By H. Jacob Lager of Zuber & Taillieu
The Tax Court has held that the step transaction doctrine did not apply to a series of bargain sales from a family-owned S Corp. to a charitable organization. As a result, the shareholders were entitled to charitable contribution deductions related to the sales. In William R. Klauer v. Commissioner of… More...
Holding: In this appeal, appellant Mayer Brown LLP and appellee Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) disputed whether disclosure of certain IRS settlement information could risk “circumvention of the law” — a category exempted from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552 and § 552(b)(7)(E). On cross-motions for… More...
Holding: The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has held that defendant StubHub, Inc., an online listing company, was not required to collect and remit amusement taxes on tickets sold through its online listing service. In ruling against plaintiff City of Chicago (“City”), the district court reasoned that… More...
Holding: The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) committed abuse of discretion in collecting a section 6721 civil penalty relating to petitioner Santini Stone LLC’s voluntary bankruptcy proceedings, the U.S. Tax Court has held. Specifically, the Tax Court noted that respondent IRS’s proof of claim, incorporated within the bankruptcy plan without objection from… More...
Holding: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the Commissioner of Internal Revenue’s notice of deficiency against spouses Burton and Elizabeth Benson even though the Commissioner's assessment was made more than the three-year statutory limit. Burton owned Energy Research and Generation (“ERG”) and a controlling interest in New… More...
Holding: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has turned down a $0.3 million charitable tax deduction by Leslie Stephen Jones, defense counsel of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, for the attorney’s donation of discovery materials in the bombing trial to the University of Texas. Specifically, the Tenth Circuit… More...
Holding: In this dispute relating to a deficiency determination, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that the Tax Court was correct in affirming the Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) assessment of deficiency against appellant Linda K. Minton. The Fifth Circuit held that that an agreement to provide… More...
Holding: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a district court’s ruling that stipends provided by Detroit Medical Center (“DMC”) to its medical residents were wages and not scholarships or fellowships, and therefore should form part of taxable income. Citing a Supreme Court precedent, the Sixth Court held… More...
Holding: Creating a new precedent in the federal circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that courts may grant a winning plaintiff in an employment discrimination case an additional award to compensate him for the increased tax burden of receiving a backpay award in one lump… More...
Holding: The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has dismissed a damage suit filed by a tax lawyer against the United States government and three employees of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). Plaintiff Robert Kenny filed the instant suit alleging that defendants retaliated against him after had filed… More...
Holding: The Supreme Court of the State of New York has held that an online retailer's use of in-state affiliates creates substantial nexus for purposes of collecting sales taxes. In so doing, the Supreme Court dismissed plaintiffs Amazon.com LLC’s and Amazon Services, LLC’s (“Amazon”) constitutional challenge to a state tax law.… More...
