Federal
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September 18, 2024
Treasury Floats Tax Credit Regs For EV Charging Property
The U.S. Treasury Department proposed regulations Wednesday to define which electric vehicle charging ports, hydrogen fueling stations and other infrastructure that businesses, people and tax-exempt entities can build in underserved communities to qualify for a tax credit of up to 30% of installation costs.
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September 18, 2024
Sidley Can't Escape Malpractice Suit In Ga. Over Tax Scheme
A Georgia federal judge has found that Sidley Austin LLP must face its former clients' legal malpractice claims alleging they participated in a tax scheme under the firm's guidance, but threw out indemnity claims seeking reimbursement for paying the IRS $7 million over the scheme.
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September 18, 2024
Latham Adds A&O Shearman Energy Group Co-Lead In DC
Latham & Watkins LLP has hired the former co-head of Allen Overy Shearman Sterling's U.S. energy, natural resources and infrastructure group to its team of transactional tax partners based in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Monday.
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September 18, 2024
Staffing Co. Owed $5M In Worker Retention Credits, Suit Says
An industrial staffing company that was forced to stop holding job fairs during the pandemic claims the IRS hasn't paid it $5.1 million in federal tax credits it's owed for having continued paying employees, according to a complaint in Ohio federal court.
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September 18, 2024
8th Circ. Considers Chevron's End In 3M's $24M Tax Case
The Eighth Circuit signaled it would consider an argument by 3M that the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Chevron deference warranted a reversal in a transfer pricing case in which 3M is challenging the IRS' reallocation of $24 million from a Brazilian affiliate.
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September 18, 2024
IRS Issues Corp. Bond Monthly Yield Curve For Sept.
The Internal Revenue Service published Wednesday the corporate bond monthly yield curve for September for use in calculations for defined benefit plans, as well as corresponding segment rates and other related provisions.
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September 17, 2024
Revocation Of Interests In QTIP Trust Was Gift, Tax Court Says
An agreement in which two children gave up their interests in a qualified terminable interest property trust that held the remainder of their mother's nearly $60 million estate resulted in a taxable gift to the children's father, the U.S. Tax Court said Tuesday.
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September 17, 2024
Tax Court Denies Mineral Co.'s $1.1M Microcaptive Deduction
A mineral rights leasing company set up by an Oklahoma oil businessman can't take a $1.1 million deduction for what was presented as a microcaptive insurance transaction, the U.S. Tax Court ruled, saying the transaction was not a legitimate insurance arrangement.
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September 17, 2024
Chrisley Sentence Should Stick Despite 11th Circ., Feds Argue
Julie Chrisley's prison sentence shouldn't change even as a Georgia federal judge considers the former reality TV star's smaller role in a $36 million tax evasion and fraud scheme, prosecutors told the court Monday, noting that her time has already been shortened for other considerations.
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September 17, 2024
Duane Morris Atty Asks Court To Keep Proposed Class Alive
A Duane Morris LLP attorney asked a California federal court to keep her proposed class action against the firm alive, alleging the BigLaw firm is mischaracterizing her claims that it underpaid and misclassified employees.
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September 17, 2024
Blumenauer Pushes House Speaker To Put Pot Bill To Vote
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., on Monday urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring bipartisan cannabis legislation to a vote following revelations that Richard Nixon admitted privately that marijuana was "not particularly dangerous" while he publicly waged the war on drugs.
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September 17, 2024
Fraudster Can Deduct $367K Legal Expenses, Tax Court Says
A Californian convicted of wire fraud and money laundering is entitled to deduct more than $367,000 in legal expenses spent to defend himself from the charges because they were related to his business, even though his business was defrauding donors, the U.S. Tax Court said.
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September 17, 2024
10 Members Appointed To Electronic Advisory Panel, IRS Says
The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday announced the appointment of 10 new members to its electronic tax administration advisory committee, including the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revnue and a program manager at H&R Block.
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September 16, 2024
Film Producer, Accountant Hid $25M From IRS, DOJ Alleges
A film producer who sold shares in the production company he cofounded for $25 million schemed with an Australian accountant to hide the proceeds from U.S. authorities in Swiss bank accounts, causing the IRS to lose out on some $5 million, according to the DOJ.
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September 16, 2024
Treasury Cuts 'Zero Basis' Rule In Final Estate Tax Regs
The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday said it would not keep a rule that set a zero value for the unreported property of an estate in final regulations on the requirement that an heir's basis in inherited property be consistent with the property's value for estate tax purposes.
