Federal
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November 07, 2025
9th Circ. Sides With Calif. In Tribal Cigarette Tax Fight
The Ninth Circuit on Friday backed California in a dispute it brought to enforce cigarette taxes against a tobacco company owned and operated by a federally recognized Native American tribe, holding that the tribal leader defendants can't claim sovereign or qualified immunity exempts them from the federal tax law.
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November 07, 2025
Weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin
The Internal Revenue Service on Friday released its weekly internal revenue bulletin, which included proposed regulations that would remove rules that allow revenue officials to look through the corporate owners of real estate investment entities to determine whether they are domestically controlled.
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November 07, 2025
DOJ Backs Trump In NY False-Records Conviction Appeal
The U.S. Department of Justice is throwing its support behind President Donald Trump's effort to overturn his New York criminal conviction for falsifying business records, filing a proposed amicus brief on Friday citing the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 2024 decision "defining the contours of a president's federal constitutional immunity from criminal prosecution."
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November 07, 2025
Wyden, Warren Flag IRS CEO's Fiserv Tenure In Probe
Two Senate Finance Committee members said they are investigating Internal Revenue Service CEO Frank Bisignano's conduct in his previous position as Fiserv Inc.'s CEO, saying the financial setbacks the company has faced this year raise questions about his ability to serve as a key IRS official.
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November 07, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Cravath, Paul Weiss
In this week's Taxation With Representation, consumer products giant Kimberly-Clark acquires Tylenol maker Kenvue, shale producers SM Energy and Civitas Resources announce a merger, and power management company Eaton buys Boyd Corp.'s thermal business.
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November 06, 2025
Goldstein Loses Bid To Trim Tax Charges Before Trial
A Maryland federal judge Thursday handed SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein a series of losses on pre-trial motions aimed at trimming the 22 federal tax charges he'll face at trial next year, ruling that many of the motions involved factual disputes fit for trial and keeping the government's case intact.
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November 06, 2025
Tax Court OKs Disallowance Of Unverified Litigation Fees
The IRS correctly determined that a woman who'd been at odds with her various attorneys — having filed breach of contract suits against two separate legal teams — inadequately justified her claimed $28,000 deduction for legal expenses, the U.S. Tax Court said Thursday.
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November 06, 2025
Whistleblower Entitled To Award For $31M Tip, DC Circ. Told
The U.S. Tax Court wrongly denied a whistleblower award to a woman who said she helped the Internal Revenue Service assess more than $31 million in corporate income, her supporter told the D.C. Circuit, saying the court allowed the agency to omit relevant information it was required to provide.
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November 06, 2025
IRS Microcaptive Reporting Rules Suit Can Move Forward
A global tax services provider can move forward with its suit against the IRS to vacate tax reporting rules for microcaptive insurance companies, a Texas federal court said, finding the company had a stake in the challenge and a right to bring the case.
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November 06, 2025
No $22M Break For Real Estate Partnership, 6th Circ. Affirms
An Ohio real estate partnership cannot claim a $22 million charitable tax deduction on a 2016 preservation easement, the Sixth Circuit found, affirming the U.S. Tax Court and Internal Revenue Service's conclusions that the partnership grossly misstated the value of the donated historic building.
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November 06, 2025
Tax Court Says IRS Took Too Long To Ax Easement Deduction
The Internal Revenue Service failed to timely disallow a charitable deduction related to a company's conservation easement donation, the U.S. Tax Court said, throwing out a partnership adjustment by the agency.
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November 06, 2025
2nd Circ. Orders New Look At Trump's Hush Money Case
In a published opinion, the Second Circuit on Thursday ordered a federal district judge to take a fresh look at President Donald Trump's attempt to move his New York hush money conviction to federal court, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 presidential immunity ruling as grounds for reconsidering the case.
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November 05, 2025
Judge Questions Transfer Of Eaton's $14B Foreign Asset
A U.S. Tax Court judge questioned a former Eaton Corp. official Wednesday about the company's decision to restructure the ownership of a valuable foreign subsidiary when it inverted in 2012, noting that the move placed a $14 billion asset out of the U.S. company's reach.
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November 05, 2025
IRS Direct File Will Not Be Offered In 2026, States Confirm
State revenue agencies confirmed Wednesday that the Internal Revenue Service has informed them that its free online tax preparation tool, Direct File, will not be offered for the 2026 filing season and potentially other years.
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November 05, 2025
IRS Layoffs Include Over 500 Exam Employees, Docs Show
The federal workers laid off during the government shutdown include more than 500 people in the exam and collections section of the IRS responsible for enforcing tax laws, a federal employee told a California federal court in a lawsuit over the firings.
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November 05, 2025
Docs Show IRS Improperly Shared Data With ICE, Groups Say
Documents submitted by the U.S. government to a D.C. federal court show the IRSÂ violated taxpayer privacy laws by sharing individuals' addresses with ICE despite its requests lacking required information and by accepting an unreasonable explanation about why the information was requested, several groups said.
