McDermott Will & Emery
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Tax Court Reinforces Plain Meaning Approach in Interpreting Tax Statutes
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Sep 1, 2017
Posted In Tax Refunds, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and taxpayers frequently spar over the meaning and interpretation of tax statutes (and regulations). In some situations, one side will argue that the statutory text is clear while the other argues that it is not and that other evidence of Congress’ intent must be examined. Courts are often tasked with...
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Court Rejects Taxpayer’s Claim for US-Swiss Treaty Coverage
By McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery on Aug 23, 2017
Posted In Transfer Pricing Resource, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
On August 14, 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (DC District Court) decided Starr International Company, Inc. v. United States. In Starr International, the DC District Court held that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was not arbitrary or capricious in finding at least one of the taxpayer’s principal purposes for...
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McDermott Named “Law Firm of the Year” at 2017 US Captive Services Awards
By McDermott Will & Emery on Aug 14, 2017
Posted In Uncategorized
McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce our Captive Insurance team was named “Law Firm of the Year” at the 2017 US Captive Services Awards in Burlington, Vermont. Elizabeth Erickson, partner in our US & International Tax practice group, was on-site to accept the award on behalf of the Firm. The judges noted that,...
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President Trump Nominates Copeland and Urda to US Tax Court
By Jeffrey M. Glassman, Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Aug 7, 2017
Posted In Court Procedure Matters, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
On August 3, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated two judges to the US Tax Court. The nominations were received in the US Senate (Senate) and referred to the Committee on Finance. One of the nominees, Elizabeth Copeland, was previously nominated by President Barack Obama. Her previous nomination expired with the conclusion of the 114th Congress...
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Tax Court Addresses “Issue of First Impression” Defense to Penalties
By McDermott Will & Emery on Aug 3, 2017
Posted In Trial Courts, Uncategorized
We previously posted on what we called the “issue of first impression” defense to penalties and the recent application of this defense by the United States Tax Court (Tax Court) in Peterson v. Commissioner, a TC Opinion. We noted that taxpayers may want to consider raising this defense in cases where the substantive issue is...
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Tax Court Rejects IRS Reliance on “Cursory” Analysis in Revenue Ruling
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 19, 2017
Posted In IRS Guidance, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
We have previously discussed, in March and October of 2016, the various levels of deference given to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance, whether it is in published or private form. For revenue rulings, courts traditionally apply Skidmore deference, which essentially looks at the persuasiveness of the ruling. Under this standard, and the IRS’s position in...
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Courts Rejects Challenge to OVDP Transition Rules
By McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 18, 2017
Posted In IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) currently offers non-compliant US taxpayers several different relief programs to report foreign assets and/or income to become compliant with US rules related to the disclosure of offshore income. See here for a link to the different options. The two main programs are the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and the...
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New IRS CbC Resource
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 17, 2017
Posted In IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Transfer Pricing Resource, Uncategorized
We have reported several times about the new Country-by-Country (CBC) reporting regime. Taxpayers and the tax bar have been desperate for clarity about the requirements for CbC reporting. In response, today the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the launch of its CbC resource on its www.IRS.gov website. The new information is designed to provide background...
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Tracking Tax Guidance and Court Cases
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 14, 2017
Posted In Appellate Courts, IRS Guidance, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
Oftentimes, taxpayers rely on various authorities in planning transactions and reporting them for tax purposes, as well as defending them during an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit, appeals or in litigation. These sources include authorities like the Internal Revenue Code, legislative history and other legislative materials, Treasury regulations and other IRS published guidance (e.g., revenue...
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Are You Required to Disclose Supporting Legal Authorities During Discovery?
By Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery on Jun 30, 2017
Posted In IRS Audits, Transfer Pricing Resource, Trial Courts, Uncategorized
Discovery in tax litigation can take many different forms, including informal discovery requests (in the US Tax Court), request for admissions, interrogatories and depositions. In addition to obtaining facts, litigants frequently want to know the legal authorities on which the other side intends to rely. Over the years, we have seen numerous requests, both during...
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