John D. Rainey, a judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, has decided in the favor of the Rayford Keller, plaintiff, in his case against the United States government. The plaintiff asserted that his...
August 2009 Archives
On August 24, the Tax Policy Center submitted initial estimates of the distribution of individual income tax, corporate income taxes, payroll taxes, estate taxes, and overall federal taxes under three scenarios. The estimates are all for the year 2012 under...
Continue reading "Tax Policy Center Estimates 2012 Distribution of Federal Tax Rates"
On August 24, the Tax Policy Center submitted initial estimates of the distribution of federal income taxes, taxes which include individual income tax, corporate income taxes, payroll taxes, and estate taxes under three scenarios. The estimates are all for the...
Continue reading "Tax Policy Center Estimates Federal Tax Distribution Under Three Scenarios"
House Ways and Means Committee member, Kevin Brady R-Texas, introduced H.R. 3463 to the House of Representatives on July 31, 2009. H.R. 3463, entitled Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2009, would serve to permanently repeal the estate tax. See Kevin Brady,...
Continue reading "H.R. 3463 Would Permanently Repeal Estate Tax"
On August 13, the Tax Policy Center submitted initial estimates of the distribution of gross estate and net estate tax by size of gross estate for 2010, based upon the assumption that the 2009 estate tax will be extended. See Tax Policy...
Continue reading "Tax Policy Center Estimates Effects of Extension of 2009 Estate Tax Rules"
Steve Akers, Associate Fiduciary Counsel, Bessemer Trust, provides the following summary of Pierre v. Commissiner, 133 T.C. No. 2 (Aug. 24, 2009).Transfers of Interests in Single-Member LLC Treated as Transfers of Interests in the Entity Rather Than as Transfers of...
Continue reading "Steve Akers' Summary of Pierre v. Commissioner, 133 T.C. No. 2 (Aug. 24, 2009)"
On August 19, 2009, the United States and Swiss governments signed an agreement to settle the UBS John Doe summons enforcement case. Before such agreement, the IRS had acted on the suspicion that some individuals used their offshore UBS...
Continue reading "United States and Swiss Confederation Come to Agreement on UBS AG Case"
In an article captioned "Rise of the Super-Rich Hits a Sobering Wall" the NY Times reports that the rich, as a group, are no longer getting richer, and over the last two years, they have in fact become poorer. It...
Continue reading "NYT Article: Rise of the Super-RIch Hits a Sobering Wall"
Former UBS banker, Bradley Birkenfeld of Weymouth, Mass., has been sentenced to 40 months incarceration by Judge William J. Zloch in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. On June 19, 2008, Birkenfeld pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States, the Justice...
Seven individuals from around New England have been indicted in federal court in Boston for conspiracies to defraud the United States through the promotion and use of multiple tax fraud schemes, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)...
Revenue Ruling 2009-29 provides various prescribed rates for federal income taxpurposes for September 2009 (current month) including the applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted federal long-term rate, the adjusted federal long-term tax-exempt rate. These rates are...
Tax Notes has published an article by Lee. A Sheppard, tax analyst. The article dicusses the IRS's stance and actions regarding FBAR (foreign bank account report) regulations for trust funds. Currently, there is some confusion over in what cases an FBAR...
Continue reading "Tax Notes Article by Lee. A Sheppard:"News Analysis: FBAR Filing For Trusts""
Hansruedi Schumacher and Matthias Rickenbach, both of Switzerland, were indicted today for conspiring to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. According to the indictment, Schumacher worked as an executive manager at Neue Zuercher...
Fe S. Garrett, a resident of National City, Calif., was convicted yesterday of filing false individual tax returns, failure to pay taxes, and multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, the Justice Department and...
The American Enterprise Institute has published an American Solutions Report by Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker and current American Enterprise Institute Fellow, entitled "Ensuring American Safety, Prosperity, and Freedom in the 21st Century."Gingrich contends that the United States must...
The United States Tax Court has published a memorandum opinion by Diane L. Kroupa, a judge serving on the United States Tax Court, entitled Sydell L. Miller (petitioner) vs. Comissioner of Internal Revenue (Respondent). Judge Kroupa has determined that the court...
Tax Notes has published an opinion article by Paul G. Hyman, Chief Judge serving on the United States Bankruptcy Court. Hyman's findings conclude that the individual in question, Mr. Ernest Willis, took prohibited actions with regard to his Merrill Lynch IRA. Mr....
Tax Notes has published a report from the IRS regarding the domestic asset/liability percentages and domestic yields needed by foreign life insurance companies so that such companies can find their minimum effectively connected net investment income. This revenue procedure has been...
