Federal
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September 05, 2024
Liberty Global Urges 10th Circ. To Grant $248M Tax Credit
The U.S. Tax Court improperly applied an Internal Revenue Code provision to some of the $2.8 billion gain from Liberty Global's sale of a Japanese entity, the telecommunications company said in urging the Tenth Circuit to overturn the resulting rejection of a $248 million tax credit.
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September 05, 2024
Holland & Knight Appoints Former Perkins Coie Tax Partner
Holland & Knight LLP appointed a partner to its Portland, Oregon, office who previously served as a partner in energy tax law for Perkins Coie LLP, the firm announced.
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September 05, 2024
$70M Bill Came Too Late, Tax Court Says In Tossing IRS Claim
Partners in a subscription business don't owe around $70 million in taxes as the IRS claimed because the agency notified them too late and couldn't extend the deadline by proving the partners had filed fraudulent returns, the U.S. Tax Court said in rulings Thursday.
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September 05, 2024
Sen. Finance Panel To Hold Hearing On Tax Policy, Avoidance
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing Sept. 12 covering the 2025 tax policy debate and tax avoidance strategies, it announced Thursday.
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September 05, 2024
CPAs Seek Guidance On Business Interest Expense Deduction
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants requested Thursday that the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury Department issue guidance clarifying that new limits on business interest expenses included in the 2017 federal tax overhaul apply after an election to capitalize interest expenses.
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September 05, 2024
Two Sentenced To Prison In $111M Tax Fraud Scheme
Two members of a crime ring who admitted to participating in a $111 million tax fraud scheme involving stealing the identities of accountants and taxpayers were sentenced to prison, according to Texas federal court documents.
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September 05, 2024
IRS Seeks Input On Treasury Retirement Match Contributions
The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday it is looking for comments regarding two portions of the Secure 2.0 Act of 2022 related to matching contributions paid by the U.S. Treasury Department to certain retirement savings vehicles for eligible people who make qualified contributions.
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September 05, 2024
Hunter Biden Pleads Guilty To Tax Charges In Surprise Move
Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea to nine criminal tax charges in California federal court on Thursday, bringing a dramatic conclusion to the case following a dizzying series of events on what was set to be the first day of his trial.
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September 04, 2024
Judge Chides IRS, Preparers Over $167M Refund For ID Fees
A D.C. federal judge has declined to approve the IRS' roughly $167 million refund proposal for a putative class of tax-return preparers for charging them excessive fees for special identification numbers, saying the agency failed to address problems the preparers raised with its calculations.
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September 04, 2024
IRS' Economic Substance Authority Has Limits, Tax Court Told
The U.S. Tax Court and other federal courts have the authority to conduct an initial analysis of a transaction in cases where the Internal Revenue Service is challenging the economic substance of the transaction, a manufacturers advocacy group said Wednesday in an amicus brief.
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September 04, 2024
Harris Floats Capital Gains Tax Hike To 28% For High Earners
The tax on long-term capital gains would increase to 28% from 20% for taxpayers who earn $1 million or more under a proposal unveiled Wednesday by Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris ahead of a campaign rally in New Hampshire.
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September 04, 2024
Woman Owes Taxes On Share Of Sold Biz, Tax Court Says
A woman whose ex-husband told a bankruptcy court that he was the sole owner of a business they had started together was actually a 50% shareholder when it was sold and is liable for capital gains, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Wednesday.
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September 04, 2024
Tax Court OKs $465K Gambling Losses Deduction Amount
An Indiana woman adequately proved she had more than $465,000 in substantiated gambling losses over six years, the U.S. Tax Court said Wednesday, though she failed to substantiate her claimed business losses.
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September 04, 2024
Warren Urges IRS To Look At Possible REIT Tax Break Abuse
The Internal Revenue Service should increase its scrutiny of real estate investment trusts to determine whether companies are benefiting from REIT tax benefits while flouting rules, including those that limit the level of a REIT's ownership in a company, Sen. Elizabeth Warren told the agency's commissioner.
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September 04, 2024
Maryland Joining IRS Direct File Next Year
Maryland will join the IRS' free electronic tax filing program known as Direct File in 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service announced Wednesday.
