Tax Law | TaxConnections

18 Mar 2021

Tax Court In Brief: Case On Substantiation Of Expenses, And The Applicability Of Self-Employment Tax For Income Reported

Freeman Law’s “The Tax Court in Brief” covers every substantive Tax Court opinion, providing a weekly brief of its decisions in clear, concise prose.

The Week of March 8 – March 12, 2021

Clarence J. Mathews v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo 2021-28 March 9, 2021 | Wells, J. | Dkt. No. 11829-14

Short Summary: The case discusses the substantiation of expenses, and the applicability of self-employment tax for income incorrectly reported on a taxpayer’s tax return.

During 2011, Mr. Mathews (the taxpayer) worked for a trucking company. He also was a Minister of the Beulah Missionary Baptist Church. On his tax return, he reported his wage and pension income, but also included a Schedule C, Profit or Loss and stated that his profession was that of a Minister, reporting income and expenses mostly related to car and truck, repairs and maintenance and meals & entertainment.

11 Oct 2017

A Brief Overview of the Judicial Reasoning That Has Thwarted Foreign Asset Protection Trusts

As I have documented previously, there are several cases where courts have ruled against the grantors of a foreign asset protection trust, thereby nullifying the asset protection benefit. In this post, I want to briefly sum up the judicial reasoning used by the courts to thwart these trusts.

Written by Hale Stewart | Posted in Foreign Income • Tax Law

12 Jul 2017

Federal Trade Commission v. Andersons (Ponzi Scheme)

High net worth individuals are loathe to transfer assets to any entity over which they have no control. This fact creates an unresolvable problem when forming an offshore asset protection trust: so long as a U.S. person can exert even a modicum of control over a foreign entity, a U.S. court has sufficient grounds to rule that a U.S. based debtor can repatriate assets. More importantly, failure to comply with a repatriation order could lead to contempt citation against the U.S. debtor. The facts of Federal Trade Commission v. Affordable Media[1] typify this problem. Read More

Written by Hale Stewart | Posted in Tax Law

05 Jul 2017

Analyzing In Re Portnoy (Asset Protection Case)

In re Portnoy, 201 B.R. 685 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y., 1996) — a 1996 Bankruptcy case – was the first in a series of decisions with a foreign asset protection trust. As with most foreign trust cases, the fact pattern alludes to several areas of law – asset protection, bankruptcy, conflict of laws and trusts. Here are the relevant events in chronological order.

3/87: Portnoy guarantees all loans and debt of his company Mary Drawers (MD) Read More

Written by Hale Stewart | Posted in Tax Law

29 Jan 2017

101 Ways to Save Money on Your Tax Legally

101 Ways to Save Money on Your Tax – Legally! is the Australian taxpayer’s essential guide to maximising returns. Comprehensively updated for 2017-2018, this indispensable resource explains all of the changes to the May 2017 budget to help you pay what you owe and not a penny more.

You’ll find answers to common questions, tax traps to avoid and plenty of tips from Mr. Taxman himself that can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Leverage your business, education, family, property, medical expenses, levies, shares and superannuation to get the tax return you deserve – and are fully entitled to under Australian law. Read More

Written by Aaron Giles | Posted in Australia/Oceania • Tax Law

25 Jan 2017

Congressional Tax Legislative Process Educational Series #2

This is the second article in TaxConnections series of developing a better understanding of the how our Federal tax laws are initiated and implemented, and the various participants in Congress, including Members of Congress, their qualified technical and administrative staffs involved in that process. It also highlights the techniques utilized by the private sector (individuals, businesses large and small, plus associations) in that effort. (To read the first article, click here)

Written by Thomas Kerester | Posted in Tax Law

24 Jan 2017

Make A Difference In The Making Of United States Tax Laws

TaxConnections invites each of you to participate in an important journey! A journey that will engage you in the making of new tax laws in the United States Committee on Ways and Means! The Committee on Ways And Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives and all bills regarding taxation must go through this committee.

Written by Thomas Kerester | Posted in Tax Law

17 Jan 2017

Congressional Tax Legislative Process

As a forward to this Special Article, I want to tell you it has been written by our new TaxConnections Member Tom Kerester. Tom has extensive experience on Capitol Hill in the United States Congress as a Legislative Attorney on the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (that served five committees of the Congress) and on the House Committee on Ways and Means. As a Former Executive Director of Tax Executives Institute (1985-1992) in Washington, D.C., Tom then went on to a Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation under the Administration of George H.W. Bush as Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the United States Small Business Administration and in the Congressional Office of Congressman Bill Thomas (CA). Tom also was the 1st President of the Capitol Hill Chapter of the Federal Bar Association whose members included over 300 Attorneys working on the Hill, and now has over 13,000 lawyer members worldwide.

Written by Thomas Kerester | Posted in Tax Law

14 Dec 2016

U.S. Supreme Court Denies Certiorari In DMA VS Brohl (Colorado DOR)

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016

CERTIORARI DENIED on two related Direct Marketing Association(DMA) and Colorado Department of Revenue cases.

16-267 DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION V. BROHL, BARBARA
16-458 BROHL, BARBARA V. DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION

Written by Alan Smith | Posted in Tax Law

29 Nov 2016

7th Circuit Court Of Appeal Reduces Options For Appealing IRS Levies

Rejecting tax court precedent, the Seventh Circuit ruled Friday that delinquent taxpayers who weren’t properly notified of Internal Revenue Service levies still have to pursue an administrative appeal before they can petition the tax court to invalidate the levy.

Written by tbeecher | Posted in IRS • Tax Law

22 Nov 2016

Hobby VS Business Loss – A U.S. Tax Court Case Ruling

A loss from a legitimate business activity is fully deductible against other income. If the loss exceeds income, it can be carried forward to offset business income in future years. If an activity is deemed a hobby by the IRS, a loss cannot be deducted. The IRS has many criteria for determining whether an activity is a hobby or a business [See the author’s article on hobby losses for details].

Written by Harold Goedde | Posted in IRS • Tax Law

28 Oct 2016

Bank Secrecy, Exchange of Taxpayer Data, Search, And EU Law: The Case Of K.S. And M.S. v. GERMANY

In 2006, the German secret service (Bundesnachrichtendienst) bought a data carrier from a certain K. for a considerable amount of money. The data carrier contained financial data from the Liechtenstein L. Bank relating to 800 people. K., who had formerly been an employee of the L. Bank, had illegally copied the data. The data carrier was submitted to the German tax investigation authorities, which subsequently instigated proceedings against, inter alia, the applicants, in relation to tax evasion crimes.

Written by William Byrnes | Posted in Europe • Tax Law