Tax Notes has published an article by three authors, Scott D. McClure, Steven E. Hollingworth, and Nicole D. Brown of Hogan and Hartson, LLP. McClure is a partner at the firm who focuses on corporate transacations and state tax issues, Hollingworth...
There are a couple of posts on the web about paperless law offices. They are as follows:Law Firm Done With Paper, by Steven L. Butler, on Law.com.The Paper(less) Chase, by David Lat, on Above the Law.We would be interested in...
Continue reading "On the Web and In Print: The Paperless Office"
The Wall Street Journal, in an article captioned "Bid to Block Estate-Tax Repeal," reports that the House of Representatives is likely to propose a temporary, one-year measure to prevent repeal of the estate tax. This is consistent with several rumors...
Continue reading "WSJ Article: Bid to Block Estate-Tax Repeal"
A federal court in Seattle has permanently barred Daniel Andersen from promoting fraudulent tax schemes, the Justice Department announced today. Documents the government filed on August 11 requested that the court enjoin Andersen, arguing that he was a founding member...
Continue reading "Federal Court Permanently Enjoins Founder of the "Global Prosperity" Tax Scheme"
Tax Notes has published an article by Martin A. Sullivan, tax analyst, who suggests that the budgetary challenges faced by President Obama are very similar to those faced by Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s. President Obama, like President Reagan,...
Tax Notes has published an article by Lee A. Sheppard, tax analyst, who examines the regulatory power held by the IRS in the FBAR area and any FBAR compliance issues related to hedge funds and their investors. FBAR refers to...
The Christian Science Monitor has posted an article "Economic Scene: "Tax me," some rich Americans tell Obama." The comments on this article, posted at the bottom of the article, are as interesting as the article itself.Posted by Lewis J. Saret,...
Continue reading "On the Web and In Print: "Tax Me," Some rich Americans tell Obama"
The Examiner.com posted an article "Estate planning in Washington D.C." by A.W. Berry, which notes specific aspects of DC law that applies to estate planning in DC.Posted by Lewis J. Saret, General Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal....
Continue reading "On the Web and In Print: Estate Planning in Washington D.C."
The ABA Section of International Law Committee on International Taxation, in cooperation with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants & the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners is sponsoring a teleconference on "Foreign Bank Account Reports and More: Voluntary...
The Wall Street Journal, in an article captioned "Solo Story: A Chat With Big-Firm Refugee Mitchell Matorin" discusses the life of an attorney who has transitioned from a large law firm to a solo practice. Mitchell Matorin, the attorney interviewed,...
The IRS has issue Announcement 2009-62, which updates the procedures provided in Announcement 2006-93, 2006-48 I.R.B. 1017, that a section 509(a)(3) supporting organization may use to request a change in its public charity classification.Posted by Lewis J. Saret, General Editor,...
The IRS issued Summertime Tax Tip 2009-15, which states the following:The vast majority of Americans get a tax refund from the IRS each spring, but what do you do if you are one of those who received a tax bill?...
Continue reading "Summer Tax Tip-2009-15: Eight Tips for Taxpayers Who Owe Money to the IRS"
The Detroit News, in "Rap Legend Hammer not too legit to quit paying taxes", reports that the IRS has filed a $671,000 tax lien against rap star MC Hammer.Posted by Lewis J. Saret, General Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal....
The Detroit News, in "Batman star Val Kilmer can't beat tax man", reports that the IRS has filed a $538,858 tax lien against Val Kilmer, the former star of "Batman Forever" and "The Doors."Posted by Lewis J. Saret, General Editor,...
The Tax Prof Blog, citing the Tax Foundation in its report "U.S. Lags While Competitors Accelerate Corporate Income Tax Reform," reports that the US corporate tax rate is the second highest in the industrialized world. Posted by Lewis J. Saret,...
The Wills Trusts & Estates Prof Blog reports that "Connecticut enacts pet trust statute."Posted by Lewis J. Saret, General Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal....
Continue reading "On the Web and In Print: Connecticut Enacts Pet Trust Statute"
The Wills Trusts & Estates Prof Blog reports that MSN Money has published an article by Liz Pulliam Weston that discusses 5 estate-tax myths that won't die, MSN, Aug. 3, 2009.Posted by Lewis J. Saret, General Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal....
Continue reading "On the Web and In Print: Myths Re Estate Tax"
The Wills Trusts & Estates Prof Blog reports that Jeffery A. Cooper (associate professor of law, Quinnipiac University) has posted on SSRN his article entitled Ghosts of 1932: The Lost History of Estate and Gift Taxation. Posted by Lewis J. Saret,...
