Controversy Conference audience on Thursday that the agency will no longer automatically assess penalties for the late reporting of large foreign gifts, with the announcement eliciting applause from the audience of several hundred tax attorneys and tax professionals.
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October 24, 2024
Couple Owes Tax, Frivolous Arguments Penalty, 9th Circ. Says
The U.S. Tax Court correctly found that a Washington couple who repeatedly filed frivolous returns and claimed their wages are tax-free owe about $9,000 in taxes for 2017 and 2018, the Ninth Circuit said Thursday.
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October 24, 2024
Tax Court Affirms Rejection Of $94K In Deduction Claims
The Internal Revenue Service correctly disallowed a couple's nearly $94,000 in claimed individual and business deductions, the U.S. Tax Court said Thursday, while also finding them liable for nearly $11,000 in accuracy-related penalties.
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October 24, 2024
IRS Forming Transfer Pricing Team To Aid Real-Time Audits
The Internal Revenue Service is establishing a dedicated team to tackle transfer pricing issues that arise in real-time audits of companies participating in its compliance assurance process program, which should allow those issues to be handled more efficiently, an agency official said Thursday.
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October 24, 2024
Tax Court Nixes IRS Agent's $126K In Deductions
An Internal Revenue Service agent is not entitled to $126,000 in deductions for supposed medical expenses and charitable donations, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday, saying the worker couldn't prove the payments were actually made.
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October 24, 2024
Wyden's Pharma Probe Could Build Case For Int'l Tax Reforms
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden's investigation into the tax planning of major U.S. pharmaceutical companies could help fuel an effort to revamp U.S. international tax laws next year when Congress addresses expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
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October 24, 2024
Defunct Yoga Biz Co-Owner Cops To Tax-Dodging Conspiracy
A Seattle-area computer programmer who co-owned the defunct Yoga to the People business told a Manhattan federal judge on Thursday that he schemed to short the IRS on over $4 million of income, copping to a tax fraud conspiracy count.
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October 24, 2024
IRS Proposes Rules To Calculate Efficient Home Energy Credit
The Internal Revenue Service proposed rules Thursday for calculating a homeowner tax credit for improving energy efficiency and released guidance for manufacturers of improvement products that have complained about a government registration system set to take effect next year.
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October 24, 2024
Ex-Moody's GC Gets Prison For Tax-Filing Fail On $54M In Pay
The former general counsel for Moody's Corp. was sentenced Thursday to eight months in prison for willfully failing to file federal income tax returns for four years in which he collected $54 million in income.
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October 24, 2024
MVP: Sidley's Rachel D. Kleinberg
Rachel D. Kleinberg, a co-leader of the global tax practice at Sidley Austin LLP, headed up a tax team to represent investors in a consortium that led to the $6.05 billion sale of the NFL's Washington Commanders, earning her a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Tax MVPs.
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October 24, 2024
IRS Schedules November Advisory Council Meeting
The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council will hold its next meeting Nov. 20, the agency announced Thursday.
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October 24, 2024
Mining Eligible In Final Regs For Energy Manufacturing Credit
The U.S. Treasury Department's final rules released Thursday on a valuable tax credit for manufacturing key components and materials used in clean energy technologies allow producers to take into account the costs to mine and extract critical minerals.
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October 23, 2024
IRS To Split Pass-Through, Energy Credit Work Into 2 Units
The IRS is planning to split up its Pass-Throughs and Special Industries office into two separate divisions, including one that will focus in part on energy credits enacted under the 2022 landmark climate law, an agency official said Wednesday.
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October 23, 2024
Tax Court Says Trucker Can't Deduct Reimbursed Expenses
The Internal Revenue Service correctly disallowed a Georgia truck driver's unreimbursed business expense deduction claims, because he was in fact reimbursed for the various expenses, the U.S. Tax Court said Wednesday.
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October 23, 2024
Microsemi's Fines Mostly Adhered To Rules, Tax Court Says
The Internal Revenue Service obtained the proper written approval of penalties on most of the tax code violations it brought against semiconductor manufacturer Microsemi but left room for doubt on two penalties, the U.S. Tax Court said.
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October 23, 2024
Foley & Lardner Adds Burr & Forman Corporate Duo In Fla.
Foley & Lardner LLP has ramped up its innovative technology sector and transactions practice group with two former Burr & Forman LLP partners in Jacksonville, Florida, where a Foley & Lardner leader said their arrival aligned with the firm's strategic focus on four key sectors of the economy.
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October 23, 2024
9th Circ. Orders Michael Avenatti To Be Resentenced
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ordered the resentencing of Michael Avenatti over his California conviction for tax violations and stealing from clients, saying the lower court made multiple mistakes when it handed down a 14-year prison term to the onetime celebrity attorney.
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October 23, 2024
CPAs Prepare For Uncertainty As TCJA Expiration Looms
Certified public accountants and financial planners are preparing to help their clients navigate the uncertainty around next year's expiration of major parts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as lawmakers gear up to decide who will bear the brunt of any resulting tax changes.
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October 23, 2024
ABA Tax Section Pushes IRS To Narrow Pillar 2 Regulations
Proposed regulations outlining when foreign taxes under the Pillar Two international minimum tax agreement trigger U.S. rules against benefiting twice from the same economic loss should be narrowed to limit their applicability, the American Bar Association Tax Section told the IRS.
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October 23, 2024
IRS Grants Tax-Exempt Entities Relief From Corp. AMT Filing
Tax-exempt entities are not obligated to file the corporate alternative minimum tax form for the 2023 tax year with the Internal Revenue Service, but they should still maintain the document for recordkeeping purposes, the agency announced Wednesday.
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October 23, 2024
Judge Threatens To Toss Gov't's $4.9M Son-Of-Boss Claim
A federal judge warned government attorneys Wednesday that she would dismiss their case against an estate for $4.9 million in taxes if they didn't explain why they weren't actively pursuing their accusations that a Michigan couple schemed to artificially cancel out capital gains
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October 23, 2024
MVP: Sullivan & Cromwell's Eric Wang
Sullivan & Cromwell's S. Eric Wang advised clients on the tax law implications of major deals over the past year, including a transaction that created the largest gas utility company in North America, earning him a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 2024 Tax MVPs.
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October 23, 2024
IRS Schedules Electronic Tax Committee Meeting For Nov.
The Internal Revenue Service's Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting Nov. 14, the agency said Wednesday.
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October 22, 2024
FTC On Cusp Of H&R Block False Ad Settlement
The Federal Trade Commission has come to an agreement with H&R Block to settle claims of deceptive advertising and has withdrawn its complaint in order for the full commission to vote on the deal.
Expert Analysis
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Proposed Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs May Be Legally Flawed
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.
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Navigating ACA Reporting Nuances As Deadlines Loom
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.
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
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.
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Why Biz Groups Disagree On Ending Chevron Deference
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.
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US-Chile Tax Treaty May Encourage Cross-Border Investment
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.