International

  • June 28, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Vinson, Skadden

    In this week's Taxation with Representation, Aareal Bank AG and Advent International sell a property management and maintenance software company, Webtoon Entertainment Inc. and Tamboran Resources Corp. price initial public offerings, SM Energy Company acquires oil and gas assets, and Nokia sells Alcatel Submarine Networks to the French state.

  • June 28, 2024

    Australia Seeks Feedback On Renewable Energy Tax Credits

    Australia's government is looking for public input on plans to offer tax breaks tied to renewable hydrogen and critical mineral production as part of the country's push to boost its green energy industry, the country's Treasury announced Friday.

  • June 28, 2024

    Jamaica, Turkey Taken Off Financial Crime Watch List

    An intergovernmental task force on money laundering and other forms of financial crime said Friday that Jamaica and Turkey have been taken off the list of jurisdictions it monitors for compliance with international security standards.

  • June 28, 2024

    Estate Owes $4.9M For Son-Of-Boss Scheme, US Says

    An estate owes $4.9 million in tax liabilities for a couple's scheme to artificially cancel out their capital gains, the federal government said in a complaint in Michigan federal court, arguing that the Son-of-Boss scheme constitutes fraud and its proceeds aren't entitled to bankruptcy protection.

  • June 28, 2024

    EU Leaders Nominate President Von Der Leyen For 2nd Term

    European Union leaders nominated European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a second term and named their picks for two other top jobs in the bloc that will steer European policy for the next five years, including tax policy and economic sanctions.

  • June 28, 2024

    Supreme Court Strikes Down Chevron Deference

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a decades-old precedent that instructed judges about when they could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking, depriving courts of a commonly used analytic tool and leaving lots of questions about what comes next.

  • June 27, 2024

    Aussie Betting Site Can't Duck Taxes Tied To News Corp. Sale

    Trustees associated with an Australia-based gambling website owe capital gains taxes on the AU$31 million ($20.6 million) sale of the business to News Corp., an Australian court ruled, finding the parties lacked an affiliated relationship that could warrant an exception.

  • June 27, 2024

    Congress Shouldn't Rush OECD Tax Package, Group Says

    Congress should avoid "rubber-stamping" the two pillars of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's plan to fight tax base erosion and profit shifting and instead gather more information on its impact on the U.S., a conservative advocacy group said Thursday.

  • June 27, 2024

    IRS Tells 10th Circ. To Deny Liberty Global's $110M Refund Bid

    The U.S. government urged the Tenth Circuit on Thursday to reject telecommunication giant Liberty Global's push for a $110 million tax refund, arguing a lower court correctly deduced that the company's business restructurings were carried out solely to avoid tax.

  • June 27, 2024

    $2.1B Danish Tax Fraud Suspect Won't Testify, Court Says

    A New York federal court denied dueling requests from U.S. pension plan investors accused of participating in a $2.1 billion Danish tax fraud scheme and from Denmark's tax agency to bring in the man that both sides say masterminded the scheme, or to bring in one of his employees.

  • June 27, 2024

    Ex-Skadden Tax Head And M&A Pro Joins Freshfields In NY

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has added the former head of the tax practice at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP as a partner this week, who brings to the role experience in deals like 21st Century Fox's $71 billion acquisition by Disney and the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.

  • June 27, 2024

    New FATCA Deal Requires US Banks To Share Info With Swiss

    The United States and Switzerland signed a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act agreement that will require U.S. banks to share financial account information on a bilateral basis, Switzerland's Federal Department of Finance announced Thursday.

  • June 27, 2024

    Algeria Commits To OECD Tax Treaty Standards

    Algeria signed on to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's multilateral convention Thursday, committing to implement the group's standards to fight base erosion and profit shifting in bilateral tax treaties, the OECD said.

  • June 27, 2024

    New EU Chair Wants VAT Deal Despite Calendar Omission

    The incoming chair of meetings of European Union countries wants agreement on a proposal to require that platform companies such as Airbnb and Uber collect value-added tax for service providers despite leaving it off its work calendar, a spokesperson said.

