Federal

  • September 12, 2024

    AGs Ask 2nd Circ. To Revive Their SALT Cap Workaround Suit

    Attorneys general from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut asked the Second Circuit to revive their challenge to an IRS rule prohibiting workarounds to the federal cap on state and local tax deductions, saying the rule was arbitrary and contrary to congressional intent.

  • September 12, 2024

    Convicted Fraudster Seeks To Challenge $21M Restitution

    A Florida man convicted of defrauding hospitals in a payroll fraud scheme urged the Eleventh Circuit Thursday to allow him to challenge a $21 million restitution award while still in prison, saying he wasn't allowed to challenge inaccurate information during sentencing.

  • September 12, 2024

    Wilson Sonsini Hires Tax Pro From Slaughter and May

    Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC has recruited a tax specialist from Slaughter and May to its office in London to boost its strengths representing U.K. and European technology and life sciences companies that are expanding in the U.S. and globally.

  • September 12, 2024

    Ex-Mass. State Sen. Tran Convicted Of Pandemic Aid Fraud

    Former Massachusetts State Sen. Dean Tran was convicted Wednesday of fraudulently collecting pandemic unemployment benefits after he was voted out of office and of cheating on his taxes.

  • September 12, 2024

    House OKs Tightening Restrictions On Tax Credit For EVs

    The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill Thursday that would place further restrictions on qualifications for a tax credit for new electric vehicles amid concerns that current limits don't do enough to keep the benefits from flowing to foreign adversaries, including China.

  • September 12, 2024

    IRS Lacked Way To Track CAMT Comments, TIGTA Finds

    The IRS Office of Chief Counsel did not always track comments it received in response to guidance issued on the corporate alternative minimum tax and did not have detailed procedures in place for the pre-rulemaking guidance process, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported Thursday.

  • September 12, 2024

    Treasury Floats Long-Awaited Rules For Corp. Minimum Tax

    Treasury and the IRS released eagerly awaited rules Thursday on the new 15% corporate alternative minimum tax on corporations with reported profits of $1 billion or more, taking a step toward implementing a key provision of President Joe Biden's signature 2022 tax and climate law.

  • September 11, 2024

    Philly Loan Biz Brothers Admit To $100M Investment Scam

    The two brothers helming Philadelphia's Par Funding cash advance company admitted to reaping $100 million through an investment fraud scheme that could land them each over a decade in prison, Philadelphia's top federal prosecutor announced.

  • September 11, 2024

    Tax Court Affirms Sushi Restaurant Owner's Labor Deductions

    The U.S. Tax Court ruled Wednesday that the owner of an Alabama sushi restaurant was entitled to deduct nearly $292,000 in contract labor expenses for 2015 and 2016.

  • September 11, 2024

    House Tax Panel OKs Repeal Of $600 Reporting Threshold

    The House Ways and Means Committee advanced several bills Wednesday, including one that would repeal a law requiring peer-to-peer payment platforms such as Venmo and PayPal to report aggregate payments of $600 or more.

  • September 11, 2024

    Mass. Jury Weighs Raft Of Fraud Charges Against Ex-Pol

    A Boston federal jury resumed deliberations Wednesday in a criminal case alleging a former Massachusetts state senator lied on his taxes and an application for pandemic unemployment aid, after the ex-politico testified in his own defense.

  • September 11, 2024

    Bipartisan House Bill Would Make Short Rail Credit Permanent

    A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would permanently extend a tax credit for regional and short-line railroads that expired at the end of 2017, according to an announcement Wednesday.

  • September 11, 2024

    Worker Credit Moratorium Effectively Killed Claims, Court Told

    An Internal Revenue Service moratorium on processing tax credits for retaining employees during the coronavirus pandemic has effectively disallowed the granting of credits to deserving businesses, a Texas Montessori school told a federal court as it pursued a refund of nearly $200,000 in credits.

  • September 11, 2024

    McCarter & English Recruits EY Tax Pro In New Jersey

    McCarter & English LLP has bulked up its tax and employee benefits team in New Jersey with a longtime Ernst & Young expert at a time when the Garden State's business community is bracing for regulations on a series of corporate tax reforms. 

  • September 11, 2024

    Missouri Man Gets 3 Years In Prison For Fraud, Tax Crimes

    A Missouri man was sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to raid bank accounts and fetching roughly $3 million in corporate tax refunds for a bogus company, Connecticut's top federal prosecutor announced.

  • September 11, 2024

    Latham Hires Senior Tax Pro From Travers Smith In London

    Latham & Watkins LLP said on Wednesday that it has recruited a former head of tax at Travers Smith LLP for its office in London, a blow for the U.K. law firm, which has been hit by the departure of a series of partners.

