The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 21 - Conservation Easement Donations: Tax Shelter or Charitable Contribution Deduction?
Plan sponsors of Code Section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plans (“403(b) plans”) that have not already done so may want to consider applying for an IRS determination letter or planning and budgeting for the process next year...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department of Treasury recently issued guidance to curtail what they consider abusive basis shifting by related-party partners and partnerships. That guidance, which was issued June...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
Would you be surprised to learn that most shareholders of closely held corporations, and especially those with minority or merely passive interests, believe they cannot be held responsible for the tax obligations of their...more
We have previously spoken about monetized installment sales (“MISTs”) on Dollars & Sense. According to the IRS, these structures typically seek to defer gains associated with the sale of an appreciated asset through the use...more
Recent Government actions suggest that third-party promoters and potentially hundreds of taxpayers may be entering into abusive trust arrangements aimed at unlawfully eliminating or deferring federal income taxes....more
There has been a legal shakeup this summer in the world of “FBARs”—Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. New developments have been popping up nearly every week, whether from a court decision, as a result of a...more
Polsinelli’s Government Investigations and Tax attorneys continue to follow the well-known Fisher case, the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) first criminal indictment related to syndicated conservation easements. The trial is...more
Polsinelli’s Government Investigations and Tax attorneys continue to follow the well-known Fisher case, the Department of Justice’s ("DOJ") first criminal indictment related to syndicated conservation easements. Walter...more
“If it is a conservation easement and the people who are receiving the deduction are outside of family...the IRS assumption is that it's a tax shelter.” A backlog of conservation easement Tax Court cases and IRS audits are...more
Less than a month after the heavily followed Green Valley Investors, LLC, et al., decision, the IRS issued proposed regulations to identify certain syndicated conservation easement transactions as listed transactions – this...more
Tax Litigation: The Week of September 19th, 2022, through September 22nd, 2022 Vorreyer v. Comm’r / Thoma v. Comm’r / Dowson v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo 2022-97| September 21, 2022 | Greaves, Judge | Dkt. Nos. (Consolidated)...more
On September 21, 2022, the New York State Attorney General Tish James filed a civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and the Trump organization alleging fraud and misrepresentation. The Complaint described a...more
On March 28, 2022, President Biden announced his 2023 federal budget (Budget), which is often referred to as the President’s Green Book. While much of the Budget harkens back to the “Build Back Better Framework” (Framework),...more
Tax Litigation: The Week of February 7 – February 11, 2022 Williams v. Commissioner Slone v. Commissioner Slone v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo 2022-6 | February 7, 2022 | Lauber, J. | Dkt. Nos. 6629-10, 6630-10, 6631-10, 6632-10...more
“Would I ever leave this company? Look, I’m all about loyalty. In fact, I feel like part of what I’m being paid for here is my loyalty. But if there were somewhere else that valued loyalty more highly, I’m going wherever they...more
Over the years, tax shelter ideas have occasionally arisen in connection with the interpretation of some of the pension provisions found in US tax treaties, encouraged, perhaps, by the lack of guidance on many treaty...more
Promoting abusive tax shelters. Taxpayers and tax return preparers should be aware of the various penalties that exist and can be assessed for certain actions (or nonactions). One such action includes promoting an abusive tax...more
A “qualified amended return” is an amended tax return that, if properly filed before a taxpayer is “on the IRS’s radar,” protects a taxpayer against accuracy-related penalties—in layman’s terms, it is a get-out-of-jail-free...more
Several abusive tax shelters in the 1970s and 1980s caused Congress to enact rules to prevent taxpayers from deducting losses when a taxpayer doesn’t materially participate in the activity. These passive loss rules apply to...more
Emboldened by new laws, tax authorities worldwide are ramping up efforts to require tax advisors and taxpayers to provide enhanced information regarding tax schemes. Armed with additional disclosures, authorities are becoming...more
This summer, we discussed that the Supreme Court is reviewing whether an arbitration agreement’s clear delegation of the question of arbitrability to the arbitrator can be negated by a provision that exempts certain claims...more
The Institutional Limited Partners Association (“ILPA”) has recently released an update to its model limited partnership agreement (the “Model LPA”) for private equity funds and other closed-ended funds. One of the stated...more
Generally, a 403(b) plan is a retirement planning program whereby a public school or tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization (including churches) makes contributions for their employees (and certain ministers) to specific types of...more
The IRS produces a yearly list of Tax Scams known as the Dirty Dozen that Taxpayers may encounter. IRS reiterates that Tax Scams put Taxpayers at Risk when it releases its list of Dirty Dozen Tax Scams. These aggressive...more