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September 16, 2024
Audit Trails For IRS Taxpayer Data Trove Lacking, TIGTA Says
Audit trails that can be used to identify logins to an Internal Revenue Service's database containing extensive tax records were often incomplete, according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released Monday.
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September 16, 2024
Applicable Federal Interest Rates To Decline Again In October
Applicable federal rates for income tax purposes will decrease again in October, continuing a months-long decline, the Internal Revenue Service said Monday.
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September 16, 2024
IRS Floats Definition Of 'Covered Month' For Premium Credit
The IRS on Monday proposed expanding the definition of a "covered month" for purposes of the health insurance premium tax credit to include the first month of the grace period for which an individual does not pay the premium in full but still receives coverage.
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September 16, 2024
IRS Cancels Hearing On 'Basket Contract' Transactions Rule
The Internal Revenue Service canceled a hearing on proposed rules that would flag what are known as basket option contracts as potentially abusive listed transactions, according to a notice released Monday.
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September 13, 2024
The 2024 Regional Powerhouses
The law firms on Law360's list of 2024 Regional Powerhouses reflected the local peculiarities of their states while often representing clients in deals and cases that captured national attention.
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September 13, 2024
IRS Monitoring Of Cloud IT Security Lacking, TIGTA Says
An audit of the IRS' cloud computing systems found that the agency was lacking in several areas, including not keeping up with systems to maintain the security of cloud computing services, according to a report released Friday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
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September 13, 2024
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin, issued Friday, included proposed regulations on clean electricity low-income community bonus credits and procedures for obtaining the IRS' automatic consent to change accounting methods to comply with changes to the treatment of research and development costs.
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September 13, 2024
Mortgage Co. CEO Gets 11 Years In Prison For Ponzi Scams
A mortgage company owner was sentenced Thursday to 11 years and three months in prison for defrauding investors, a community bank and the government's pandemic relief program to cover gambling debts and personal expenses like luxury cars, Philadelphia's top federal prosecutor announced.
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September 13, 2024
Treasury Proposes Rules Defining Tax-Exempt Tribal Benefits
Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service released proposed rules Friday that would define what qualifies as tribal welfare benefits exempt from taxable income.
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September 13, 2024
IRS Extends La. Tax Deadlines For Francine Storm Victims
Victims of Hurricane Francine throughout Louisiana will have more time to file some tax returns and make estimated payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced Friday.
Expert Analysis
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BF Borgers Clients Should Review Compliance, Liability
After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced enforcement proceedings against audit firm BF Borgers for fabricating audit documentation for hundreds of public companies, those companies will need to follow special procedures for disclosure and reporting — and may need to prepare for litigation from the plaintiffs bar, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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What Updated PLR Procedure May Mean For Stock Spin-Offs
A recently published Internal Revenue Service revenue procedure departs from commonly understood interpretations of the spinoff rules by imposing more stringent standards on companies seeking private letter rulings regarding tax-free stock spinoff and split-off transactions, and may presage regulatory changes that would have the force of law, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Proposed Cannabis Reschedule Sidesteps State Law Effects
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act provides certain benefits, but its failure to address how the rescheduling would interact with existing state cannabis laws disappointed industry participants hoping for clarity on this crucial question, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
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New Crypto Reporting Will Require Rigorous Recordkeeping
The release of a form for reporting digital asset transactions is a pivotal moment in the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to track cryptocurrency activities that increases oversight by requiring brokers to report investor sales and exchanges, say Shaina Kamen and Max Angel at Holland & Knight.
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Geothermal Energy Has Growing Potential In The US
Bipartisan support for the geothermal industry shows that geothermal energy can be an elegant solution toward global decarbonization efforts because of its small footprint, low supply chain risk, and potential to draw on the skills of existing highly specialized oil and gas workers and renewable specialists, say attorneys at Weil.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy
The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
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State-Regulated Cannabis Can Thrive Without Section 280E
Marijauna's reclassification as a Schedule III-controlled substance comes at a critical juncture, as removing marijuana from being subjected to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code is the only path forward for the state-regulated cannabis industry to survive and thrive, say Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie and Sammy Markland at FTI Consulting.
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Asset Manager Exemption Shifts May Prove Too Burdensome
The U.S. Department of Labor’s recent change to a prohibited transaction exemption used by retirement plan asset managers introduces a host of new costs, burdens and risks to investment firms, from registration requirements to new transition periods, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.