Tax
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July 23, 2019
Imported Tobacco Excise Tax Applies To Additives, CIT Rules
An excise tax on imported tobacco products by weight applies to chemical additives mixed in with the tobacco, not just the tobacco itself, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Tuesday, rejecting an importer's bid for a $500,000 refund.
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July 23, 2019
$50M IRS Claim Holds Up Avadel Pharma Ch. 11 Confirmation
Attorneys for bankrupt drugmaker Avadel Specialty Pharmaceuticals LLC said Tuesday that a combined hearing on its Chapter 11 plan and disclosure statement would have to wait after the Internal Revenue Service filed a $50 million claim against the estate related to outstanding tax liabilities.
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July 23, 2019
Norcross Violated Order In Tax Probe Challenge, Judge Says
A New Jersey state judge on Monday ordered Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III and his affiliated companies to withdraw new subpoenas they issued in their suit over Gov. Phil Murphy's tax break probe, saying they violated her previous order to pause document requests until the state's dismissal bid is resolved.
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July 23, 2019
BREAKING: Trump Sues To Block Release Of His NY Tax Returns
President Donald Trump sued the House tax committee and New York officials in D.C. federal court Tuesday to block the enforcement of a recently passed law that would allow his state tax return information to be released to federal lawmakers.
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July 22, 2019
Ecuador Prevails In Tax Dispute With Spanish Tuna Co.
An international tribunal has unanimously rejected all of Spanish tuna fishing company Albacora SA's allegations in a $56 million arbitration involving Ecuador that stemmed from a dispute over tax exemptions, the country said.
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July 22, 2019
IRS Aims New Campaigns At US Individuals' Foreign Income
The IRS has announced six new compliance campaigns focused on issues affecting U.S. nationals' overseas income, capital gains taxes for some pass-through businesses and certain forms of deferred compensation for services.
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July 22, 2019
Challenge To Colo. Taxpayer Rights Act Revived By 10th Circ.
A complaint against the Colorado Taxpayer's Bill of Rights by a group of the state's political subdivisions was revived Monday by the 10th Circuit, which ruled that a lower court should not have dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.
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July 22, 2019
Mass. Lawmakers Approve $43.1B Budget With Sales Tax Fix
The Massachusetts House and Senate each approved a $43.1 billion compromise budget Monday, sending the governor a bill that tweaks the sales tax treatment of marketplace vendors but drops plans for new taxes on opioids or e-cigarettes.
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July 22, 2019
Altera Seeks Full 9th Circ. Review Of Cost-Sharing Case
Chipmaker Altera Corp. on Monday asked all Ninth Circuit judges to rehear a case in which a 2-1 majority found that the Internal Revenue Service was justified in requiring related business entities to include stock-based compensation in their cost-sharing agreements.
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July 22, 2019
French Court Declines To Scrap FATCA Treaty With US
France's highest administrative court declined to strike down the French government's information-sharing agreement under the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, finding that requirements to report the financial data of U.S. citizens in France don't violate privacy rights.
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July 22, 2019
Nutter Nabs Tax Partner From Maine Firm
Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP added a new partner to the tax department of its Boston office, announcing Monday the hire of an attorney from Drummond Woodsum in Portland, Maine.
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July 19, 2019
Trump Admin's Short-Term Insurance Rule Survives Challenge
A Washington, D.C., district judge granted the federal government a quick win on Friday in a legal challenge to a rule allowing Americans to use short-term health insurance plans, which skirt certain Affordable Care Act requirements, for three years instead of one.
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July 19, 2019
Banque Bonhôte Pays DOJ $1.2M More Over US Accounts
Switzerland-based Banque Bonhôte & Cie SA agreed Friday to pay $1.2 million extra to the U.S. for failing to disclose eight U.S.-related bank accounts with approximately $33 million in assets when it first struck a nonprosecution agreement in 2015.
