The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused the closure of Internal Revenue Service offices and service centers nationwide and the plummeting of new tax examinations. Although certain functions and ongoing cases within the IRS continued during this period, many did not, and new examinations of tax returns and enforced collection activity were put on hold under the People First Initiative. But the IRS is reopening, and taxpayers can and should expect that the agency…

Greenberg Traurig Global Tax Practice Co-Chair Barbara T. Kaplan comments on FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) penalty disputes, in an article published July 10 by Law360. Read the full article, “International Tax Cases to Watch in the 2nd Half of 2020,” (subscription required).…

The IRS Office of Chief Counsel announced in Issue Number IR-2020-130 that it will be making a time-limited settlement offer to certain taxpayers with pending docketed Tax Court cases involving such conservation easement transactions, offering finality to the affected taxpayers. The settlement offers do not address those cases that are currently pending in Examination or IRS Appeals. Read the full GT Alert, “IRS Offers Settlement to Syndicated Conservation Easement Investors with Cases Pending in …

On June 5, 2020, the IRS issued proposed Treasury Regulations under section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). Background Section 4960 was added to the Code in 2017 as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Section 4960 generally provides that if certain tax-exempt organizations (an “applicable tax-exempt organization” or “ATEO”) pay remuneration to certain employees (“covered employees”) in excess of $1,000,000 or an excess parachute payment, the…

On June 5, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-39 providing relief for Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) and their investors (QOF investors), and clarified previously issued relief to Qualified Opportunity Zone Businesses (QOZBs) affected by the president’s declarations of major disasters caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (which now apply in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories). This GT Alert summarizes the relief measures provided by the guidance. Continue …

Whether the 5-4 Supreme Court decision in Thole vs. U.S. Bank on June 1 is “good news” for employers and will limit lawsuits by defined benefit participants, as some commentators have forecast, remains to be seen. From the perspective of advising fiduciaries how to discharge their responsibilities and avoid litigation, however, what the majority opinion means in practice should not be overlooked. Jeffrey Mamorsky and Jonathan Sulds delve into this issue in their column for …

Plan sponsor employers and employees participating in 401(k) or other retirement plans should be aware of cybersecurity breaches and unauthorized plan distributions. Vigilance may be even more critical because of the March 2020 CARES Act legislation that permits early retirement distributions without penalty for plan participants affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The heightened level of plan distributions coupled with the security risks associated with electronic communications and the “new normal” of working…