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September 04, 2024
Ex-Mass. Pol 'A Little Sloppy' But Not Criminal, Jurors Told
Former Massachusetts state Sen. Dean A. Tran denied charges Wednesday that he stole pandemic unemployment assistance and cheated on his taxes, with his attorney telling a jury that Tran simply made a series of paperwork "mistakes."
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September 04, 2024
Chippewa Lawyer Asks 8th Circ. To Reconsider Tax Exemption
An attorney who contends that Congress never expressly allowed the federal government to tax Native Americans asked the Eighth Circuit to reconsider denying him a tax exemption on his self-employment income, saying the ruling conflicts with recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
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September 04, 2024
IRS Reopens Comment Period For Tax Payment Regs
The Internal Revenue Service announced Wednesday that it had reopened the comment period for proposed regulations that would allow taxpayers to make payments using credit and debit cards directly with the agency instead of through a third party.
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September 04, 2024
IRS Announces 4 Tax Court Sessions Added To Calendar
The Internal Revenue Service announced four U.S. Tax Court sessions in December and named calendar administrators for the sessions in a notice released Wednesday.
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September 03, 2024
11th Circ. Trims $12.6M FBAR Fine In 8th Amendment Split
Some of the $12.6 million in penalties the IRS on imposed a man for willfully failing to report foreign bank accounts were in violation of the Eighth Amendment's bar on excessive fines, the Eleventh Circuit ruled, creating an apparent circuit split.
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September 03, 2024
5th Circ. Rejects 4 Arguments Against $6K Tax Bill
The U.S. Tax Court correctly determined a man owed over $5,000 in tax deficiencies as well as more than $1,000 in penalties plus interest, the Fifth Circuit ruled Tuesday, finding none of the taxpayer's four arguments persuasive.
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September 03, 2024
IRS Should Be Bound By $2M Bankruptcy Deal, Justices Told
An Alabama real estate developer who sought bankruptcy protection and agreed to settle his tax debts for $2 million asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision allowing the IRS to demand additional taxes from him, saying the agency shouldn't be allowed to back out of the deal.
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September 03, 2024
Ex-Defense Contractor Arrested In $350M Tax Evasion Case
A former defense contractor who, with his wife, is facing a 30-count indictment alleging they were involved in a decades-long scheme to defraud the U.S. government and avoid taxes on more than $350 million in income was arrested Tuesday.
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September 03, 2024
9th Circ. Rejects Tax Lien Pro Rata Share In Bankruptcy Sale
The bankruptcy court is not authorized to use the pro rata method to allocate proceeds between the IRS and an estate with a tax lien for unpaid taxes and penalties, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, saying there is nothing in bankruptcy law that explicitly allows this approach.
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September 03, 2024
Debtor's Late-Filing Case Should Be Reviewed, Justices Told
Tax experts urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit decision that found late-filed returns prevented a taxpayer from discharging his federal tax debt in bankruptcy, saying the case reflects a decades-long debate that has split the circuits three ways.
Expert Analysis
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Takeaways From Justices' Redemption Insurance Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Connelly v. U.S. examines how to determine the fair market value of shares in a closely held company for estate tax purposes, and clarifies how life insurance held by the company to enable redemption of a decedent’s shares affects that calculation, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.
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6 Tips For Maximizing After-Tax Returns In Private M&A Deals
With potential tax legislation likely to spur a surge in private business sales, sellers can make the most of after-tax proceeds with strategies that include price allocation and qualified investment options, say Isaac Grossman and Daniel Studin at Morrison Cohen.
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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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What DOL Fiduciary Rule Means For Private Fund Managers
Attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss how the U.S. Department of Labor's recently released final fiduciary rule, which revises the agency's 1975 regulation, could potentially cause private fund managers' current marketing practices and communications to be considered fiduciary advice, and therefore subject them to strict prohibitions.
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Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence
As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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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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Navigating New Safe Harbor For Domestic Content Tax Credits
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recent notice simplifying domestic content calculations for certain solar, onshore wind and battery storage projects, which directly acknowledges the difficulty for taxpayers in gathering data to support a domestic content analysis, should make it easier to qualify additional domestic content bonus tax credits, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.
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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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'Energy Communities' Update May Clarify Tax Credit Eligibility
A recent IRS notice that includes updated lists of locations where clean energy projects can qualify for additional tax credits — based 2023 unemployment data and placed-in-service dates — should help provide clarity regarding project eligibility that sponsors and developers need, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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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.