Kevin Spencer
Subscribe to Kevin Spencer's PostsKevin Spencer focuses his practice on tax controversy issues. Kevin represents clients in complicated tax disputes in court and before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at the IRS Appeals and Examination divisions. In addition to his tax controversy practice, Kevin has broad experience advising clients on various tax issues, including tax accounting, employment and reasonable compensation, civil and criminal tax penalties, IRS procedures, reportable transactions and tax shelters, renewable energy, state and local tax, and private client matters. After earning his Master of Tax degree, Kevin had the privilege to clerk for the Honorable Robert P. Ruwe on the US Tax Court. Read Kevin Spencer's full bio.
CARES Act Refund Claim Guidance
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Apr 10, 2020
Posted In IRS Guidance, Tax Refunds, Uncategorized
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, provides tax relief to taxpayers in certain situations. Some of these provisions may generate refunds for prior years, such as the relaxation of restrictions on the use of net operating losses (NOLs) and interest deductions as well as the retroactive availability of additional depreciation...
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IRS Failed to Prove Supervisory Approval For Penalty Based Upon Redacted Document
By Kevin Spencer, Le Chen and McDermott Will & Emery on Apr 8, 2020
Posted In Court Procedure Matters, IRS Guidance, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
In a recent order in the The Cannon Corp. v. Commissioner, No. 12466-16, the US Tax Court (Tax Court) held that a redacted email from a revenue agent’s supervisor to the agent regarding a notice of deficiency was not sufficient to satisfy the approval requirement under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 6751(b) for the assertion...
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No IDR Enforcement During COVID-19
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 27, 2020
Posted In IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Uncategorized
Yesterday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced in a memorandum to all Large Business & International (LB&I) division employees that it was suspending the normal Information Document Request (IDR) procedures. The letter suspends enforcement until July 15, 2020; however, LB&I managers will have the discretion to continue with the IDR enforcement process when in their...
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Taxpayer Victory in an IRC Section 199 Contract Manufacturing Case
By Brian Moore, Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 24, 2020
Posted In Tax Refunds, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
Recently, the US Federal District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Meredith Corp. v. United States, No. 4:17-cv-00385 (S.D. Iowa Mar. 20, 2020), held that a magazine publisher was entitled to refund of federal income tax based for the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 199 domestic production deduction based upon the printing services...
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Results in Tax Court Trial Sessions Cancellations
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 11, 2020
Posted In Court Procedure Matters, Uncategorized
The coronavirus (COVID-19) has now impacted the operations of the United States Tax Court (Tax Court). This morning, the Tax Court announced that after assessing all relevant factors relating to COVID-19, including travel and public health considerations, the trial sessions for March 16, 2020, March 17, 2020, March 23, 2020, and March 30, 2020, are...
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New Tax Appointments
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 28, 2020
Posted In Trial Courts, Uncategorized
This has been a busy week in the tax appointments world, with the appointment of the new National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA), the reappointment of Chief Judge Foley as Chief Judge of the United States Tax Court (Tax Court), and the confirmation of Travis Greaves to the Tax Court. On February 27, 2020, the Treasury and...
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Supreme Court Tackles Tax-Related Cases
By Kevin Spencer and Roger J. Jones on Feb 26, 2020
Posted In Appellate Courts, Court Procedure Matters, IRS Guidance, Tax Refunds, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
The United States Supreme Court has picked up the pace this week, already issuing eight regular opinions and four opinions relating to orders as of today. We discuss the tax-related items here. In Rodriguez v. FDIC, the question was how to decide which member of a consolidated group of corporations is entitled to a tax...
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Stats Show Active Tax Whistleblower Caseload
By Kevin Spencer and Le Chen on Jan 7, 2020
Posted In IRS Guidance, Privilege and Non-Disclosure, Uncategorized
On January 6, 2020, the IRS Whistleblower Office released its annual report to Congress. The Office reported that it collected $616.8 million in fiscal year 2019 as a result of information provided by whistleblowers, out of which $120.3 million was paid out as whistleblower awards, for net collections of $496.5 million. This is a decrease from the...
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President Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Two More Tax Court Judges
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 7, 2019
Posted In Court Procedure Matters, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
On November 6, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Ms. Alina Ionescu Marshall and Mr. Christian N. Weiler to serve as Judges on the United States Tax Court (Tax Court). Mr. Travis Greaves was previously approved by the Senate Finance Committee to be a Tax Court Judge and is awaiting confirmation by the...
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IRS Issues Transition Tax Compliance Campaign
By McDermott Will & Emery, Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 6, 2019
Posted In IRS Appeals, IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Uncategorized
On November 4, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a new Large Business and International (LB&I) compliance campaign regarding Section’s 965 transition tax under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). This is one of several dozen compliance campaigns that LB&I has announced since the initial 13 campaigns were identified in 2017, and is...
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