6th Cir. OKs Civil RICO Class Suit Against Edwards Wildman, Client Insurer re Tax-Shelter Marketing

Reversing a lower court’s dismissal of a civil racketeering class action against a law firm and a client insurer, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati on Wednesday gave the lawsuit a green light. The suit was filed because of the defendants’ marketing of a tax shelter later determined by the…

Sep 20, 2012 4:15 PM CDT

Son’s Death Leaves Mom with Big Tax Bill on Forgiven Student Loan Debt

If a student loan borrower is unable to repay the money because he or she dies, that’s the end of the story, not only for the lender but the Internal Revenue Service, too. If the borrower is the parent of the deceased student, however, that’s a different story. And Regina…

Sep 19, 2012 6:10 PM CDT

Who Are the 47 (Actually 46) Percent? Law Prof and Other Experts Weigh In

Mitt Romney was off by just one percentage point when he declared that 47 percent of Americans don’t pay federal income taxes. The actual number is 46 percent, according to an analysis last year by the Tax Policy Center, report the Associated Press, NPR and the New York Times Economix…

Sep 19, 2012 1:04 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Steven Lippman Gets 3 Years, Says Ex-Partner Scott Rothstein ‘Played Me Like a Fool’

A newly disbarred South Florida lawyer was sentenced Friday to three years in federal prison, in the latest fallout from the implosion of the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm operated by convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, who is also disbarred and serving a 50-year federal prison term. Although Steven Lippman,…

Sep 14, 2012 6:19 PM CDT

Former Jenkens & Gilchrist Partner Takes Plea in Tax Shelter Opinions Case; Will Forfeit $1.6M

A former partner of Jenkens & Gilchrist pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion Thursday in federal court in Manhattan concerning a decade-long tax-shelter scheme that the trial judge says is the biggest American tax-fraud case ever. Donna Guerin, 52, agreed to forfeit $1.6 million and could face a maximum…

Sep 13, 2012 9:57 PM CDT

Ex-Banker Birkenfeld Gets $104M for UBS Case Cooperation; May Be Biggest US Whistleblower Award

Sentenced to a 40-month federal prison term in 2009 for his role in a tax evasion conspiracy involving offshore American accounts, former Swiss banker Bradley Birkenfeld elicited sympathetic comments from some observers who said the hefty sentence was likely to discourage other whistleblowers from cooperating with the government. But the…

Sep 11, 2012 4:22 PM CDT

New York Court of Appeals Considers Whether Lap Dancing Is Art, and Tax Exempt

Is lap dancing tax-exempt under New York law? That’s the question the state’s highest court considered Wednesday. Nite Moves, a suburban Albany strip club, maintains that admission fees and dances should be covered by the New York law that exempts “dramatic or musical art performances” from taxes, the Associated Press…

Sep 6, 2012 5:04 PM CDT

As Conjoined Twins Enter the World of Work, Some New Legal Definitions May Be Needed

If Abby and Brittany Hensel should ever litigate a wage dispute with their employer, a judge or jury is going to have to give the matter some serious thought. The two recent college graduates, now 22, are looking for work together. In fact, they’re looking for a job at the…

Aug 27, 2012 4:48 PM CDT

Tax-Free Ride Is Ending for Online Shoppers in California, Pennyslvania

As congressional support builds for a federal internet sales tax law, online shoppers in Pennsylvania and California will pony up to the taxman next month. Starting Sept. 1, Pennsylvanians will pay a 6 percent or more sales tax, depending on the county, for online items purchased from retailers with a…

Aug 21, 2012 6:16 PM CDT

IRS May Have Paid ID Thieves $5B in 2011 Refunds; $3.3M Went to One Address Listed On 2,137 Returns

Amidst news reports of a spike in fraudulent federal tax refund claims by identity thieves, a U.S. Treasury Department audit has found that the Internal Revenue Service is an easy target for such fakery. The IRS may already have paid ID thieves $5 billion in tax refunds to which they…

Aug 3, 2012 1:57 PM CDT

NY Appeals Court Nixes Attorney Malpractice Case Over Failed Like-Kind Exchange

A New York lawyer cannot be held liable in a malpractice case over a tax-deferred real-estate exchange that failed to meet Internal Revenue Service provisions where there is no proof that the seller could have purchased additional property within a set time period as required, a state appeals court has…

Aug 1, 2012 3:52 PM CDT

Deductive Reasoning: Documentary Filmmakers Get a Boost, as IRS Deductions Ruling Gets the Boot

Aug 1, 2012 8:40 AM CDT

9th Circuit Says $27M Whistle-Blower Award Is Taxed as Ordinary Income

A former chief financial officer for a Montana hospital eventually reaped a $27 million benefit by blowing the whistle on his former employer’s accounting fraud. But James Alderson’s reward from filing qui tam suit under the federal False Claims Act is taxed as ordinary income, not under the lower capital…

Jul 18, 2012 10:51 PM CDT

Woman Accused of Misusing Popular Tax Software to Obtain $2.1M Tax Refund Asks for Public Defender

An Oregon woman accused of using TurboTax to file a falsified return and obtain a $2.1 million state tax refund to which she wasn’t entitled has requested a public defender. Krystle Marie Reyes, 25, was granted the PD by Marion County Circuit Judge Joseph Ochoa on Thursday, as she appeared…

Jul 5, 2012 10:38 PM CDT

Green Light for Health Care Reform Law Also OKs New Investment Tax for Those Making Over $200K

It isn’t just medical treatment that’s going to change under the new health care reform law given the green light this week by the U.S. Supreme Court. Now that the law is definitely going to take effect, experts are pondering how a 3.8 percent surtax that is part of the…

Jun 29, 2012 8:52 PM CDT