Archive for Supreme Court Ruling

#FBAR Decision: Bittner Wins! Non-willful Civil Penalty Restricted Based On The One Form And Not On Each Account

#FBAR Decision: Bittner Wins! Non-willful Civil Penalty Restricted Based On The One Form And Not On Each Account

On November 2, 2022 the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in the Bittner FBAR case. I have previously written about this case here and here. An audio of the oral argument at the Supreme Court (along with commentary) is here. On February 28, 2023 the Court issued it’s ruling.

The issue was whether:

In assessing non-willful civil FBAR penalties the government is restricted to imposing one penalty for failing to file an accurate FBAR form or may the government impose a separate penalty for each mistake related to each account. In other words, is the penalty based on the failure to file a correct form or is a separate penalty allowed for each mistake in relation to the form?

Interestingly and notably the Gorsuch majority decision specifically notes that the period in which the FBAR penalties were assessed were for years that Mr. Bittner was living in Romania. There is no acknowledgment of this in the Barrett dissent!! In addition, Ms. Boyd (of 9th Circuit fame) was also assessed penalties for the years she was living in the UK! To be clear: this decision is very relevant for Americans abroad!!

The court’s decision
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Written by | Posted in FBAR • Supreme Court Ruling

Tax Advisors Victorious Over IRS In Supreme Court Ruling

SUPREME COURT RULINGS

According to an article posted in Forbes yesterday:

“In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Kagan, CIC Services, LLC v. Internal Revenue Service et al, the Supreme Court held that taxpayers’ advisors have the right to sue the IRS to set aside or invalidate IRS Notices. The decision isn’t as revolutionary as the Boston Tea Party, but it gives tax advisors a legal right to contest – or “protest” – IRS enforcement of Notices that seek to impose penalties, and may open the door for taxpayers to directly contest such notices in the future.”

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Written by | Posted in Captive Insurance Company • Supreme Court Ruling

New Supreme Court Ruling Could Affect Many Online Shoppers

Lisa Nason, Online Shopping

The Supreme Court changed the landscape of online shopping Thursday, freeing state governments to compel retailers beyond their borders to collect sales-tax revenue from consumers and giving a boost to brick-and-mortar stores. With the boom in Internet commerce increasing exponentially, the court’s 5-to-4 decision could have an impact on millions of Americans almost immediately. For years, avoiding sales tax was a prime perk of online shopping.

States were the big winners at the Supreme Court. They previously were able to require only companies with a physical presence in their states to collect taxes, costing them an estimated $8 billion to $33 billion in uncollected taxes per year.

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Written by | Posted in Sales Tax Revenue • Supreme Court Ruling • TaxConnections