  • September 10, 2024

    Wealthiest 0.01% Had 34% Average Tax Rate, JCT Says

    The income group constituting the top 0.01% wealthiest individuals had an average federal tax rate of 34% in 2019, the Joint Committee on Taxation said in a report on high-income and high-wealth taxpayers.

  • September 10, 2024

    Werfel Asked To Clarify How To Treat R&D Costs In M&A

    Accounting firm RSM US LLP, in a letter released Tuesday, asked Internal Revenue Commissioner Daniel Werfel to clarify how to treat research and development costs when a taxpayer disposes of an entire business in a mergers and acquisitions transaction.

  • September 10, 2024

    House Panel To Consider Axing $600 Payment Reporting Law

    The House Ways and Means Committee is set to consider legislation Wednesday that would repeal a law requiring peer-to-peer payment platforms such as Venmo and PayPal to report aggregate payments of $600 or more, among other bills.

  • September 10, 2024

    FCC Chair Vows High Court Fight Over Universal Service

    Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel told educators the agency will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a recent Fifth Circuit decision against the Universal Service Fund, the federal program that subsidizes telecom service to low-income and hard-to-reach areas.

  • September 10, 2024

    Trailer Co. Seeks Refund Of $4M In Highway Excise Taxes

    The Internal Revenue Service erroneously assessed federal highway excise taxes on a South Dakota trailer manufacturer even though the agency had already determined that the trailers were exempt from the tax, the company told a federal court as it sought a tax refund of some $4 million.

  • September 10, 2024

    IRS Extends Tax Deadlines For NY, Conn. Storm Victims

    Victims of severe storms and flooding in New York and Connecticut will have more time to file some tax returns and make estimated payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced Tuesday.

  • September 09, 2024

    IRS Urges 11th Circ. To Affirm Denial Of $18M In Deductions

    A Florida real estate developer was correctly denied $18 million in tax deductions on loans his companies made for residential projects that became worthless, the U.S. government told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday, saying the money went to insiders and didn't qualify as real debt entitled to the write-offs.

  • September 09, 2024

    Tax Panels Face Personnel Changes Ahead Of TCJA Debate

    The House and Senate tax-writing committees are both set to lose veteran lawmakers in the next Congress, changing the dynamic on the panels as they gear up for a major fight next year over the fate of the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

  • September 09, 2024

    Russia Says DC Circ. Ruling Erodes $5B Award To Yukos

    A recent D.C. Circuit ruling that Spain must comply with $395 million in arbitration awards awarded to Yukos Oil's financing arm undermines the company's $5 billion claim against Russia because the country, unlike Spain, never ratified the international treaty on which the court relied, Russia has told a D.C. federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At New IRS Rules For Domestically Controlled REITs

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    The Internal Revenue Services' finalized Treasury Regulations addressing whether real estate investment trusts qualify as domestically controlled adopt the basic structure of previous proposals, but certain new and modified rules may mitigate the regulations' impact, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

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    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Should NIL Collectives Be Allowed Tax-Favored Status?

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    Arguments are being made for and against allowing organizations to provide charitable contribution tax deductions for donations used to compensate student-athletes, a practice with impacts on competition for student-athletes and overall tax fairness, but ultimately it is a question for Congress, say Andres Castillo and Barry Gogel at the University of Maryland School of Law.

  • Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty

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    Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert

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    As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic

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    Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals

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    Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.

  • Unpacking The Bill To Extend TCJA's Biz-Friendly Tax Breaks

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    Attorneys at Skadden examine how a bipartisan bill currently being considered by the U.S. Senate to save the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's tax breaks for research and development costs, and other expiring business-friendly provisions, would affect taxpayers.

  • 4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy

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    With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.

  • IRS Sings New Tune: Whistleblower Form Update Is Welcome

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    In a significant reform at the Internal Revenue Service's Whistleblower Office, the recently introduced revisions to the Form 211 whistleblower award application use new technology and a more intuitive approach to streamline the process of reporting allegations of tax fraud committed by wealthy individuals and companies, says Benjamin Calitri at Kohn Kohn.

  • This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener

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    As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • Energy Community Tax Credit Boost Will Benefit Wind Sector

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    Recent Internal Revenue Service guidance broadening tax credit eligibility to more parts of offshore wind facilities in so-called energy communities is a win for the industry, which stands to see more projects qualify for a particularly valuable bonus in the investment tax credit context due to the capital-intensive nature of offshore wind projects, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Weisselberg's Perjury At Trial Spotlights Atty Ethics Issues

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    Former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea for perjury in the New York attorney general's civil fraud trial should serve as a reminder to attorneys of their ethical duties when they know a client has lied or plans to lie in court, and the potential penalties for not fulfilling those obligations, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

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