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July 19, 2019
Baker McKenzie Taps Transfer Pricing Vet To Head Global Tax
Baker McKenzie has appointed one of its longtime transfer pricing partners to head its global tax practice, the firm said recently.
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July 19, 2019
Audit Identifies Basic Cybersecurity Flaws At The IRS
The Internal Revenue Service has put millions of taxpayer records at risk by failing to address dozens of cybersecurity flaws, including its failure to take basic steps to authenticate users, according to a congressional watchdog.
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July 19, 2019
Excela Surgical Center Doesn't Get Hospital's Tax Exemption
A Pennsylvania appeals court ruled Friday that an ambulatory surgical center owned by an Excela Health hospital in Westmoreland County did not qualify for an exemption from property taxes because it could not be considered a "hospital" in and of itself.
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July 19, 2019
Taxation With Representation: Skadden, Kirkland, Davis Polk
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Hillenbrand buys Milacron for $2 billion, Callon Petroleum shores itself up with a $1.2 billion Carrizo buy, and Campbell Soup makes a $300 million sale of a snack food unit.
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July 19, 2019
Sens. Seek Info On Appraiser In Easement Donation Probe
Senate Finance Committee lawmakers said Friday they requested information from an Alabama real estate licensing board about an appraiser who is alleged to have participated in abusive conservation easement transactions that resulted in $1.8 billion in federal tax deductions.
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July 19, 2019
Anti-Tax Group Defends Challenge To Calif. Auto-IRA Program
An anti-tax group urged a California federal judge not to toss its challenge to a state program that automatically funnels a portion of private sector workers' earnings into individual retirement accounts unless they opt out, arguing the program is preempted by federal benefits law.
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July 19, 2019
Former Congressman Peter Roskam Joins Sidley Austin
Sidley Austin LLP has hired former U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., to join the firm's government strategies group after 25 years serving in both state and national government.
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July 19, 2019
Federal Tax Policy To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2019
Congress will have little time to pursue tax-related legislation during the second half of 2019, with an August recess and the looming 2020 election season vying for lawmakers’ attention. Here, Law360 previews the most pressing federal tax legislation to watch for during the rest of the year.
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July 19, 2019
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The last week has seen the owner of a Manchester skyscraper that needed repair sue several underwriters at Lloyd's, a prominent cryptocurrency trader drag a U.K. digital currency exchange into court and an executive for Honeywell sue HSBC Bank PLC. Here, Law360 looks at those and other new claims in the U.K.
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July 18, 2019
5 Fascinating Tax Opinions By Justice Stevens
The late retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens left behind a legacy of consequential opinions on topics from nexus for state taxation to agency deference. Here, Law360 examines five significant majority opinions or dissents affecting tax authored by Justice Stevens.
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July 18, 2019
Tax Court Hewed Too Closely To CUT In Medtronic, Atty Says
The U.S. Tax Court would have been better served by a looser interpretation of the comparable uncontrolled transaction method in the Medtronic case, tax specialists who examined the use of different methods in transfer pricing cases said Thursday.
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July 18, 2019
Alcatel-Lucent Can't Get Farmland Assessment, NJ Panel Says
Alcatel-Lucent USA can’t seek a farmland assessment on a wooded portion of its North American headquarters property in New Jersey because the company did not respond to a municipal tax assessor's records request, a state appeals court ruled Thursday.
Editor's Picks
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New Tax Law’s Impact On M&A Coming Into Focus
The new federal tax law was expected to change how deals get structured, and four months after its enactment, it is becoming clear how the legislation is having an impact on negotiations and tax planning strategies.
Expert Analysis
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The 5 Supermajority Tax Challenges Facing Calif.
The California Superior Court's first two decisions following Cannabis Coalition v. Upland shine light on pending challenges to the state's supermajority voting requirement for passing local special taxes introduced by voter initiative, say Robert Merten and Richard Nielsen at Pillsbury.
