Federal

Expert Analysis

• IRS Criminal Probe Spells Uncertainty For Malta Pension Plans

  

  The IRS’ recent scrutiny of Malta pension plan arrangements — and its unusual issuance of criminal administrative summonses — confirms that it views many of these plans as illegal tax evasion schemes, and the road ahead will not be smooth and steady for anyone involved, say attorneys at Kostelanetz.

• IRS Announcement Will Aid Cos. In Buyback Tax Planning

  

  Recent IRS transitional guidance regarding current requirements for reporting and payment of the stock repurchase excise tax will help corporate taxpayers make decisions about records retention and establishing reserves for future tax payments, say Xenia Garofalo and Kyle Colonna at Eversheds Sutherland.

• Mallory Opinion Implicitly Overturned NC Sales Tax Ruling

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review Quad Graphics v. North Carolina Department of Revenue, but importantly kicked the legs from under Quad's outcome a week later, stating in its Mallory decision that the high court has the prerogative to overrule its own decisions, says Richard Pomp at the University of Connecticut.

• How NIL Collectives Could Be Tax-Exempt After IRS Curveball

  

  Since the Internal Revenue Service recently announced that numerous collectives creating paid name, image and likeness deals for collegiate student-athletes do not qualify for tax exemption, for-profit entities and alternative collective structures with incidental student-athlete benefits may be considered to fund NIL ventures, says David Kaufman at Thompson Coburn.

• Is This Pastime A Side-Gig? Or Is It A Hobby?

  

  The recent U.S. Tax Court decision in Sherman v. Commissioner offers important reminders for taxpayers about the documentation and business practices needed to successfully argue that expenses can be deducted as losses from nonhobby income, says Bryan Camp at Texas Tech.

• Recent Provider Relief Fund Audits Are Just The Beginning

  

  Though the Health Resources and Services Administration's initial audits of the Provider Relief Fund program appear to be limited in scope, fund recipients should prepare for additional oversight, scrutiny and disallowances as the HRSA ramps up its efforts, say Brian Lee and Christopher Frisina at Alston & Bird.

• Flawed Analysis Supports Common Law Tax Deficiency Ruling

  

  The Colorado federal district court’s recent decision in Liberty Global, holding that the U.S. Department of Justice may assert a common law tax claim without the notice of tax deficiency required by the Internal Revenue Code, relies on a contorted reading of the statute and irrelevant case law, say Loren Opper and Christie Galinski at Miller Canfield.

• Review Of Repatriation Tax Sets Justices On Slippery Slope

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to review the constitutionality of the repatriation tax in Moore v. U.S. has implications for many tax rules involving unrealized amounts and could leave the court on the brink of invalidating large swaths of the Internal Revenue Code, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

• IRS Guidance Powers Up Energy Tax Credit Transfers

  

  Recent IRS guidance on the monetization of energy tax credits provides sufficient clarity for parties to start negotiating transfer agreements, but it is unclear when the registration process required for credits to change hands will be up and running, say attorneys at Shearman.

• Using Agreements To Cover Gaps In Hydrogen Storage Regs

  

  The Inflation Reduction Act's incentives for energy storage have spurred investment in hydrogen storage and production, but given the lack of comprehensive regulations surrounding the sector, developers should carefully craft project and financing agreements to mitigate uncertainties, say Omar Samji and Sarah George at Weil, and attorney Manushi Desai.

• Secure 2.0 Takeaways From DOL's 2024 Budget Proposal

  

  The U.S. Department of Labor’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal provides insight into the most pressing Secure 2.0 implementation issues, including establishment of a search database for finding lost retirement savings and developing guidance on the execution of newly authorized emergency savings accounts, say attorneys at Maynard Nexsen.

• Avoiding Negative Tax Consequences In Loan Modifications

  

  Borrowers who may be caught in the dramatic uptick in nonperforming commercial real estate loans should consider strategies to avoid income and capital gains tax that may be triggered by loan modifications, says Aman Badyal at Glaser Weil.

• Benefits And Beyond: Fixing Employee Contribution Failures

  

  Employers must address employee contribution failures promptly in order to avoid losing significant tax benefits of 401(k) or 403(b) plans, but the exact correction procedures vary depending on whether contributions were less than or greater than intended, say attorneys at Seyfarth Shaw.