Federal
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September 10, 2025
The Tax Angle: New Extenders, Housing Credits
From a look at the new tax extenders included in the Republican Party's budget reconciliation law and the law's expanded housing tax credit, here's a peek into a reporter's notebook on a few developing tax stories.
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September 10, 2025
Too Many Credits Taken For Electric Car, Tax Court Says
A California couple who claimed a one-time tax credit for their electric car for several years owe $7,500 in taxes for one of the years when they were not entitled to it, the U.S. Tax Court said in a ruling Wednesday.
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September 10, 2025
Wanted Doctor Owes Taxes, Fraud Penalties, Tax Court Says
A physician wanted for arrest in Arizona on tax evasion charges owes more than $300,000 in taxes plus civil fraud penalties after he failed to respond to a government suit seeking a judgment on the debt, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Wednesday.
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September 10, 2025
Widow Must Repay IRS Refund Interest, US Tells 4th Circ.
An 80-year-old widow whose husband was imprisoned after hiding more than $20 million from the IRS should have to pay the agency millions of dollars for interest it mistakenly refunded the couple but which they never repaid, the U.S. government told the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday.
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September 10, 2025
Schenck Price Adds Int'l Tax Pro In NJ From Solo Shop
Schenck Price Smith & King LLP expanded its international tax group this week with the addition of an expert in tax planning for both inbound and outbound companies, institutional investors and investment funds.
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September 10, 2025
Prison Term Delayed For Former CEO Who Didn't Pay Taxes
A former software executive slated to start his prison sentence for failing to pay employment taxes was allowed by a North Carolina federal judge Wednesday to push the date back a second time to have medical operations, including one the government described as elective.
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September 10, 2025
Texas Chem Site's Ex-Director Faces $1.8M Tax Liability Suit
The former director of a Texas chemical storage facility owes nearly $1.8 million in taxes, the U.S. government told a Florida federal court, alleging that he is personally liable for the tax debt tied to the 2004 sale of the company's assets.
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September 10, 2025
Kirkland Adds Fintech Regulatory Partner From McDermott
Kirkland & Ellis LLP has enhanced its fintech regulatory compliance capabilities in New York with the addition of an experienced corporate partner who joins the firm from McDermott Will & Schulte.
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September 09, 2025
Trump's Latest Tariff EO Offers Some Relief, But No Certainty
President Donald Trump's latest tariff executive order essentially creates an exclusion process for many goods not readily available in the U.S. if the exporter countries enter trade agreements with the U.S., a strategic shift cautiously welcomed by importers even as they still seek certainty for their supply chains.
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September 09, 2025
IRS Ordered To Notify Court Of ICE Info-Sharing Requests
A D.C. federal judge in a series of orders Friday and Tuesday said the IRS must notify the court within 24 hours of receiving a request from immigration authorities for taxpayer information and hand over administrative records while the court considers a request to stop the intergovernmental data sharing.
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September 09, 2025
Tariffs Will Push 875K Americans Into Poverty, Yale Says
President Donald Trump's tariffs are expected to push up to 875,000 people into poverty this year based on the U.S. Census Bureau's system of measurement, Yale University researchers reported Tuesday, noting that the total is equivalent to 0.3% of the population.
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September 09, 2025
BDO Seeks To Ditch Bulk Of Ex-Partner's $75M Bias Suit
Accounting firm BDO sought to fend off most of the claims in a $75 million discrimination suit brought by a former tax partner who took leave when her son had a stroke, telling a New York federal court she was not an employee protected by the laws she says the firm violated.
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September 09, 2025
Lobbyist Calls On IRS To Ax Microcaptive Tax Abuse Rule
The U.S. Treasury Department should rescind an Internal Revenue Service rule aimed at cracking down on tax abuse with microcaptive insurance arrangements because it exceeds the agency's authority, a registered lobbyist from Barnes & Thornburg LLP said in a letter released Tuesday.
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September 09, 2025
Justices Grant Fast-Track Review For Trump Tariff Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court will fast-track its consideration of the government's appeal of a Federal Circuit ruling that President Donald Trump's tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are unlawful, according to a Tuesday order.
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September 09, 2025
Treasury Urged To Make Small Crypto Rewards Tax-Free
The U.S. Treasury Department and IRS should alter guidance so that gains or losses below $200 from cryptocurrency transactions such as mining rewards aren't required to be reported as taxable income upon receipt, a bitcoin advocacy group said in a letter published Tuesday by the department.
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September 09, 2025
Woman Says IRS Error Is Endangering Her Passport, Finances
A Puerto Rico taxpayer is facing financial uncertainty and possible travel limitations after an unresolved IRS clerical error falsely assessed her employer's tax liabilities against her, she said in a suit filed in federal court in San Juan.
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September 09, 2025
DOJ Investigating Energy Co.'s Sales Of Tribal Tax Credits
An energy company accused of selling fraudulent tax shelters marketed as tribal tax credits is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee said in a letter obtained by Law360 on Tuesday.