Continue reading "On the Web and In Print: History of Estate + Gift Taxes"
The Wall Street Journal, in an article captioned "Fusty Insurance Lures Buyers Seeking Safety: Whole-Life Polices Offer Steady Ride, but Figuring Actual Returns Can Be Tricky," notes that sales of whole life insurance policies are on the rise. While noting...
Continue reading "WSJ Article: Whole Life Insurance on the Rise"
The IRS has issued Notice 2009-62, which extends until June 30, 2010 the filing date for certain individuals, including: (i) persons with signature authority over, but no financial interest in, a foreign financial account, and (ii) persons with a financial...
Continue reading "IRS Notice 2009-62: FBAR Extension for Certain Persons"
Tax Notes has published an article by Steve R. Akers of the American Bar Association, Section of Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law. The article discusses how regulations regarding the portion of a trust that is includable in a deceased...
The United States has filed a lawsuit to bar a married couple's alleged nationwide tax fraud scheme involving so-called asset protection, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of...
The Wall Street Journal wrote an article captioned "The End of Big Law," which (naturally) spawned a debate in the blogosphere about whether the end is really here. Blogs that have posted discussions about this include the following:LawShucks.Adam Smith (an...
In PLR 200931026, the IRS ruled in favor of granting a couple an extension to elect out of automatic allocation of generation-skipping transfer tax under section 2632(c)(5) for transfers to two trusts.Posted by Gary Robillard, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal....
Continue reading "PLR 200931026: Extension Granted to Elect Out of Automatic Allocation GSTT"
In PLR 200931011, the IRS ruled in favor of granting a couple an extension to divert their available generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to the transfer to a trust.Posted by Gary Robillard, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal....
Continue reading "PLR 200931011: Extension Granted to Allocate GSTT Exemption "
In PLR 200931010, the IRS ruled in favor of granting an individual an extension to divert her available generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to the transfer to a trust.Posted by Gary Robillard, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal....
Continue reading "PLR 200931010: Extension Granted to Allocate GSTT Exemption "
In PLR 200931009, the IRS ruled in favor of granting an individual an extension to divert his available generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to the transfer to a trust.Posted by Gary Robillard, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal....
Continue reading "PLR 200931009: Extension Granted to Allocate GSTT Exemption "
The following is a quarterly update of economic conditions and investment strategy provided by Chevy Chase Trust.Economic Conditions: First quarter, 2009 U.S. GDP decreased at an annual rate of 5.5%, the third consecutive quarter of economic contraction and only slightly...
Continue reading "Chevy Chase Trust Issues Second Quarter 2009 Update"
Steve Akers, Associate Fiduciary Counsel, Bessemer Trust, provides the following summary of Heckerman v. U.S., U.S. Dist. Ct., W.D. Washington, Cause No. C08-0211-JCC (July 27, 2009).Contributions of Property to LLC and Gifts of LLC Interests on the Same Day...
Several sources have reported that the IRS has filed a $6,257,005 tax lien against Nicholas Cage, making him the latest celebrity with tax problems. See the following sources:Tax Prof Blog.Houston Chronicle.New York Daily News.For a gallery of celebrity "tax cheats"...
Continue reading "Celebrities and Their Taxes: Nicholas Cage"
Business Week reports, in "Piqqem: Tapping the Investing Wisdom of Crowds," that a new web site, Piqqem collects individual investor sentiment about earnings predictions and stock price movements and sifts it for trading insights.Posted by Lewis J. Saret, General Editor,...
Business Week, in an article captioned "Reassessing Investors' Risk Tolerance" reports that investment firms are reworking risk questionnaires to keep investors from losing money and switching advisers.Posted by Lewis J. Saret, General Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal....
According to the IRS, the IRS Estate and Gift Tax Program recently started working with state and county authorities in several states to determine if real estate transfers reported to them are unreported gifts. Although a tax may not be...
Continue reading "IRS Estate & Gift Tax Program Working WIth States on Real Estate Transfers"
Tax Notes has published an article regarding a regulatory modification posted by the Internal Revenue Service. The proposed regulations would modify Circular 230 rules regarding contingent fees. Circular 230 rules pertain to regulations governing the practice of attorneys, certified public...
The NYT, in an article titled "In Search of Competent (and Honest) Advisors" summarizes a survey of 238 private banks and wealth management firms published by Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The article concludes that the "economic crisis has presented client relationship managers...
Continuing a long tradition of celebrities making tons of money and spending even more, the NY Times, in "For Annie Leibovitz, a Fuzz Financial Picture," tactfully reported that Annie Leibovitz, photographer to the stars and a celebrity in her own...
Tax Notes has published an article by David D. Stewart, tax analyst. The article discusses how the United States government is seeing to compromise with UBS AG, a diversified global finance company based in in Switzerland, and Swiss government officials....