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
Taxpayer Victory in an IRC Section 199 Contract Manufacturing Case
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 performed by a contract manufacturer. At issue in the case was whether the publisher qualified as a printer of magazines for purposes of IRC section 199 despite hiring third-party printers to print its magazines. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) argued that the third-party printers, not the magazine publisher, had the “benefits and burdens of ownership,” and thus only the third-party printers were eligible for the IRC section 199 deduction. The case involved tax years 2006 through 2012. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act repealed IRC section 199 domestic production deduction for tax years after 2018.
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Results in Tax Court Trial Sessions Cancellations
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 cancelled. Orders are currently being issued in several cases reflecting the cancellations, which impact trial sessions in the following cities:
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Chicago, Illinois
- Dallas, Texas
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Los Angeles, California
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Provo (Salt Lake City), Utah
- San Francisco, California
The Tax Court expects the parties to continue to work together to exchange information and address pending issues.
It remains to be seen if the Tax Court will cancel other trial sessions scheduled for April, May and June (the Tax Court does not hold trial sessions in July and August). The Tax Court’s website contains the full listing of trial sessions for the 2020 Winter Trial Sessions and the 2020 Spring Trial Sessions.
New Tax Appointments
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
Supreme Court Tackles Tax-Related Cases
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
Stats Show Active Tax Whistleblower Caseload
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
President Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Two More Tax Court Judges
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
IRS Issues Transition Tax Compliance Campaign
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
Government Questions the Benefits of IRS Audit Campaigns
On September 28, 2019, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a report titled Initial Compliance Results Warrant a More Data-Driven Approach to Campaign Issue Selection.
As the name of the report describes, the TIGTA analyzed whether the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit campaigns were effective and efficiently administered. We have written
Finally the IRS Clarifies Its Position on Cryptocurrency
It took five years, but the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has finally released some guidance on the taxation of cryptocurrencies! On October 9, 2019, the IRS released Revenue Ruling 2019-24 and several “frequently asked questions” (and answers) which deal with some (but not all) of the federal income tax issues involved with cryptocurrencies.
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