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.
Weekly IRS Roundup November 27 – December 1, 2023
By Kevin Spencer on Dec 7, 2023
Posted In IRS Guidance, Tax Reform
Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 27, 2023 – December 1, 2023. November 27, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-48, which includes Revenue Procedure 2023-34 and sets forth the annual inflation adjustments for various Internal Revenue Code provisions for...
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Tax Court Rules Limited Partners May Be Subject to Self-Employment Tax
By Kevin Spencer and Samuel J. Preston on Dec 1, 2023
Posted In Court Procedure Matters, Trial Courts
On November 28, 2023, the US Tax Court granted partial summary judgment in favor of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Soroban Capital Partners LP v. Commissioner and held that “limited partners” are defined functionally—not by state law—for purposes of Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 1402(a)(13), which excludes distributions to a “limited partner, as such”...
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Weekly IRS Roundup November 20 – November 24, 2023
By Kevin Spencer on Nov 29, 2023
Posted In IRS Guidance, Tax Reform
Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 20, 2023 – November 24, 2023. November 20, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-47, which includes the following: Announcement 2023-32 announces the Office of Professional Responsibility’s recent disciplinary sanctions on certain lawyers, certified...
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Weekly IRS Roundup November 13 – November 17, 2023
By Kevin Spencer on Nov 21, 2023
Posted In IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Tax Refunds
Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 13, 2023 – November 17, 2023. November 13, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-46, which includes the following: Proposed regulations that would update the requirements a plan sponsor of a single-employer defined benefit...
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Weekly IRS Roundup November 6 – November 10, 2023
By Kevin Spencer on Nov 13, 2023
Posted In IRS Guidance, Tax Reform
Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 6, 2023 – November 10, 2023. November 6, 2023: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-45, which includes the following: Final regulations that increase the user fees for new and renewal enrollment of enrolled actuaries...
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Federal District Court Rules Codified Economic Substance Doctrine Vitiates Tax Transaction Benefits
By Timothy S. Shuman, Kevin Spencer and Samuel J. Preston on Nov 3, 2023
Posted In Court Procedure Matters, Trial Courts
On October 31, 2023, the US District Court for the District of Colorado, in Liberty Global, Inc. v. United States, applied the codified economic substance doctrine and held—on summary judgment—that Liberty Global, Inc. (LGI) must recognize $2.4 billion in taxable gain. At issue was a four-step transaction that took place in 2018, as a result...
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IRS Announces New Compliance Initiatives to Collect More Corporate Tax Using Inflation Reduction Act Funds
By Kevin Spencer, Edward L. Froelich and Shawn O’Brien on Oct 24, 2023
Posted In IRS Audits, IRS Guidance
On October 20, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced new initiatives “to ensure large corporations pay taxes owed.” These initiatives leverage the substantial additional congressional funding that was given to the IRS thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). (We previously reported on how IRS enforcement is impacted by IRA funding here.)...
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IRS Criminal Investigation Division Is on the Hunt for Malta Pension Plan Participants and Promoters
By Daniel J. Bell, Steven Hadjilogiou, Kevin Spencer and Evan Walters on Jul 25, 2023
Posted In Uncategorized
There has been a growing trend of US taxpayers contributing non-cash assets, such as appreciated property, securities and cryptocurrency, into Maltese pension plans since the US-Malta Tax Treaty went into effect in 2011. These transactions were marketed to many US taxpayers as a way to cash in on their earnings without being subject to US federal taxation....
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Can the Government Sue for Tax Debts Outside Internal Revenue Code Procedures?
By Kevin Spencer, Edward L. Froelich and Evan Walters on Jul 21, 2023
Posted In Appellate Courts, Court Procedure Matters, Trial Courts
On June 1, 2023, in United States v. Liberty Global, Inc., the US District Court for the District of Colorado held that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) can assert and seek judgment for federal income tax deficiencies using a common law right of action, bypassing the usual statutory tax deficiency procedures outlined in the Internal...
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Tax Court Says Pollution Control Systems Are Not Pilot Models, Rejects Tax Research Credits
By Kevin Spencer and Edward L. Froelich on Jul 14, 2023
Posted In Court Procedure Matters, Trial Courts
On July 6, 2023, the US Tax Court issued its decision in Betz v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2023-84. Betz considers the application of the pilot model supply rule to expenses incurred by a designer (CPI[1]) of made-to-order air pollution control systems called oxidizers. At issue was approximately $500,000 of research and development tax credits pursuant...
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