Federal
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May 22, 2024
IRS Again Delaying Dividend Anti-Abuse Regs
The Internal Revenue Service is again extending the transition period for rules that govern certain financial transactions that could avoid withholding on dividend payments to foreign taxpayers, it announced Wednesday.
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May 21, 2024
FTC Noncompete Ban Raises Stakes For Nonprofit Hospitals
The Federal Trade Commission seems eager to apply its employee noncompete ban to healthcare, with a key target in mind: nonprofit healthcare providers that, in the agency's view, act more like for-profit businesses.
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May 21, 2024
House Sends Disaster Tax Relief Bill To Senate
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday that would exclude disaster relief payments from a taxpayer's gross income, sending the bill to the Senate.
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May 21, 2024
Nixing Green Energy Tax Perks Would Be Tough For Trump
Former President Donald Trump has vowed to scrap Democrats' signature 2022 climate law should he get reelected in November, but following through on that campaign promise could prove difficult amid bipartisan support for many of the law's clean energy tax incentives and a potentially divided Congress.
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May 21, 2024
Wyden Expands Pharma Tax Investigation With Pfizer Inquiry
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden asked Pfizer to provide details on its tax practices to explain how the drug company has consistently paid tax rates that are significantly lower than the corporate tax rate in a letter released by the committee Tuesday.
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May 21, 2024
Option Agreement In $6.9M Sale Not A Sham, Tax Court Says
A Delaware gravel company and related companies that sold a freeway pit for $6.9 million under an option agreement, and then used it to enter into a like-kind exchange for another property, deferring the tax, was not a tax-avoidance sham, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday.
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May 21, 2024
CohnReznick Adds PwC Partner To International Tax Practice
CohnReznick has a new principal in its international tax practice who previously served as a partner at PwC, the firm announced.
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May 21, 2024
Decision On Direct File Future Is Close, Werfel Says
The Internal Revenue Service is nearing a decision on the future of its free electronic tax return filing pilot program, Commissioner Daniel Werfel told reporters Tuesday.
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May 21, 2024
Oil Estate Off The Hook For $9M Gift Tax, Tax Court Rules
The estate of a woman who owned an oil company with her husband then terminated marital trusts after he died does not owe more than $9 million in gift taxes on the related transactions as the IRS had claimed, the U.S. Tax Court ruled.
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May 21, 2024
22 States Tell 11th Circ. Corp. Transparency Act Goes Too Far
The federal Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutionally displaces state authority and its enforcement would economically harm states and their residents, attorneys general from 22 states told the Eleventh Circuit, urging it to uphold a ruling that struck down the law.
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May 21, 2024
Senate Dems Float Tax-Advantaged Child Savings Accounts
Senate Democrats want to create tax-advantaged savings accounts to help children save from the time they are born, they said during a Finance Committee hearing Tuesday, but their Republican counterparts are unlikely to support proposals to create the accounts, claiming it would be too costly.
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May 21, 2024
Ways And Means Seeking Input On Possible TCJA Expiration
The House Ways and Means Committee is asking members of the public to share how increased taxes brought on by the possible expiration of the 2017 federal tax overhaul would impact them, the committee's Republican members said Tuesday.
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May 21, 2024
Valero Brings $37M Refund Claim Over Fuel Credit, Crude Tax
Energy company Valero is seeking $37 million in tax refunds for biomass fuel mixtures it said should've qualified for the alternative fuel tax credit and for claimed overpayments of crude tax, according to a complaint in Texas federal court.
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May 21, 2024
IRS Audit Selection Process May Introduce Bias, GAO Says
The Internal Revenue Service's process for auditing returns claiming refundable tax credits uses a measurement that may introduce unintentional bias against Black and low-income people into its automated selection system, according to a Government Accountability Office report made public Tuesday.
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May 21, 2024
Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023
The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.
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May 21, 2024
The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms
The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.
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May 20, 2024
Ex-IRS Agent, Five Others Sentenced In COVID Fraud Scheme
A former Internal Revenue Service agent, his brother and four other defendants have pled guilty to participating in a scheme that netted more than $3 million in fraudulent COVID-19 pandemic relief loans.
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May 20, 2024
Transparency Act Violates Constitution, Groups Tell 11th Circ.
The Corporate Transparency Act's reporting requirements violate the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination and other constitutional provisions, libertarian think tank Cato Institute and others said Monday in urging the Eleventh Circuit to uphold an Alabama district court's ruling against the law.
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May 20, 2024
Opportunity Zones Helped Restore Pa. City, House Panel Told
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's provisions, especially the law's opportunity zones aimed at boosting economic investment in distressed communities, have been integral in the economic restoration of Erie, Pennsylvania, panelists told the House Ways and Means Committee's tax policy subcommittee Monday.
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May 20, 2024
Lawmakers Ask IRS For Broader, Permanent Free E-File Plan
More than 135 Democratic and Independent members of Congress urged Internal Revenue Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a letter to expand the IRS' pilot program for free electronic tax return filing and make it permanent.
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May 20, 2024
2 House GOP Chairs Seek Study Of Premium Tax Credit Plan
The Republican chairmen of the House Ways and Means and Budget committees want the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation to study the impact of making the expanded Affordable Care Act premium tax credits permanent.
