There are few areas of the tax code as complex and potentially confusing as the rules for TEFRA partnership proceedings. Even the most steely-eyed tax pros wince at the details. Nonetheless, TEFRA is at the heart of many of the transactions that the IRS... Read More
The Tax Court, in a memorandum opinion by Judge Goeke, characterized Hewlett-Packard's investment in a foreign corporation as a loan rather than equity for federal income tax purposes, thereby denying HP the benefit of foreign tax credits generated... Read More
In a case that began with a claim for a refund of estate taxes paid, Judge Barbara S. Jones of the Southern District of New York ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 5th Amendment.... Read More
According to Supreme Court barrister Robert A. Long it may well be. Our beloved world of tax litigation had its 15 minutes of fame this morning as the first argument challenging President Obama's health care law involved the applicability of the... Read More
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Tax Court's decision in favor of four taxpayers who were alleged to have participated in what the IRS describes as an Intermediary Transaction tax shelter. The majority opinion, authored by Circuit... Read More
The Tax Court affirmed the proposition that a conservation easement is still a Congressionally sanctioned charitable contribution under section 170 . Conservation easements and the corresponding charitable contribution deduction for the donation of such... Read More
In a decision that could dramatically change collection due process, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that the standard of review applied to collection due process cases by the Tax Court for more than a decade is incorrect. In Dalton v. Commissioner... Read More
In a recent speech at the mid-year conference of the Tax Executives Institute, IRS Deputy Commissioner Steven T. Miller laid out the framework for the future of IRS corporate audits. To borrow Mr. Miller's own assessment, this is bad news for large... Read More