Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm, has announced the continued expansion of its Tax Practice Group with the addition of veteran trusts and estates partner Paul Collins in New York. He joins the firm from Schiff Hardin.

“Paul brings many years of experience in trusts and estates planning, probate and fiduciary disputes,” said Jonathan Gopman, chair of Akerman’s Trusts & Estates Practice. “He will be a trusted resource for clients who need help navigating the delicate situations that often arise in family-related disputes and wealth preservation strategies.”

Collins has more than 30 years of experience in the planning and administration of trusts and estates, both domestic and international.

“His particular strength is in fiduciary litigation, such as contested probate and accounting matters, guardianships, disputes over inherited property, and the construction of wills and trusts,” the firm said in a release. “He has represented clients in the Surrogate’s Courts and other courts in New York, as well as Connecticut courts, and often seeks to resolve disputes through mediation or arbitration.”

Collins has represented various charitable organizations in establishing and then advising on their ongoing operations. He has also administered the estates of a number of authors and artists.

Collins joins one of the country’s leading tax teams, according to Law360, which recently named Akerman “Tax Practice Group of the Year” for achieving some of the greatest client successes in the industry. Akerman’s Tax Practice Group continues to see rapid growth in the New York market. Collins is the sixth partner to join the office since January, including labor and employment litigators Bran Noonan and Sarir Silver from Gordon & Rees; corporate lawyers Lorenzo Borgogni from Proskauer Rose and Jack Habert from Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and real estate transactions lawyer Dianne Greenberg Penchina from DGP Partners.

Former Sprint Corp chief executive William Esrey and former chief operating officer Ronald LeMay sued the United States government for allegedly concealing its investigation into accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP’s promotion of tax shelters sold to the executives, Reuters is reporting.

The suit involves a 2002 Internal Revenue Service investigation into Ernst & Young’s promotion of tax shelters to its clients, including the two executives and settled the audit with EY in July 2003, without informing the executives, the lawsuit said.

The plaintiffs alleged that the IRS helped EY conceal the details of investigation from them, which meant they could not defend themselves against allegations by Sprint about their participation in the EY-promoted tax shelter schemes, Reuters reports.

Read the article.

Donald Trump is facing some tax and legal challenges that could complicate his bid for the White House, reports Bankrate.

“Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, has asked the IRS to look into a donation from the Trump Foundation to a group connected with the Florida attorney general. CREW contends that the gift was improperly made to a political group and was not reported as required on the foundation’s tax filing,” the article says.

The Donald J. Trump Foundation is a tax-exempt organization with an IRS 501(c)(3) designation.

Read the article.

Schiff Hardin LLP announces that Marcy L. Rosen has joined the firm’s Ann Arbor, Michigan, office as an associate in the Tax Group. Rosen advises individuals and businesses on tax planning and controversies at the local, state, and federal levels.

Before joining Schiff Hardin, Rosen was a senior attorney in the Detroit office of an international law firm where she focused on state and local tax controversies and commercial litigation. In addition to her law practice, she serves as Co-Chair of the Federal Bar Association for the Eastern District of Michigan’s Diversity Committee, Regional Board Member of the Anti-Defamation League, and as an active member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Pro Bono Initiative.

“Schiff Hardin is a nationally renowned firm with a sophisticated tax practice,” said Rosen. “With this in mind, I knew the firm was the right choice to take my practice to the next level.”

She earned her J.D. (2004) from the University of Michigan Law School. She earned a B.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan (2001).

Will you or your law firm practice be affected by this week’s compromise by Congressional leaders regarding taxes and deductions if it becomes law (which is currently anticipated)?

Accountant Steven Bankler has outlined which “Extenders,” both for business and individuals, are being made permanent, and also which “Extenders” are being extended through 2016 and which are extended through 2019.

In an analysis published on his website, he has outlined how those extenders apply to businesses and to individuals.

Read the report.