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May 20, 2024
IRS Guidance Plan Should Cover Corp. AMT, AICPA Says
The Internal Revenue Service should provide guidance on the definitions and applications of the 15% corporate alternative minimum tax, among other topics, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants said in comments published by the agency Monday.
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May 20, 2024
Domino's Franchisee Gets Year In Prison In $2.5M Tax Case
The owner of dozens of Domino's Pizza restaurants was sentenced to a year in prison Monday and ordered to pay $2.5 million to the Internal Revenue Service after having admitted he filed false tax returns, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
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May 20, 2024
Baker McKenzie Ends FOIA Suit Over IRS Partnership Audits
A Baker McKenzie attorney has dropped a public records lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service that sought to compel the agency to turn over documents pertaining to its scrutiny of large partnerships.
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May 20, 2024
Feds Fight Proposed Delay In Hunter Biden's Tax Trial
Hunter Biden shouldn't be allowed to delay his criminal tax trial in California just because his lead attorney says the dates run up against Biden's upcoming trial in Delaware on firearms charges, the special counsel's office told a federal court.
Expert Analysis
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Recent Bills Show Congress' Growing Maturity On Cannabis
Though two recently introduced cannabis reform bills, the Prepare Act and the Small Business Tax Equity Act, are unlikely to pass in this Congress, they demonstrate a new level of focus and sophistication on the part of lawmakers as it relates to cannabis at the federal level, says Irina Dashevsky at Greenspoon Marder.
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What To Make Of IRS' New Advance Pricing Guidance
Recent guidance on the IRS' goals for its advance pricing agreement system provides helpful insight into review and decision-making procedures for advance pricing agreement requests, but it also raises questions about the IRS' objectives, say Richard Slowinski and Stefanie Kavanagh at Alston & Bird.
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Compliance Obligations Still Murky For Superfund Excise Tax
Comments on the IRS' reinstatement of the Superfund chemicals excise tax show that, given taxpayers' lack of institutional knowledge and the government's previous failure to finalize clarifying guidance, further regulatory action is needed to help taxpayers understand their obligations, say Nicole Elliott and Mary Kate Nicholson at Holland & Knight.
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The Reciprocal Tax Bill Is A Warning Shot At Pillar 2
A bill recently introduced in the House of Representatives to reciprocally tax countries deemed to have imposed discriminatory taxes on U.S. citizens and businesses takes aim at countries implementing the global minimum tax treaty known as Pillar Two, with which the U.S. has not complied, says Alan Cole at the Tax Foundation.
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3 Developments That May Usher In A Nuclear Energy Revival
A recent advancement in nuclear energy technology, targeted provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and a new G7 agreement on nuclear fuel supply chains may give nuclear power a seat at the table as a viable, zero-carbon energy source, say attorneys at Vinson & Elkins.
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What Tax-Exempt Orgs. Need From Energy Credit Guidance
Guidance clarifying the Inflation Reduction Act’s credit regime, expected from the U.S. Department of the Treasury this summer, should help tax-exempt organizations determine the benefits of clean energy projects and integrate alternative energy investments into their activities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Unconventional Profits Interest Structures Find New Support
A recent U.S. Tax Court ruling should provide comfort that less-than-plain-vanilla profits interest structures, created to achieve complicated economic arrangements, can succeed in generating more optimal tax outcomes, provided the terms are properly drafted, says Daren Shaver at Hanson Bridgett.
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Roadblocks For Cannabis Employers Setting Up 401(k) Plans
Though the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act generally allow cannabis businesses to establish 401(k) plans for their employees, companies must still pick their way through uncertainties around tax deductions and recruiting reliable vendors, say attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin.
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How Foreign Info Return Penalty Case May Benefit Taxpayers
The U.S. Tax Court's recent decision that the Internal Revenue Service cannot penalize taxpayers for failing to file foreign corporation information returns may give similarly situated taxpayers an opportunity to also avoid penalties, provided they protect their rights before the decision is overturned or mooted by legislation, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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What's Unique — And What's Not — In Trump Protective Order
A Manhattan judge's recent protective order limiting former President Donald Trump's access to evidence included restrictions uniquely tailored to the defendant, which should remind defense attorneys that it's always a good idea to fight these seemingly standard orders, says Julia Jayne at Jayne Law.
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The Nuts And Bolts Of IRS Domestic Content Tax Credit
Recent IRS guidance provides specifics on how renewable energy projects can qualify for bonus tax credits by meeting U.S. domestic content rules, but also creates a qualification framework that will be complicated for project developers to navigate, say Scott Cockerham and Wolfram Pohl at Orrick.
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How Cities Can Tackle Post-Pandemic Budgeting Dilemmas
Due to increasing office vacancies around the country, cities may consider politically unpopular actions to avoid bankruptcy, but they could also look to the capital markets to ride out the current real estate crisis and achieve debt service savings to help balance their budgets, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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Guidance Adds Clarity To Energy Communities Bonus Credits
Recent IRS guidance on the Inflation Reduction Act's changes to tax credits for renewable energy projects offers much-needed pointers for developers and financing parties, and should allow them to more comfortably incorporate special bonus credits for projects in energy communities into their transactions, say Jorge Medina and Ira Aghai at Shearman.