McDermott Will & Emery
Subscribe to McDermott Will & Emery's PostsBase Erosion Minimum Tax May Mean Change for Foreign Affiliates of US Multinationals
By Barry J. Quirke and McDermott Will & Emery on Dec 22, 2017
Posted In Tax Reform, Uncategorized
On November 16, 2017, we participated in a panel discussion at Tax Executives Institute’s (TEI’s) Chicago International Tax Forum regarding base erosion measures under the (then proposed) House and Senate tax reform bills. The House proposed a new 20 percent excise tax on most related-party payments (other than interest) that are deductible or includible in...
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IRS Required to Obtain Supervisory Approval to Assert Penalties
By McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery on Dec 21, 2017
Posted In Appellate Courts, Court Procedure Matters, IRS Guidance, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
We have written several times about penalty defenses, including substantial authority, issues of first impression and tax reporting disclosures. Additionally, we previously covered the 2016 case of Graev v. Commissioner, where a divided US Tax Court (Tax Court) held that supervisory approval was not necessary before determining a penalty in a deficiency proceeding because the...
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Maintaining Confidentiality While Navigating Cross-Border Transactions
By McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery on Dec 14, 2017
Posted In IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Privilege and Non-Disclosure, Uncategorized
Today, taxing authorities across the globe, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), are increasing their efforts to gather and share sensitive taxpayer information, often aggressively seeking copies of tax advice, opinions and analysis prepared by counsel and other advisors. In some situations, tax advisors specifically draft their advice to be shared with third parties, but...
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Jury Acquits Swiss Banker Stefan Buck of Tax Evasion Conspiracy
By McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 21, 2017
Posted In Court Procedure Matters, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
On Tuesday, November 21, a jury acquitted Bank Frey executive Stefan Buck of conspiracy to commit criminal tax evasion in the Southern District of New York. The case is captioned United States v. Edgar Paltzer and Stefan Buck, No 1:13-cr-00282-JSR (S.D.N.Y.). In April 2013, an indictment was filed against Buck and a co-conspirator, Edgar Paltzer,...
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The Slow Death of the Section 385 Regulations
By McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 9, 2017
Posted In IRS Guidance, Uncategorized
Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 385 provides that the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is authorized to issue regulations to determine whether an interest in a corporation is to be treated for purposes of the Code as stock or indebtedness. After decades of inaction, proposed regulations were issued on April 14, 2016. The proposed...
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Manafort Indictment Is a Good Reminder of FBAR Disclosure Requirements
By Kevin Spencer, McDermott Will & Emery, Roger J. Jones and McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 2, 2017
Posted In IRS Guidance, Uncategorized
On October 30, 2017, Paul Manafort Jr. was indicted for concealing his interests in several foreign bank accounts, as well as tax evasion and a host of other criminal charges. The indictment reminds us how important it is to follow the strict guidelines of the reporting regime that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the...
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IRS Criminal Investigation Division Expects Official “Stand Up” of National Coordinated Investigation Units in January
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Oct 30, 2017
Posted In IRS Guidance, Uncategorized
In early August 2017 (as we previously reported), the Chief of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division (CID), John D. Fort, announced that CID would be forming new National Coordinated Investigation Units over the next few months. In a recent conference, Fort has confirmed that these units will be fully operational in January,...
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Tax Court Requires Specific Factual Showing of Harm for Whistleblower Anonymity
By McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery on Sep 28, 2017
Posted In Privilege and Non-Disclosure, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
In two recent cases, the United States Tax Court (Tax Court) has explored the bounds of the anonymity protection afforded to potential whistleblowers under the court’s rules and other authorities. Tax Court Rule 345 relates to privacy protections for filings in whistleblower actions. Under paragraph (a), a whistleblower may move the court for permission to...
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More Changes to IRS Appeals, in Response to Taxpayer and Practitioner Concerns
By McDermott Will & Emery, McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery on Sep 18, 2017
Posted In IRS Appeals, Uncategorized
As we have recently discussed, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Appeals has been making a number of changes to their administrative review process in the last few years. While many of these changes have been driven by lack of resources, others—like the standing invitation of Exam into the Appeals process—have the potential to undermine the independence...
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IRS Criminal Investigation Division Announces Two New Initiatives
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Aug 25, 2017
Posted In IRS Guidance, Uncategorized
In a press call on August 2, 2017, the Chief of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division (CID), John D. Fort, announced two new enforcement initiatives: a National Coordinated Investigations Unit and an International Tax Enforcement Group. The National Coordinated Investigations Unit is intended to be, in Fort’s words, a “cutting edge” group...
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