The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 21 - Conservation Easement Donations: Tax Shelter or Charitable Contribution Deduction?
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
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
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
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
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
In a November 16, 2017 ruling, a California appellate court affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of several financial advisors, and insurer American General Life Insurance Company, holding that plaintiffs’ fraud and...more
Last week, Representative Mike Kelly (R) of Pennsylvania and Representative Mike Thompson (D) of California introduced the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2017 as H.R. 4459. The Act is simple;...more
The case of Salus Mundi Foundation et al v. Commissioner - On August 15, 2016, the Tax Court decided in Salus Mundi Foundation et al v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2016-154, that two foundations were liable as transferees...more