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The U.S. Supreme Court on June 6, 2024 affirmed a decision denying a tax refund to the estate of an owner of a building materials company that used a payout from his $3.5 million life insurance policy to purchase his shares in the business in Thomas A. Connelly v. U.S., case number 23-146,

In a unanimous opinion, the court affirmed a summary judgment decision by the Eighth Circuit, which ruled last year that the life insurance proceeds, used to fund a stock redemption by Crown C Supply following the death of its co-owner Michael Connelly, were an asset that increased Crown's value, inflating the value of Connelly's stock and driving up the tax liability of his estate.

The court rejected the estate's argument that the proceeds were a stock redemption that should be treated as a liability for Crown C Supply that reduced its value for purposes of calculating estate tax, similar to any debt.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

     Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

In Issue Number: IR-2024-155 the Internal Revenue Service announced the Document Upload Tool accepted its one millionth taxpayer submission.

Use of the Document Upload Tool, sometimes referred to as DUT, continues to grow. During the first six months of this fiscal year, more than 265,000 taxpayers used the tool, and the number continues to grow each month.

“The Document Upload Tool is a key part of our ambitious initiative to transform the IRS into a virtually paperless agency, and we continue to see increased use of this by taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “This tool saves time for taxpayers and helps IRS employees process responses faster and more efficiently. 

A Growing Number Of Taxpayers Are Using Their Smart Phones Or Computers To Scan And Upload Their Responses To IRS Correspondence, Rather Than The More Time-Consuming Option Of Writing A Letter Or Mailing In Documents.”

The Document Upload Tool has shown steady growth over time as well. Since 2022, average monthly use of the DUT has more than doubled every year, from around 16,000 in 2022, to around 37,000 in 2023 and finally almost 84,000 so far in 2024. The document submissions cover a wide range of tax issues, including responding to IRS Notice CP2000, where the agency notifies taxpayers of potentially underreported income.

The IRS receives about 76 million paper tax returns and forms, as well as 125 million pieces of correspondence, notice responses and non-tax forms each year. In the past, the agency’s limited capability to accept these forms digitally or to digitize paper has added time-consuming steps that has created challenges for taxpayers, tax professionals and IRS employees. For decades, the only option available was to have taxpayers or their representatives mail or fax these documents to the tax agency.

The IRS Estimates That More Than 94% Of Individual Taxpayers Will Have The Option Of No Longer Having To
Send Mail To The IRS, Potentially Replacing Up To
125 Million Paper Documents Per Year, Easing
The Paperwork Burden For Both Them And The IRS.

To learn more about the Document Upload Tool, visit IRS.gov/DUT.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

     Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

On November 10, 2022 we posted Notice 2017-10 Conservation Easement Penalty Notice Struck Down By Tax Court where we discussed that the IRS violated administrative law in issuing a notice requiring the disclosure of potentially abusive conservation easement transactions under threat of penalty, the U.S. Tax Court ruled on November 9, 2022, striking down the guidance and rejecting penalties the agency sought to impose on four North Carolina partnerships.

Now according to Law360, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed on June 4, 2024 that an Internal Revenue Service notice imposing reporting requirements on potentially abusive conservation easements was invalid because the agency failed to solicit the public feedback required by administrative law.

A three-judge panel affirmed the ruling of an Alabama federal judge who last year sided with the land donation advisory firm Green Rock LLC in invalidating the notice on the grounds that it wasn't put through the Administrative Procedure Act's notice-and-comment procedures.

The panel rejected the government's argument that Internal Revenue Code Section 6011, which governs information tied to reportable tax shelter transactions, had authorized the agency to promulgate guidance without following the APA's public comment requirements.

The panel said no such express exemption exists in the law and that provisions that might provide an exemption "make no explicit reference to notice and comment, the Administrative Procedure Act, or procedural requirements at all."

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

     Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

According to Law360, On May 21, the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed rules to move marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act were published in the Federal Register. Public comments will be solicited for 60 days from that date, and hearings will be scheduled before final rules are adopted.

Despite widespread media reports heralding the "game-changing" nature of this development, the DOJ's proposed rulemaking leaves the cannabis industry with more questions than answers.

The DOJ explicitly warns that (1) "if marijuana is transferred into Schedule III, the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, and possession of marijuana would remain subject to the applicable criminal prohibitions of the CSA [Controlled Substances Act]," and (2) marijuana would remain subject to the limitations within the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

It instead sidesteps the challenging questions and punts by "seeking comment on the practical consequences of rescheduling marijuana." By way of explanation, the DOJ offers:

The industry could also expect better access to commercial banking, new financial services products offered to cannabis companies and new listings on public exchanges. 

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

     Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

Read more at: Tax Times blog