International
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February 10, 2025
Pillsbury Recruits Former Mayer Brown Tax Pro In NY
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP said it has recruited a former Mayer Brown LLP tax expert to serve as a partner in Pillsbury's New York office.
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February 10, 2025
Financier Bids To Resurrect HMRC Bungled Prosecution Claim
A corporate financier sought permission Monday to challenge a decision to dismiss his claim against HM Revenue and Customs and the Crown Prosecution Service for wrongly prosecuting him, arguing that the judge had failed to properly consider the evidence.
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February 10, 2025
Film Executives Ran £13M VAT Fraud, Prosecutors Tell Jury
Four former managers at a film production company best known for "Avatar" cheated taxpayers out of £13 million ($16.14 million) through a "convoluted" VAT scheme run out of the back garden of a modest home in London, prosecutors told a jury on Monday.
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February 07, 2025
Feds Defend Corporate Transparency Act In 5th And 4th Circuits
The U.S. government defended the Corporate Transparency Act in the Fifth and Fourth Circuits on Friday, urging the former to reverse a Texas federal judge's nationwide injunction on the law and the latter to affirm a Virginia federal judge's rejection of a bid to block the law's enforcement.
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February 07, 2025
Tax Take Is Up But Lagging In Developing Nations, OECD Says
Average tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product in developing countries rose to 17.1% from 16.5% between 2015 and 2022 despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Friday, though difficulties still remain for building up those countries' coffers.
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February 07, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Latham, Skadden
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Triumph Group goes private via Berkshire Partners and Warburg Pincus affiliates, alternative asset manager TPG buys Altus Power, Globus Medical buys Nevro Corp., and Honeywell separates its automation and aerospace technology businesses, resulting in the formation of three distinct companies.
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February 07, 2025
Former Top Congressional Investigator Leaves Lasting Legacy
Elise J. Bean, former chief counsel for the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, is remembered for leading landmark bipartisan congressional probes, which exposed massive tax and financial scandals with findings that helped pave the way for game-changing legislation.
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February 07, 2025
German Car Dealer Arrested In €5.8M VAT Fraud Scheme
A German car dealer was arrested Friday in connection with what the European Public Prosecutor's Office called a value-added tax fraud scheme that generated more than €30 million ($31 million) in illicit funds, causing €5.8 million in tax losses.
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February 06, 2025
Baker McKenzie Partner Rejoins Firm From Apple
Baker McKenzie announced that a former partner specializing in trade and customs law has rejoined the firm after serving as principal counsel and the lead adviser on global trade matters for Apple.
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February 06, 2025
US To Appeal Block On Corporate Transparency Act
The federal government plans to challenge an order preventing it from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act's reporting requirements for businesses, following the U.S. Supreme Court's pause of another nationwide block on the law in a separate case, according to a notice filed in a Texas federal court.
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February 06, 2025
EU Can't Let US Global Tax Rebuff Harm Its Cos., Official Says
The European Union cannot allow the legal uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's rejection of a global tax deal to harm its companies, a European Commission official said Thursday, adding that the U.S. and EU will discuss the matter in April.
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February 06, 2025
Kazakh Collaboration Aids Transfer Pricing Rules, OECD Says
After a decade of collaboration between Kazakhstan and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Central Asian country has brought its transfer pricing rules closer in line with international standards, which has been particularly helpful in the mining sector, the OECD said.
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February 06, 2025
Spain Busts €184 Hydrocarbon VAT Fraud Ring
Eleven people were arrested as part of the dismantling of a €184 million ($191 million) value-added tax fraud ring in the hydrocarbon sector, Spain's tax agency said Thursday.
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February 05, 2025
Israeli Law Firm Allowed To Amend Suit Against GILTI Regs
A D.C. federal court on Wednesday let the owner of an Israeli law firm amend his challenge of regulations for the U.S. tax on global intangible low-taxed income, a provision of the 2017 tax overhaul.
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February 05, 2025
Ryanair Loses €1B TAP State Aid Challenge
Low-cost Irish airline Ryanair has lost yet another attempt to stop state aid from being delivered to its rivals in the airline industry after a European Union court on Wednesday batted away its challenge to a €1.2 billion ($1.249 billion) aid package for the parent company of TAP Air Portugal.
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February 05, 2025
US Bill Aims To Ax Tax Incentives For Multinational Cos.
Congress should repeal and replace federal tax measures that allow multinational corporations to reduce taxable income in the United States, including by holding assets abroad, according to two Democratic lawmakers who reintroduced a bill to that effect Wednesday.
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February 05, 2025
US Trade Deficit Up To $918B In 2024, Gov't Says
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services spiked 24% month over month in December to $98.4 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said Wednesday, leading to the U.S. closing the year with a $918.4 billion deficit.
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February 05, 2025
Denmark Floats Edits To OECD Tax Standards Adoption
The Danish Ministry of Taxation is seeking feedback on proposed edits to measures tied to its implementation of the OECD's standards, such as the adoption of new administrative guidance for the global minimum tax and tweaks to its transfer pricing procedures.
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February 05, 2025
EU Sets Out Actions For E-Commerce Import Rules
The European Commission said Wednesday it is raising customs controls on low-value imports flowing into the European Union via online retailers and marketplaces hosting non-European traders.
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February 05, 2025
Barbados, Hong Kong Tax Regimes Not Harmful, OECD Says
Preferential tax regimes in Barbados, Hong Kong, Croatia and elsewhere were found not harmful by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, but some jurisdictions' regimes are still under review, it said Wednesday.
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February 05, 2025
Lloyds Denied £3.8M Deduction From Closing Ireland Location
HM Revenue & Customs correctly rejected a £3.8 million ($4.8 million) deduction for cross-border tax relief claimed by a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group that another subsidiary incurred by closing its locations in Ireland, the British First-tier Tribunal ruled.
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February 05, 2025
Construction Industry Insiders Get Prison For £22M Tax Fraud
A group of seven construction industry insiders has been sentenced to between nine years and four months and two years in prison for their roles in a tax fraud in which an estimated £22 million ($28 million) was hidden from the U.K. tax authorities.
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February 04, 2025
External Revenue Service Could Help Solve Unpaid Duty Issue
President Donald Trump's call for a new agency designed to collect trade revenue, billed as the External Revenue Service, may be more than a flashy concept and could tackle lingering inefficiencies associated with duty collection, experts say.
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February 04, 2025
Akerman Adds Ex-DOJ Tax Atty From Chamberlain Hrdlicka
Akerman LLP has brought on a former Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney from Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry PC as a tax partner in Atlanta.
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February 04, 2025
Kostelanetz Adds Tax Pro From Lowenstein Sandler
Kostelanetz LLP said a former partner at Lowenstein Sandler LLP has joined the firm as a partner in the Washington, D.C., office.
Expert Analysis
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers
BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.
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How Associates Can Build A Professional Image
As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.
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Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age
As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing
When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.