Charitable organizations are dependent, in no small part, upon the financial support of many successful business owners. The generosity of these individuals and their organizations may be a manifestation of several factors...more
On February 13, 2025, a Tennessee federal district court handed FedEx Corporation its second win in a refund action involving the application of foreign tax credits to what are known as “offset earnings.”[1] Offset earnings...more
What is willful blindness according to the IRS? How is this important in tax cases involving unreported or under-reported income, disclosure of offshore assets and income, FinCEN Form 114 (more commonly referred to as an...more
We are often asked how to prepare for an IRS audit. The first and most important thing to know is that speaking directly with the IRS is not in your best interest. IRS Revenue Officers (auditors) are skilled interrogators....more
Sometimes tax motives overwhelm philanthropic motives, which has often been the case with charitable deductions for so-called “conservation easements.” For years now, sponsors have offered up investments in partnerships,...more
You may recall that earlier this year the IRS launched an initiative to pursue 125,000 “high-income, high-wealth” taxpayers who have not filed taxes since 2017. These were cases where the IRS received third party information...more
On July 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued proposed regulations that would classify “basket contract transactions”, which are derivatives (i) with a term...more
The Treasury Department and IRS have just published proposed Regulations that would identify transactions resembling certain basket contract transactions as listed transactions per the meaning of Section 6011, making them...more
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the IRS was confronted with a proliferation of corporate transactions that it viewed as aggressive tax shelters. Relying on the authority Congress delegated through Section 6011(a), the IRS...more
An anonymous thinker, lost to history, is credited with having said that the unofficial motto of the IRS is, “We have what it takes to take what you have.” In some instances, the truth of the above statement is manifested in...more
El 4/11/24, el IRS concluyó la publicación de la Docena Sucia 2024. La Docena Sucia es una campaña anual de concientización del contribuyente que comenzó en 2002 y enumera doce estafas y esquemas que colocan a los...more
On 4/11/24, the IRS concluded the release of the Dirty Dozen 2024. The Dirty Dozen is an annual taxpayer awareness campaign which began in 2002 listing twelve scams and schemes that place taxpayers, businesses, and the tax...more
El 11/04/24, el IRS concluyó su Lista de la Docena Sucia de 2024 con una “advertencia a los contribuyentes sobre los promotores que venden estrategias fiscales falsas y esquemas extraterritoriales fraudulentos diseñados para...more
On 4/11/24, the IRS wrapped up its 2024 Dirty Dozen List with a “warning to taxpayers regarding promoters selling bogus tax strategies and fraudulent offshore schemes designed to reduce or avoid taxes altogether”. Tax...more
Earlier this year, the OECD observed there has been a significant increase in global wealth inequality over the last two decades. It also acknowledged that “taxation is a key instrument . . . that governments have at their...more
Assume that X and Y agree to the following: X will transfer ownership of Prop to Y, and Y will transfer cash to X. What just happened? Obviously, X has sold Prop to Y. If the amount of cash that X receives is greater than...more
What is the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program and who is it designed to help? What are the guidelines for voluntary disclosure to the IRS and who is eligible to apply? The IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure...more
Trusts are vehicles that can assist in the preservation of wealth and property for future generations, protect assets, or carry out a charitable purpose. A trust is an entity created and governed under the state law in which...more
On September 22, 2023 a federal jury convicted two promoters, CPA Jack Fisher and attorney James Sinnott, in the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) first criminal trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements...more
On September 8, 2023, the IRS announced the start of a “sweeping, historic effort to restore fairness in tax compliance by shifting more attention onto high-income earners, partnerships, large corporations and promotors...more
This month, the IRS announced that it is using the long-term funding approved by Congress through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to shift its attention to wealthy taxpayers in an effort to “identify sophisticated schemes...more
Long-awaited enforcement actions may be coming soon for those who took advantage of the lucrative tax breaks offered by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico without meeting the requirements. Prosecutions may also follow for...more
In a recent ruling, a California federal judge held that Kraken, an online cryptocurrency exchange program, has to turn over user information to the IRS as a result of a John Doe summons originally served on Kraken in 2021....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Just like a bad penny, schemes promising employers ways to reduce their FICA tax burden, and maybe their employees’ income tax burden at the same time, keep popping up with a slightly different burnish on...more
On April 5, 2023, the IRS wrapped up its Dirty Dozen 2023 list – earlier than the release of the Dirty Dozen 2022 list which was published on June 10, 2022. According to the IRS, the Dirty Dozen represents the worst of the...more