Federal
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March 31, 2025
Federal Worker Union Challenges Trump Order Gutting CBAs
The National Treasury Employees Union sued on Monday to block portions of President Donald Trump's recent executive order ending collective bargaining at a number of federal agencies where its members work, saying the directive amounts to unlawful "political retribution" for the union's legal advocacy against Trump's agenda.
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March 31, 2025
House Passes Bill Easing Up Tax Relief For Disasters
The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation Monday to allow victims of state-declared emergencies more time to file federal returns and debated a second measure to allow affected taxpayers to qualify for extended deadlines for refund claims and collection notices.
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March 31, 2025
Tax Court Nixes $26M Easement Deduction Over Quarry Value
The U.S. Tax Court rejected Monday a partnership's nearly $26 million conservation easement deduction tied to a 110-acre farmland in Alabama, stating the partnership had failed to prove that its hypothetical limestone quarry in the property had skyrocketed the easement's value.
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March 31, 2025
House Passes Bipartisan Bills To Update IRS Practices
The U.S. House sent several bipartisan bills Monday to the Senate, including legislation that would codify the National Taxpayer Advocate's ability to hire its own attorneys and require the Internal Revenue Service to update its process for notifying individuals of adjustments to their tax returns.
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March 31, 2025
Brother And Wife Owe Shirked Estate Taxes, Court Says
A son who transferred over $2 million of his mother's estate to a partnership and then reported owing no estate tax improperly rendered the estate insolvent before paying the government, a Nevada federal court ruled, saying his wife and brother must pay the bill because he has since died.
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March 31, 2025
Soda Taxes Fail To Boost Health, Cut Obesity, Group Says
Raising taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages shows no evidence of improved health benefits, according to a Tax Foundation report.
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March 31, 2025
Justices Ask US To Respond To IRS Crypto Doc Seizure Case
The U.S. Supreme Court asked the federal government Monday to weigh in on a cryptocurrency investor's challenge to the IRS' seizure of his account records, a request that followed a spate of support for the investor, including by attorneys general and Elon Musk's X Corp.
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March 31, 2025
Trump's Tariff Bombardment Keeps Companies Guessing
U.S. importers are bracing for significant compliance cost increases as President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement is expected on Wednesday, though recent comments made by the president indicate the duties could be less harsh.
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March 31, 2025
Justices Probe Wis. Denial Of Exemption To Catholic Charities
Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed deeply skeptical Monday that Wisconsin was on firm constitutional grounds in denying an unemployment tax exemption to a group of Catholic charities because, as the state claimed, they were not operated primarily for religious purposes.
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March 31, 2025
Trump, Starmer Discuss Averting US Tariffs On UK Goods
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed a possible deal between the U.S. and the U.K. to avoid U.S. tariffs from being imposed on goods such as cars and metals, the British government confirmed.
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March 28, 2025
The Tax Angle: Dems Prep For Tax Debate; CBO Eyes Deficits
From a look at a tax briefing for House Democrats on the expiring provisions of the Republicans' 2017 tax overhaul law to the latest Congressional Budget Office outlook on making the law permanent, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few of the week's developing tax stories.
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March 28, 2025
Microcaptive Case Doesn't Curb Tax Collection, 10th Circ. Told
The IRS mischaracterized a lawsuit seeking to set aside guidance requiring additional reporting for microcaptive insurance arrangements, a plumbing supply company and its owners told the Tenth Circuit, saying their suit isn't barred because it doesn't restrain tax collection as the agency claimed.
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March 28, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Norton Rose, Latham, Ashurst
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Dollar Tree sells its Family Dollar business to private equity firms, eye care company Alcon buys medical technology company Lensar and Ithaca Energy PLC buys the U.K. subsidiary of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd.
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March 28, 2025
Attorney Accused Of Tax Scam Wants Opposing Counsel Cut
An attorney accused by a precious metals dealer's partnership of selling it a tax scam asked a Colorado federal court to disqualify the partnership's attorney from the case, saying the lawyer has a conflict because he formerly represented her.
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March 28, 2025
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin, issued Friday, included the updated corporate monthly yield bond curve.
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March 27, 2025
LA Investor Loses Bid To Recoup Damages From IRS Seizure
A Los Angeles investor lost a bid in California federal court Thursday to recoup more than $500,000 in damages that, he said, stemmed from the IRS' unlawful seizure of his assets to pay off a $7.2 million late-filing penalty.
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March 27, 2025
Pfizer Tops Pharma Tax Avoidance, Senate Dems Say
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer had no taxable profits in its largest market, the U.S., after booking all its income in jurisdictions including Puerto Rico, Singapore and Ireland, according to a Senate Finance Committee report prepared by panel Democrats that was released Thursday.
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March 27, 2025
Ex-Atty Ran $840M Tax Evasion Scheme, DOJ Says
A former tax and real estate attorney ran a nationwide scheme that helped his customers avoid paying taxes on as much as $840 million in capital gains, the federal government told an Idaho federal court Thursday.
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March 27, 2025
US Ranked Low At Fighting Real Estate Money Laundering
The U.S. is the third-worst country when it comes to fighting money laundering in real estate because of a lack of regulations, according to a report ranking the national markets of 24 countries.
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March 27, 2025
Final APAs Dipped Slightly From 2023 Record High, IRS Says
The Internal Revenue Service finalized slightly fewer advance pricing agreements for U.S. multinational corporations in 2024 following a record high in the previous year, according to an agency report released Thursday.
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March 27, 2025
Payroll Co. Hid IRS Interest Money From Clients, Court Told
A payroll provider for a maintenance company never passed along interest payments from the Internal Revenue Service related to its clients' pandemic-era relief claims, the company alleged in a proposed class action filed in Washington federal court.
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March 27, 2025
9th Circ. Won't Stay Injunction Compelling Fed. Worker Rehire
A split Ninth Circuit panel has refused to block an injunction compelling the Trump administration to reinstate about 16,000 probationary employees to six federal agencies, saying the administration will likely lose its argument that the agencies weren't acting on an order from above when they fired the workers.
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March 27, 2025
NFTC Keeps Pushing For Standardized Pillar 2 Reporting
The National Foreign Trade Council reiterated its request for the OECD to ensure a standardized approach to acquiring the cross-jurisdiction information required for Pillar Two global minimum tax returns, noting its members still have confidentiality concerns.
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March 26, 2025
Sotomayor Urges Caution On Nondelegation Doctrine Revamp
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned her colleagues during oral arguments Wednesday against using a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's administration of a broadband subsidy program as a way to resurrect the long-dormant nondelegation doctrine. Several conservative justices, however, seemed willing to disregard that admonition.
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March 26, 2025
Senate Sends Repeal Of Crypto Broker Rule To Trump
The Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would repeal a final U.S. Treasury Department rule implementing additional reporting requirements for decentralized finance brokers such as cryptocurrency platforms, sending the resolution to President Donald Trump's desk to sign.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Alter Paraphernalia Imports
The Biden administration's recent proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana use raises questions about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement policies may shift when it comes to enforcing a separate federal ban on marijuana accessory imports, says R. Kevin Williams at Clark Hill.
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NCAA Settlement May End The NIL Model As We Know It
The recent House v. NCAA settlement in California federal court, in which the NCAA agreed to allow schools to directly pay March Madness television revenue to their athletes, may send outside name, image and likeness collectives in-house, says Mike Ingersoll at Womble Bond.
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Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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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.