Judge Maurice B. Foley Announced as Next Chief Judge of US Tax Court... [ read ]
On February 26, 2018, the United States Tax Court announced that Judge Maurice B. Foley was elected Chief Judge to serve a two-year term beginning June 1, 2018.
Section 199A - Navigating the Maze of the New Pass-Through Deduction... [ read ]
For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026 individuals and trusts are entitled to deduct 20% of their share of qualified business income from partnerships, S corporations and sole proprietorships (loosely referred to for these purposes as "pass-throughs"). . . Ahhh, if only § 199A were so simple. However this seemingly simple deduction is in fact layered with enough limitations, exemptions and phase-ins to make one's head spin.
Taxpayer Wins Offshore Tax Case Completely; Tax Court Rejects IRS Proposed Assessment and Throws Out IRS Interpretation of the Statute of Limitations... [ read ]
When trying to resolve a tax issue, there are often highly-technical issues steeped in substantive tax principles that may steer the outcome. But sometimes there are other ways to resolve tax issues.
The IRS' New Authentication Procedure for Tax Practitioners... [ read ]
Any tax practitioner who has contacted the IRS after January 3, 2018 to obtain client information has received an unpleasant surprise. The IRS is asking the practitioner to provide his or her social security number and date of birth for authentication purposes. There is no doubt this is an attempt to address security concerns, including concerns about compromised CAF numbers, but the change has caught many in the tax community off guard and led to unpleasant exchanges with IRS personnel.
Tax Court Determines that IRS Must Obtain Written Penalty Approval under I.R.C. Section 6751(b) to Assert Penalties against Taxpayers.... [ read ]
On December 20, the Tax Court issued a supplemental opinion in Graev v. Commissioner, in which it reversed its prior position on I.R.C. Section 6751(b) and agreed with the Second Circuit's decision in Chai v. Commissioner. In Chai, the Second Circuit held that Section 6751(b)(1) requires the IRS to obtain written supervisory approval of an initial penalty determination no later than the date the IRS issues the notice of deficiency or files an answer asserting the penalty. A previous blog post discussed the Chai decision and its impact on pending Tax Court cases.
Taxpayers May Want to Consider Accelerating Large Dollar Purchases Under the New Tax Law... [ read ]
As the year comes to a close, one additional matter that individual taxpayers may want to consider is whether to expedite any large dollar purchases into this year if sales tax will be due on those transactions.
Recent Tax Legislation Includes Significant Changes to the Taxation of "Qualified Equity Grants", While Possibly Signaling Other Deferred Compensation Reforms to Come... [ read ]
The House of Representatives and the Senate have been busy these past few weeks in their attempt to drag some semblance of H.R. 1, also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("TCJA"), over the proverbial goal line, and it appears that they have done so this week. Barring any additional procedural snafus, the TCJA should land on President Trump's desk for his signature before the break for the holidays. While there hasn't been much publicity surrounding the possible changes to non-qualified deferred compensation plans, employers of privately held companies should pay particular attention to the end result of the TCJA as passed in its final form.
The Texas Comptroller Receives Christmas Gift from the Texas Supreme Court in MTC Apportionment Decision... [ read ]
In a much anticipated decision the Texas Supreme Court today issued its decision in Graphic Packaging Corp. v. Hegar, No. 15-0669, (December 22, 2017). The Court held that Graphic Packaging could not use the three-factor apportionment formula provided for in the Multistate-Tax Compact for apportioning Texas franchise tax, notwithstanding that Texas is a member of the Compact.
Estate Tax and the New Tax Act... [ read ]
As we sit on the precipice of the new tax act going into effect (it only needs the President's signature to become law), it appears that the only transfer tax change in the Act consists of the doubling of the Section 2010(c) basic exclusion amount from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 for transfers made and decedents dying after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026.
A Couple of Interesting Rulings in Undisclosed Foreign Account Penalty Cases... [ read ]
Read about two cases involving interesting rulings in Undisclosed Foreign Account Penalty Cases: United States v. Forbes and Jarnagin v. United States.
