Federal

  • December 09, 2024

    Tax Court Lowers Car Dealership Owner's $4.7M Deficiency

    The U.S. Tax Court sided with the owner of a now-shuttered used car dealership Monday in allowing him to deduct certain business expenses, which reduced the IRS' combined $4.7 million assessment of underreported income over a four-year period.

  • December 09, 2024

    US Investment Cos. Benefit In Updated Norway Tax Treaty

    Regulated U.S. investment and holding companies should be able to reap Norwegian tax treaty benefits on dividends, royalties and capital gains without restriction under an updated agreement announced Monday by the Internal Revenue Service.

  • December 09, 2024

    Woman Appeals Tax Court's Canadian Debt Ruling To 9th Circ.

    A woman appealed to the Ninth Circuit a U.S. Tax Court decision that prevented her from challenging a federal tax lien issued by the Internal Revenue Service to secure her $200,000 tax debt to Canada on behalf of the Canadian government. 

  • December 09, 2024

    Chicago Pol's Lies Enough To Keep Conviction, Feds Say

    The government urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday not to disturb a former Chicago alderman's conviction for lying about money he'd borrowed from a since-shuttered bank, arguing his knowing understatements were enough to illegally mislead federal investigators.

  • December 09, 2024

    Man Owed $264K Under US-Canada Tax Treaty, Court Says

    A U.S. man living abroad is allowed under the U.S.-Canada tax treaty to claim a foreign tax credit for nearly $264,000 in payments of the Affordable Care Act's net investment income tax, the Federal Claims Court said.

  • December 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Affirms Man's $1.2M 'Seriously Delinquent' Tax Debt

    A Florida man owes more than $1.2 million in federal taxes, the D.C. Circuit said Friday, affirming the Internal Revenue Service's certification of his liability under a law that allows those with a "seriously delinquent" tax debt to have their passport revoked.

  • December 06, 2024

    Trust Distribution Doesn't Violate Holding Law, IRS Says

    A distribution from a trust of tenancy-in-common interests that resulted from the trust's involuntary termination will not prevent the interests from being held for certain investment and business purposes, the IRS said in a private letter ruling released Friday.

  • December 06, 2024

    Simpson Thacher Adds Tax Pro From Ropes & Gray

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP announced the firm has added a tax professional from Ropes & Gray LLP as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office.

  • December 06, 2024

    Biz Owner In $2.8M Worker Tax Scheme Asks To Avoid Prison

    A construction company owner who admitted skirting $2.8 million in employment taxes by claiming that his workers were subcontractors, including one who fell to his death on a job, asked a Massachusetts federal court Friday for a sentence of home confinement rather than prison.

  • December 06, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Skadden, Gibson Dunn

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, BlackRock buys HPS Investment Partners, TreeHouse Foods Inc. buys Harris Tea, Aya Healthcare acquires Cross Country Healthcare, and Bruin Capital launches a soccer representation business.

  • December 06, 2024

    Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin

    The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin, issued Friday, included regulations aimed at making it easier for tax-exempt entities that co-own development projects to qualify for a direct cash payment of clean energy tax credits by electing out of their partnership tax status.

  • December 05, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Rethink $100M Credit For John Hancock

    The Eleventh Circuit won't reconsider its decision to let John Hancock Life Insurance Co. keep $100 million in foreign tax credits, leaving in place its October ruling against a Florida law firm retirement plan's trustees.

  • December 05, 2024

    Tax Court Penalizes Mail Carrier For Frivolous Returns

    A retired U.S. Postal Service carrier from Texas owes $10,000 in civil penalties for making frivolous claims that his income wasn't subject to taxes because he wasn't a federal employee, the U.S. Tax Court ruled in a bench opinion released Thursday.

  • December 05, 2024

    IRS Issues Latest Required Retirement Plan Amendments List

    The Internal Revenue Service released Thursday the 2024 edition of an annual list of required amendments for qualifying individually designed retirement plans.

  • December 05, 2024

    IRS Approved Late Workers' Comp. Payments, TIGTA Says

    The Internal Revenue Service approved workers' compensation claims from agency employees that should have been barred because they were filed late, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Thursday in a report that called for improvements to the agency's approval process.

  • December 05, 2024

    Texas Paving Co. Drops Suit Over $686K Carryback Refund

    A Texas contracting company voluntarily dropped its case seeking a $686,000 tax refund, plus interest, from the Internal Revenue Service for a carryback operating loss.