  • June 26, 2024

    EU Court Tosses Spanish Shipping Cos. State Aid Appeal

    A European court on Wednesday once again dismissed a 2014 challenge to the European Commission's move to block a Spanish tax scheme benefiting Spanish shipbuilders and their suppliers.

  • June 26, 2024

    Repatriation Tax Ruling May Sway State Wealth Tax Debates

    The U.S. Supreme Court's upholding of the federal repatriation tax could indirectly affect state tax policy discussions, including by influencing consideration of wealth taxes and encouraging states to keep potential due process issues in mind when enacting tax legislation.

  • June 26, 2024

    Pepsi's Royalty Tax Liability Overturned By Australian Panel

    A Federal Court of Australia judge incorrectly ruled that payments for beverage concentrate between Pepsi subsidiaries in Australia and Singapore included the license to use Pepsi's trademark and so triggered royalty taxes, a panel of the court ruled Wednesday. 

  • June 26, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Denies Contractor's $37M Tax Reimbursement Bid

    A U.S. State Department armed security contractor is not entitled to $37 million in reimbursement tied to tax payments to the Afghan government because the contractor's parent company, not the company itself, incurred the costs associated with the payments, the Federal Circuit said Wednesday.

  • June 26, 2024

    Medical Device Co. To Pay $935K Atty Fees In Tax Fraud Suit

    A medical equipment company's leaders will pay $935,000 in attorney fees to investors' counsel after mediating a settlement in a proposed class action alleging the company breached fiduciary duty in failing to disclose its former CEO's involvement in a tax fraud dispute with Denmark.

  • June 26, 2024

    Kenya President Backs Off Finance Bill After Fatal Protests

    Kenyan President William Ruto said Wednesday that he will withdraw a controversial finance bill that included tax hikes that inspired mass protests, including storming the country's Parliament building leaving multiple people dead, according to local news reports.

  • June 26, 2024

    EU Justice Head Loses Bid To Lead Human Rights Group

    The European Union's justice commissioner failed in his bid to lead a European human rights organization and returned Wednesday from his leave of absence for the remaining four months of his term as commissioner.

  • June 26, 2024

    EU State Auditors Must Respect Tax Incentives, Lawyer Says

    European Union countries need to make sure that their tax authorities are supporting incentive programs, such as those related to research and development, rather than interpreting laws in inconsistent ways, a tax lawyer said Wednesday.

  • June 26, 2024

    Irish Pick New Finance Minister After Former Heads To EU

    Ireland picked a current junior minister as its new finance minister, the ministry confirmed to Law360 on Wednesday, one day after the government nominated the outgoing finance minister to serve on the next European Commission. 

  • June 25, 2024

    US Needs To Broaden Tax Base, Increase Rates, OECD Says

    The United States' debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio is the highest it's been since World War II, necessitating a wide range of tax changes to both expand the tax base and increase rates to alleviate fiscal pressures, the OECD said Tuesday.

  • June 25, 2024

    Pharma Co. Teva To Pay Israel $750M In Tax Debt Settlement

    Israel-based multinational Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. reached an agreement with the Israel Tax Authority to settle 12 years' worth of pending tax litigation by paying $750 million over the course of five years, the company said Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • 1st Tax Easement Convictions Will Likely Embolden DOJ, IRS

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    After recent convictions in the first criminal tax fraud trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice will likely pursue other promoters for similar alleged conspiracies — though one acquittal may help attorneys better evaluate their clients' exposure, say Bill Curtis and Lauren DeSantis-Then at Polsinelli.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

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    Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

  • Anticipating Intensified Partnership Enforcement From IRS

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    The Internal Revenue Service's decadeslong difficulties with partnership audits led to the recent announcement of a clear, well-funded, focused initiative, and businesses operating in the partnership form will feel the impact, with definite changes ahead, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

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    Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'

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    The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.

  • How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing

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    Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies

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    Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.

  • Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial

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    Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.

  • Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times

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    As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • 5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices

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    The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.

  • Enforcement Of International Tax Reporting Is Heating Up

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s February decision in Bittner v. U.S. changed how penalties for failure to report offshore accounts are calculated, recent developments suggest the government is preparing to step up enforcement and vigorously pursue the collection of resulting penalties, say Daniel Silva and Agustin Ceballos at Buchalter.

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