Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of July 1 – 5, 2019. July 2, 2019: The IRS issued a Chief Counsel Notice wherein the Chief Counsel’s Office advised that accruing interest and failure to pay penalties on restitution amounts cannot accrue consistent with the holding in Klein v. Commissioner, 149 T.C. No. 15. The Chief Counsel’s Office stated that any accrued interest…

The enactment of the Taxpayer First Act, H.R. 3151 (116th Cong.) (TFA) brings with it several changes to the procedures and operations of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The TFA touches on the following subjects: Establishing the IRS Independent Office of Appeals Improving customer service Changes to enforcement Modernization of the Office of the National Taxpayer Advocate and the IRS Cybersecurity and identity protection, technological changes, and expanded use of electronic systems IRS hiring…

On June 20, 2019, the United States Court of Federal Claims published its long-awaited opinion in California Ridge Wind Energy, LLC v. United States, No. 14-250 C. The opinion addressed how taxpayers engaging in related party transactions may appropriately determine the cost basis with respect to a wind energy project under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Central to the case was whether the taxpayer was allowed to include a $50 million development fee paid by…

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of June 24 – 28, 2019. June 24, 2019: The IRS updated its frequently asked questions for Opportunity Zones page. In the updated FAQs, the IRS now poses, and answers in the affirmative, the question of whether a taxpayer can still make a valid deferral election based on an investment that was lower than the total…

We recently wrote an article for the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, ABA Tax Times, on the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), explaining what TAS does and how it can be utilized by all types of taxpayers. The article can be reviewed here.…

Last week, the US Supreme Court ruled that North Carolina may not tax a trust’s income when the trust’s only contact with the state is the in-state residence of discretionary beneficiaries. The Due Process Clause requires a minimum connection between a state and the person it seeks to tax. The mere residency of the discretionary beneficiaries of a trust is not sufficient to satisfy this requirement. Read the full article.…

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of June 17 – 21, 2019. June 18, 2019: The IRS issued a news release noting that it and the US Department of the Treasury issued proposed regulations that provide guidance for cooperatives and their patrons on calculating the deduction for qualified business income and the deduction for domestic production activities for agricultural or horticultural cooperatives…