Federal
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May 05, 2025
Novelist Owes $715K In FBAR Penalties, US Says
A Japanese author with U.S. citizenship faces penalties exceeding $715,000 for failing to report accounts she held at a Swiss bank, the U.S. government told a California federal court.
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May 02, 2025
Tax Case Can Proceed Despite Late Name Change, Court Says
The owner of a mail-order medical equipment company can move forward with his lawsuit against the federal government seeking to deduct a $5 million settlement payment, even though he didn't technically add his name to the case until after the deadline, the Court of Federal Claims said.
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May 02, 2025
Money Laundering, Tax Charges Nixed Vs. Crypto Operator
An Indiana federal judge dismissed the U.S. government's cases against a man accused of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, laundering proceeds through cryptocurrency transactions and failing to file tax returns after finding his business was not subject to registration requirements, as the government had maintained.
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May 02, 2025
Nixon Peabody Appoints Finance, Tax Partner As DC Leader
Nixon Peabody LLP has appointed a more than 20-year veteran of the firm as its Washington, D.C., office managing partner, who focuses his practice on a range of corporate, finance and real estate matters, according to a Thursday announcement.
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May 02, 2025
Groups Seek Order Halting Trump's Restructuring Of Gov't
A California district court must stop federal agencies from moving ahead with President Donald Trump's directive to reorganize and terminate government workers, unions and other groups argued, calling for a temporary restraining order based on alleged harms from the administration's "radical restructuring."
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May 02, 2025
White House Budget Seeks $2.5B Cut From IRS Funding
The Internal Revenue Service's budget would be cut by nearly $2.5 billion compared with 2025 under the 2026 budget request released Friday by President Donald Trump's administration.
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May 02, 2025
IRS Updates Rates For Foreign Insurance Company Equations
The Internal Revenue Service on Friday published updated domestic asset/liability and yields percentages for 2024 that foreign life insurance companies and foreign property and liability insurance companies need to compute their minimum effectively connected net investment income.
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May 02, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Goodwin, Haynes Boone
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Merck buys SpringWorks Therapeutics, Novartis AG acquires Regulus Therapeutics Inc., Sabre Corp. sells its Hospitality Solutions business to private equity shop TPG, and TWG Global and Mubadala Capital team up to bolster their investments.
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May 02, 2025
Community Groups Accept Pause In CTA Litigation
A group of community associations has told the Fourth Circuit they aren't opposed to a government motion to pause litigation over the Corporate Transparency Act, even as they maintained the information disclosure law aimed at small businesses still carries constitutional flaws.
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May 02, 2025
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service's weekly bulletin, issued Friday, included its announcement of plans to revoke partnership basis-shifting regulations that were finalized earlier this year.
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May 01, 2025
IRS Successfully Targeting Rich Nonfilers, But Can Improve
The Internal Revenue Service's targeted sweeps of so-called high-income nonfilers have largely been successful in closing cases and collecting revenue, but the agency could do more to target certain areas and collect tracking data better, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said.
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May 01, 2025
Multinationals Grapple With Tariff-Induced Pricing Issues
President Donald Trump's flurry of tariff actions since taking office has created new questions for multinationals and their transfer pricing tax planners, including how to properly account for cost increases associated with new duties in related party transactions.
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May 01, 2025
Trump Picks Tax Controversy Pro For IRS Chief Counsel Spot
President Donald Trump has tapped a former Internal Revenue Service chief counsel to return to the role, and if he is confirmed, it will represent the second time in his career that the veteran tax controversy professional will be the agency's top attorney.
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May 01, 2025
Tax Court Shuts Out Indirect Partners In Easement Dispute
Indirect partners who owned a small percentage of a partnership that settled a conservation easement deduction dispute with the IRS cannot intervene before the deal is final, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday, saying they missed their chance to participate.
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May 01, 2025
Estate Pushes Back On IRS In DC Circ. Lost Records Case
The estate of a man whose offshore businesses were raided by the IRS, giving rise to a nearly $18 million tax judgment, criticized the agency's effort to rebuff the estate's claims to the D.C. Circuit that the IRS fraudulently claimed that boxes of evidence in ensuing litigation were lost.
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May 01, 2025
IRS Updates Inflation-Adjusted HSA Amounts For 2026
The Internal Revenue Service issued inflation-adjusted amounts Thursday for health savings accounts for 2026, as well as the maximum amount that may be made available for excepted benefit health reimbursement arrangements.
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May 01, 2025
Ex-Informant Who Smeared Bidens, Evaded Tax A 'Flight Risk'
A former FBI informant won't be released while he appeals his six-year prison sentence for tax evasion and falsely telling federal agents that a Ukrainian energy company paid off President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, a California federal judge ruled, saying he's a "flight risk."
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May 01, 2025
Hunter Biden Drops Tax Privacy Case Against IRS
Hunter Biden dropped his suit against the federal government alleging the unauthorized disclosure of his tax return information by special agents and their attorneys who talked publicly about an investigation that culminated in Biden's copping to criminal tax charges.
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May 01, 2025
Nelson Mullins Lands Porter Hedges Tax Pro In Houston
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP announced Thursday that it has fortified its tax controversy and litigation team with a partner in Houston who came aboard from Porter Hedges LLP.
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May 01, 2025
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Joint Committee To Meet In May
The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel's Joint Committee will meet May 22, it announced Thursday, following meetings on customer service improvements for its various subcommittees earlier in the month.
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April 30, 2025
House Judiciary Panel OKs Broadening PL 86-272 Protections
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation on Wednesday that would impose more restrictions on state tax authorities to levy income taxes on out-of-state businesses, approving changes to P.L. 86-272 in the panel's portion of the federal budget reconciliation bill.
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April 30, 2025
Senate Rejects Bill To End Trump's Nat'l Emergency On Tariffs
The U.S. Senate narrowly rejected a bipartisan bill Wednesday that sought to end the national emergency declared by President Donald Trump to underpin his global tariff regime, with two senators absent for the vote, and with U.S. House consideration delayed until October.
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April 30, 2025
Coinbase Urges Justices To Take User's IRS Data Seizure Suit
Crypto exchange Coinbase on Wednesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to firm up privacy rights around digital information stored with third parties, backing a petition by a Coinbase user who's challenging the Internal Revenue Service's seizure of his account records.
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April 30, 2025
IRS Likely To Feel Strain Of Layoffs Now Filing Season's Over
The IRS's filing season ran relatively smoothly with minimal disruptions to customer service and taxpayer assistance, but the impending loss of a quarter of the agency's employees is already wearing on its workforce and will likely erode customer service, refund processing and institutional knowledge, experts say.
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April 30, 2025
IRS Properly Sustained Levy For Taxes, Tax Court Says
An IRS appeals officer properly sustained a proposed tax levy against a Kansas woman who missed her hearing date and failed to share her financial information with the agency after being accused of failing to file returns for three years, the U.S. Tax Court said Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School
Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.
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Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware
Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
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Congress Should Expand Investment Options For 403(b)s
Lawmakers should pass pending legislation to give 403(b) plan participants access to collective investment trusts, leveling the playing field for public sector retirement investors by giving them an investment option their private sector counterparts have had for decades, says Jason Levy at Great Gray Trust Company.
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Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out
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.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity
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.
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Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review
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.
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Rank-And-File DOJ Attorneys Will Keep Calm And Carry On
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.
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What Higher Education Can Expect From A 2nd Trump Admin
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.
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3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less
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.
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Expect Surging Oil And Gas Industry Under New Trump Admin
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.
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The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule
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.
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Cos. Should Inventory Issues To Prep For New Congress
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.