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November 05, 2025
Ex-Mashpee Tribal Leader Gets 3.5 Years For Casino Bribes
The former chair of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on Wednesday was sentenced to a 42-month prison term for orchestrating a bribery scheme tied to the tribe's $1 billion casino project, as a Massachusetts federal judge chastised him for characterizing his yearslong conduct as "mistakes."
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November 05, 2025
Fed. Circ. Skeptical Of Family Trusts' Tax Fraud Case
The Federal Circuit seemed skeptical Wednesday of an $80 million tax challenge by a group of family trusts that claimed they were unfairly stuck with tax liabilities after being duped into selling assets to a fraudster who then engaged in abusive tax shelter transactions behind their backs.
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November 05, 2025
Justices Skeptical About Trump's Emergency Tariff Authority
Several U.S. Supreme Court justices asked the government to defend why well-established judicial doctrines shouldn't limit President Donald Trump's tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act during oral arguments Wednesday, casting doubt on whether they believe the law provides that kind of authority.
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November 05, 2025
IRS Provides Penalty Relief For 2025 Tips, OT Reporting
The Internal Revenue Service will treat the 2025 tax year as a transition period for enforcement and administration of the information reporting requirements for the new deductions for tips and overtime, according to guidance released Wednesday.
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November 04, 2025
Malawi Asks Judge To Undo Halt Of Gem Export Tax Probe
Malawi asked a Washington federal judge to reconsider his recent decision to bar the country from pursuing discovery against a gemstone company that it alleges partnered with a mining outfit to dodge billions of dollars in taxes and export royalties.
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November 04, 2025
Former Eaton CFO Says Bond Investors Needed Reassurance
Eaton Corp.'s former chief financial officer chronicled on Tuesday the company's efforts to finance its 2012 acquisition of Ireland-based Cooper Industries, describing an atmosphere of leery bond investors after the Great Recession of 2008, on the second day of the company's U.S. Tax Court trial.
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November 04, 2025
Tax Court Blocks Ariz. Salesman's Business Deductions
The U.S. Tax Court on Tuesday rejected a series of business deductions claimed by an Arizona man working in outside sales and affirmed penalties against him for substantially understating his taxes.
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November 04, 2025
3M Ruling Highlights Loper Bright's Reach In Axing Tax Regs
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gutted deference to agencies took center stage in the Eighth Circuit's recent decision that backed 3M's challenge to transfer pricing rules, signaling the strict statutory analysis that courts may now apply to tax regulations.
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November 04, 2025
Ga. Biz Asks Tax Court To Block IRS Easement Changes
A Georgia company asked the U.S. Tax Court to reverse the Internal Revenue Service's adjustments to a claimed noncash charitable contribution for a $61 million conservation easement donation and rule that the company's filing was accurate, according to a petition released Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions
In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions
After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.
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Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.
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Lessons On Parallel Settlements From Vanguard Class Action
A Pennsylvania federal judge’s unexpected denial of a proposed $40 million settlement of an investor class action against Vanguard highlights key factors parties should consider when settlement involves both regulators and civil plaintiffs, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw
As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.
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Mulling Worker Reclassification In Light Of No Tax On OT
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's no-tax-on-overtime provisions provide tax relief for employees who regularly work overtime and are nonexempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, but reclassifying employees may lead to higher compliance costs and increased wage and hour litigation for employers, says Steve Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.
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Clean Energy Tax Changes Cut Timelines, Add Red Tape
With its dramatic changes to energy tax credits, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will reshape project financing and investment planning — and wind and solar developers, especially those in the early stages of projects, face stricter timelines and heightened compliance challenges, says Dan Ruth at Balch & Bingham.
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Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.
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Reform Partly Modernizes Small Biz Stock Gains Exclusion
Changes to the Internal Revenue Code in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act update the qualified small business stock gains exclusion to reflect inflation, but the regime would be more in line with current business realities if Congress had also made the exemption available to additional business structures, says Mark Parthemer at Glenmede.
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How Real Estate Funds Can Leverage Del. Statutory Trusts
Over the last two years, traditional real estate fund sponsors have begun to more frequently adopt Delaware Statutory Trust programs, which can help diversify capital-raising strategies and access to new sources of capital, among other benefits, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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DOJ Crypto Enforcement Is Shifting To Target Willfulness
Three pending criminal prosecutions could be an indication of how the U.S. Department of Justice's recent digital assets memo is shaping enforcement of the area, and show a growing focus on executives who knowingly allow their platforms to be used for criminal conduct involving sanctions offenses, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding
As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
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Practical Implications Of SEC's New Crypto Staking Guidance
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent staff guidance that protocol staking does not constitute securities offerings provides a workable compliance blueprint for crypto developers, validators and custodial platforms willing to keep staking strictly limited to protocol-driven rewards, say attorneys at Cahill.