Samuel J. Preston
Subscribe to Samuel J. Preston's PostsSamuel J. Preston focuses his practice on US and international tax matters. Read Samuel Preston's full bio.
Supreme Court Overrules Chevron, Opening Door for New Tax Reg Challenges
By Timothy S. Shuman, Susan E. Ryba, Parisa M. Griess and Samuel J. Preston on Jul 10, 2024
Posted In Court Procedure Matters
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States reshaped the federal tax landscape when it overturned the long-standing Chevron doctrine in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, No. 22-451. The Chevron doctrine, a pillar of US administrative law for four decades, required courts to defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute even where the court...
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Supreme Court Rules Against Taxpayers in IRC Section 965 Case
By Kevin Spencer, Evan Walters and Samuel J. Preston on Jun 21, 2024
Posted In Court Procedure Matters, Trial Courts
On June 20, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 7-2 opinion in Moore v. United States, 602 U.S. __ (2024), ruling in favor of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Moore concerned whether US Congress and the IRS could tax US shareholders of controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) on those corporations’ earnings even...
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IRC Section 280E Will No Longer Apply if Marijuana Is Rescheduled
By Kevin Spencer and Samuel J. Preston on May 21, 2024
Posted In Tax Refunds
On May 16, 2024, the US Department of Justice submitted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III within the Controlled Substances Act. As the NPRM recognizes, this action would have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of businesses – specifically, medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries...
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Understanding the IRC’s Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
By Kevin Spencer, Edward L. Froelich and Samuel J. Preston on May 8, 2024
Posted In Court Procedure Matters, IRS Audits, Tax Refunds, Trial Courts
Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been asserting the Internal Revenue Code Section 6676 penalty much more frequently in examinations and in court. For example, in 2023, a government counterclaim in the US District Court for the Middle District of Georgia sought to recover Section 6676 penalties in Townley v. United States. And, internal IRS guidance requires examiners to consider...
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Can the IRS Assert IRC Section 6676’s Erroneous Refund Penalty on Protective Refund Claims?
By Kevin Spencer, Edward L. Froelich and Samuel J. Preston on Mar 25, 2024
Posted In IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Tax Refunds
We once again want to bring to your attention the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) new favorite penalty provision: Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6676. We have reported on this provision several times before (See here, here and here), but this time we’re analyzing it in the context of protective refund claims. As background, IRC Section...
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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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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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