On April 19, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the formation of the Office of Promoter Investigations (OPI) (IR-2021-88) to increase the focus of the IRS on the promoters of abusive tax avoidance transactions, including abusive syndicated
Some things go together: funnel cakes, summer crowds, and street vendors, for instance. The prospect of eternal damnation, on the other hand, tends to dampen the mood. So it was that several Davenport, Iowa police officers escorted street preacher Cory
In a recent case out of Fall River, Massachusetts, the state supreme court found a panhandling law so riddled with constitutional problems as to require entire invalidation. Plaintiffs, each a homeless person who sometimes panhandled to meet their basic needs,
In a previous post, we noted that the Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) was considering revisions to conservation easement tax credit regulations, and on March 17, 2021, those revisions were adopted. Rule 39-22-104(3)(g), Rule 39-22-304(2)(f) and Rule 39-22-522 will become
Today, we depart from our regularly scheduled sign-litigation programming to explore a development in the realm of Anti-SLAPP statutes—laws protecting the public from “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.”
If you’re already familiar with Anti-SLAPP statutes, skip ahead to the next
Bloomberg reported today about the criminal prosecutions of two promoters of syndicated conservation easements. The article details the guilty pleas of two brothers, Stein Agee and Corey Agee, to federal tax-fraud conspiracy charges. Their scheme involved classic syndication collaboration with
In a recent order on cross motions for summary judgment, a federal district court in Florida reiterated the high bar to upholding prior restraints on speech. Plaintiffs Florida Beach Advertising and its owner and operator David Duvernay were cited on
Last month, Denver City Council voted 10-1 in favor of approving a contract between the City and Village Collaborative, an organization that “exists to create and operate transformational housing communities in partnership with people coming from homelessness.” Under the terms
On February 17, 2021, Douglas Land Conservancy (DLC) and Douglas County partnered to protect 2,558 acres with perpetual conservation easements on two Douglas County open space properties. Sandstone Ranch (2,038 acres) and the Schmidt Construction Open Space (520 acres) were
On December 7, 2020, the Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) issued a general information letter [Colo. Dep’t of Revenue, Gen. Info. Letter GIL-20-003, 12/07/20] regarding the eligibility of a mutual ditch company to claim a Colorado conservation easement tax credit,