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Opportunity Zone Program May Boost Hospitality Investments
Until recently, real estate projects appeared to be best suited to qualify for opportunity zone investments, but the U.S. Department of the Treasury's ongoing opportunity zone guidance has demonstrated its potential application to active businesses in the hospitality sector, says James Gueits of Spiritus Law.
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E-Discovery Experts Could Increase Fed. Court Efficiency
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As electronic data demands on federal courts continue to increase, it may be time to consider whether the courts should establish an office that could be staffed with technical experts familiar with electronic discovery issues, says Douglas Smith of Kirkland.
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Recent IRS Notices Blow Favorable For Wind Projects
Two recent IRS notices, adjusting the value of production tax credits and creating a safe harbor for certain U.S. Department of Defense-caused project delays, provide a small breath of fresh air for the onshore wind industry, says David Burton at Norton Rose.
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Before The DST Settles: What To Know About UK Digital Tax
With the introduction of detailed legislation on July 11 for what the United Kingdom considers to be “a targeted, proportionate and temporary tax,” the U.K. hopes to keep the pressure on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for a comprehensive consensus-based solution to a digital services tax, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Remembering Justice Stevens As A Law Firm Leader
Rothschild Barry's John Coffey, who joined Justice John Paul Stevens' law firm in 1965, shares what it was like to watch Justice Stevens practice law, mentor younger lawyers and land a malfunctioning plane.
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Key Differences In The Final GILTI Regulations
Apart from a too-narrow high-taxed global income exclusion, the notable differences in the final regulations released by the IRS last month from the proposed regulations were the refinements to the calculation of global intangible low-taxed income, says Robert Kiggins of Culhane Meadows.
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How Carbon Capture Tax Credit Financing Would Work
Legislation recently introduced in the Senate would create a new tax-exempt financing option for carbon dioxide generating facilities that spend capital developing green countermeasures for carbon capture and sequestration, says Taylor Klavan of Squire Patton.
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NJ Tax Stop: Private, For-Profit Property May Be Tax-Exempt
Although an appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court is pending, if the New Jersey Appellate Division's recent decision in Gourmet Dining v. Union Township stands, it may prove to be a watershed moment for property tax jurisprudence in the state by broadening the definition of "public purpose" to potentially include private, for-profit use of property, says Carl Rizzo of Cole Schotz.
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Answers To Key Legal Finance Ethics Questions
While there is discussion in some quarters about new regulations on commercial legal finance, the hands-off approach taken by the majority of courts and legislatures is an implicit recognition that it is already sufficiently regulated, says Danielle Cutrona of Burford Capital.
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Myers May Make It Easier To Find Equitable Relief In Tax Court
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit took an expansive view of equitable tolling of statutory filing deadlines and has potentially far-reaching ramifications for the U.S. Tax Court’s power to grant equitable relief, says Laura Gavioli at McDermott.
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Federal Agencies Need A Uniform Record-Keeping Process
The administrative record is very important to federal agency litigation — as showcased in last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census — yet there is no set of consistent principles to guide agencies in compiling these official records, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Recent Tax Lessons About When A Business 'Starts'
The U.S. Tax Court's decision this month in Smith v. Commissioner — finding that a taxpayer was carrying on his business in a year without sales income — provides guidance on determining when a business started and proving it, says Bryan Camp, a professor at Texas Tech University School of Law.
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California Tax Takes: San Francisco Tax Litigation Heats Up
On July 5, the San Francisco Superior Court held that two local taxes passed by voter initiative are valid because they are not subject to the two-thirds voting requirement for special taxes codified in the California Constitution. Attorneys at Reed Smith discuss the implications for San Francisco taxpayers who must now pay the taxes despite continuing litigation in the case.
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Kentucky Legislative Tax Updates To Know
In the 2019 legislative session, the Kentucky General Assembly devoted its efforts to tidying up last year's sweeping legislative changes to the state’s tax structure, many of which went into effect on July 1, says Rachael Chamberlain of Frost Brown.