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September 09, 2025
Court Urged To Deny Bid To Block Captive Reporting Rules
A Texas federal court should deny an injunction to a Texas plastics company seeking to stop the IRS from flagging microcaptive insurance plans as potentially abusive tax avoidance schemes, the U.S. argued, saying the public could lose millions of tax dollars on illegitimate transactions.
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September 09, 2025
States Urge Justices To Quickly Rule Against Trump's Tariffs
The U.S. Supreme Court should quickly consider the appeal of the Federal Circuit's ruling that President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs are unlawful and affirm that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn't provide the authority to impose duties, the states challenging the measures told the justices this week.
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September 08, 2025
Calif. Says Defunct SVB Owes State Over $76M In Taxes
The former parent company of Silicon Valley Bank owes the state of California upward of $76 million in taxes on income from a portfolio of securities for years leading up to the bank's failure, a state taxing authority told a New York bankruptcy court.
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September 08, 2025
New $25M Vanguard Investor Tax Case Deal Gets Initial OK
A $25 million settlement of a class action accusing Vanguard of improperly triggering an asset sell-off that saddled investors with steep tax bills received preliminary approval Monday, according to an order in Pennsylvania federal court, after a $40 million deal was rejected in May.
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September 08, 2025
Former Skadden Atty Moves Tax Practice To Simpson Thacher
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has deepened its transactional resources in the New York office with the recent addition of an attorney who moved his practice from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP after 15 years.
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September 08, 2025
Senior Int'l Tax Official At IRS To Join Baker McKenzie
A 15-year veteran of the Internal Revenue Service, who recently served as acting commissioner of the Large Business & International Division, will join Baker McKenzie's tax practice in Washington, D.C., later this month, the firm said Monday.
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September 08, 2025
Bessent Says US Will Refund Revenue If Justices Nix Tariffs
If the U.S. Supreme Court decides President Donald Trump lacked authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the U.S. government will refund revenue it has collected with tariffs under that law, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
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September 08, 2025
9th Circ. Backs Trump Donor's Tax, Foreign Agent Convictions
A venture capitalist whose 12-year prison term for evading taxes and making illegal campaign contributions through foreign clients was commuted by President Donald Trump did not plead guilty to the crimes involuntarily, the Ninth Circuit found in affirming his convictions, rejecting his claim that his attorney hid information from him.
Expert Analysis
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Bill Leaves Renewable Cos. In Dark On Farmland Reporting
A U.S. Senate bill to update disclosure requirements for foreign control of U.S. farmland does not provide much-needed guidance on how to report renewable energy development on agricultural property, leaving significant compliance risks for project developers, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.
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Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm
My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.
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IRS Should Work With Industry On Microcaptive Regs
The IRS should engage with microcaptive insurance owners to develop better regulations on these arrangements or risk the emergence of common law guidance as taxpayers with legitimate programs seek relief in the federal courts, says Dustin Carlson at SRA 831(b) Admin.
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CARES Act Fraud Enforcement Is Unlikely To Slow Down
In the five years since the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the federal government has devoted massive resources to investigating CARES Act fraud — and all signs suggest the U.S. Department of Justice will continue vigorous enforcement in this area, say attorneys at Kostelanetz.
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Spinoff Transaction Considerations For Biotech M&A
Amid current market challenges, boards and management teams of biotech companies can consider several strategies for maximizing value should a spinoff opportunity arise, but not without significant advance planning and careful implementation, particularly in cases that might qualify as tax-free, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System
The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.
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Drawbacks For Taxpayers From Justices' Levy Dispute Ruling
The Supreme Court's June decision in Commissioner v. Zuch, holding the Tax Court lacks jurisdiction to resolve disputes where the IRS has stopped pursuing a levy, may require taxpayers to explore new tactics for mitigating the increased difficulty of appealing their liability via collection due process hearings, says Matthew Roberts at Meadows Collier.
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How Energy Cos. Can Prepare For Potential Tax Credit Cuts
The Senate Finance Committee's version of the One Big Beautiful Bill act would create a steep phaseout of renewable energy tax credits, which should prompt companies to take several actions, including conduct a project review to discern which could begin construction before the end of the year, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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DOJ Has Deep Toolbox For Corporate Immigration Violations
With the U.S. Department of Justice now offering rewards to whistleblowers who report businesses that employ unauthorized workers, companies should understand the immigration enforcement landscape and how they can reduce their risk, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Trade In Limbo: The Legal Storm Reshaping Trump's Tariffs
In the final days of May, decisions in two significant court actions upended the tariff and trade landscape, so until the U.S. Supreme Court rules, businesses and supply chains should expect tariffs to remain in place, and for the Trump administration to continue pursuing and enforcing all available trade policies, say attorneys at Ice Miller.
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Del. Dispatch: General Partner Discretion In Valuing Incentives
In Walker v. FRP Investors, the Delaware Court of Chancery recently held that the general partner of a limited partnership breached its obligations when determining the threshold value of newly issued incentive units, highlighting the court's willingness to reconstruct what a reasonable determination of value by a general partner should have been, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing
Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard
District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.