  • December 05, 2024

    IRS Errors Allow Millions In Improper Refunds, TIGTA Says

    Tax overpayments aren't being applied to outstanding debt in taxpayer accounts because of procedural and programming errors at the Internal Revenue Service that allow millions of dollars to be improperly refunded to taxpayers, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Thursday.

  • December 05, 2024

    Senate Finance Committee Advances IRS Watchdog Pick

    The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday advanced President Joe Biden's nomination of a former assistant inspector general at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to serve as the top IRS watchdog.

  • December 05, 2024

    Whistleblower Asks DC Circ. To Strike Tax Court Judge Shield

    A man whose whistleblower claim was blocked by the IRS for being too late asked the D.C. Circuit to reject a second U.S. Tax Court decision to uphold the denial, saying, among other things, that Tax Court judges have unconstitutional job protection.

  • December 04, 2024

    GAO Finds Limited Oversight, Data On Crypto In 401(k)s

    Though crypto assets make up a small part of the 401(k) market, their limited federal oversight might leave workers responsible for monitoring the volatile investment options, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

  • December 04, 2024

    Trump Picks Ex-Congressman For IRS Commissioner

    President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he has tapped a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives to lead the Internal Revenue Service during his coming second term.

  • December 04, 2024

    Senate Finance Committee Schedules Vote On TIGTA Nominee

    The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a vote Thursday on the nomination of David Samuel Johnson as the inspector general for tax administration, committee Chairman Ron Wyden announced Wednesday.

  • December 04, 2024

    Ending Trump Tax Cuts Would Have Neutral Effect, CBO Says

    Allowing the individual income tax cuts enacted under President Donald Trump's 2017 tax overhaul to expire at the end of next year as planned won't have a significant effect on the economy over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

  • December 04, 2024

    IRS Warns Of Rising Charitable Contribution Scams

    The Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers Wednesday of an uptick in fraud schemes involving donations of ownership interests in closely held businesses, a scam that usually targets wealthier people.

  • December 04, 2024

    IRS Seeks Electronic Tax Committee Membership Applications

    The Internal Revenue Service is accepting applications until the end of January to join its Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee, the agency announced Wednesday.

Featured Stories

  • IRS Pick's Retention Credit History Raises Sens.' Hackles

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    As senators digested President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of a former U.S. House member to be commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, some Democrats said the nominee's experience promoting problematic employee retention credits immediately raised questions about his fitness to run the agency.

  • GOP Threats To IRS Funds Risk Halting Agency Progress

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    Republicans will likely seek to cut IRS funding when they take control of the House, Senate and White House next year, threatening to roll back the gains in staffing, enforcement and technology the agency has made since it received a funding boost in 2022. 

  • Tax-Exempt Benefit Regs Would Give Tribes Overdue Power

    Kat Lucero

    Recently proposed regulations on tribal general welfare benefits would grant tribes sole discretion to determine which programs and services are tax-exempt benefits and, if finalized, would fulfill the long-overdue purpose of a 2014 law meant to give them more deference.

Expert Analysis

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

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    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Rank-And-File DOJ Attorneys Will Keep Calm And Carry On

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    Career prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice often pride themselves on their ability to remain apolitical in order to ensure consistency and keep the department’s mission afloat, and the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to upend this tradition, says Michael Landman at Bird Marella.

  • What Higher Education Can Expect From A 2nd Trump Admin

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    The election of Donald Trump for a second presidential term has far-reaching ramifications for colleges and universities — come January, institutions can expect a crackdown on DEI, increased scrutiny of campus protests, a rollback of the Biden administration's Title IX rules and more, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • Expect Surging Oil And Gas Industry Under New Trump Admin

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    Throughout his recent campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised increased oil and natural gas production and reduced reliance on renewables — and his administration will likely bring more oil and gas dealmaking, faster federal permitting and attempts to roll back incentives for green energy, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • Cos. Should Inventory Issues To Prep For New Congress

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    As the legislative and oversight agendas of the 119th Congress come into sharper focus, corporate counsel should assess and plan for areas of potential oversight risk — from tax policy changes to supply chain integrity — even as much uncertainty remains, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Conservation Easement Cases Weave Web Of Uncertainty

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    Much of the IRS and Justice Department’s recent success in prosecuting syndicated conservation easement cases can be attributed to the government’s focus on the so-called PropCo ratio, which could indicate treacherous waters ahead for participants and their advisers, even under the incoming Trump administration, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Legislation Most Likely To Pass In Lame Duck Session

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    As Congress begins its five-week post-election lame duck session, attorneys at Greenberg Traurig break down the legislative priorities and which proposals can be expected to pass.