U.S. House of Representatives Republican and Democratic negotiators reached a deal late Tuesday on a $1.1 trillion spending bill and a huge package of tax breaks, reports The New York Times.

“Legislative drafters, racing a midnight deadline, met the time limit for issuing the tax package but apparently missed it for the spending bill. That could push back a vote on the House floor by one day, until Friday,” according to the report.

“Since the Republicans took back control of the House in 2011, a majority in the party has routinely opposed compromise budget and spending measures, forcing party leaders to rely on Democrats for votes to clear the bills. All signs indicate that the same dynamic is playing out now.”

Read the report.

Growing concern from lawmakers and increasing press on the relative lack of historic IRS attention on large partnerships is driving a shift toward an increased number of partnership-level audits with potential dramatic changes in partnership procedure on the horizon.

In a free on-demand webinar from Latham & Watkins, Washington, D.C. partners Miriam Fisher and Brian McManus and Houston partner Tim Fenn address the growing discussion around the increase in large partnership audit activity.

This presentation provides an overview of the key issues and legal considerations associated with an increase in such audits and how they are likely to affect the energy sector, the firm says on its website.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

McDermott Will & Emery has prepared a white paper on energy-related provisions in his recently released budget proposal for the 2016 fiscal year.

President Obama’s proposal for the 2016 fiscal year repeats many of his past energy-related tax proposals, including a permanent extension of the renewable energy production tax credit and a provision making it refundable, the report says.

The firm’s report is a summary of the key energy-related tax provisions contained in the budget proposal and discussed further in the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s general explanation of the proposal.

Download the report.

Ernst & Young has posted a free on-demand webinar on a converged standard for recognizing revenue under U.S. GAAP and IFRS introduced during 2014.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Boardissued the new converged standard.

The new standard replaces existing revenue guidance across industries, impacting most types of transactions.

On its website, Ernst & Young syas understanding the potential consequences of the new standard across your organization — beyond finance — can help you avoid unexpected issues related to your revenue recognition process.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

North American Windpower has published an article discussing a new notice from the Internal Revenue Service setting performance and quality standards that small wind turbines must meet in order to qualify for the 30% investment tax credit.

David Burton, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, wrote the article about Notice 2015-4, released by the IRS on Jan. 13.

To qualify as a small wind turbine, the turbine must have a nameplate capacity of 100 kW or less and meet any performance and quality standards specified by the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of Energy, Burton wrote. The Secretary of the Treasury has delegated this authority to the IRS, which often prefers to issue notices rather than promulgate regulations as the issuance of a notice has fewer procedural hurdles.

Read the story.

Ostrow Reisin Berk & Abrams, Ltd. will present a free seminar on Jan. 29, 2015, where speakers will be discussing topics focused on the manufacturing industry. The seminar will be held at the Union League Club of Chicago from 8:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.  with breakfast included. The address of the seminar site is Union League Club of Chicago, 65 W. Jackson Blvd., Room 700, Chicago, IL 60603.

The seminar will have three 30-minute presentations, each presented by a member of ORBA’s Manufacturing Industry Group.

There is no charge to attend this program, but seats are limited. Organizers are asking that any planning to attend register on or before Jan. 27.

Ostrow Reisin Berk & Abrams (ORBA) is a full-service accounting, tax and financial services consulting firm dedicated to helping our clients achieve their goals and build success since 1977.

Register for the seminar.

Davis & Kuelthau has published a white paper explaining a new law that retroactively extended through the end of 2014 more than 50 tax breaks that had expired on December 31, 2013. Senior attorney Mark G. Kmiecik and shareholder Robert A. Mathers wrote the paper.

On December 19, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (HR 5771). Otherwise known as the “Tax Extenders” Act, this is the law that retroactively extended the tax breaks that had extended at the end of 2013.

While there were discussions of making permanent a number of these extenders, particularly the Bonus Depreciation and Section 179 deductions, Congress ultimately passed on making any of these provisions permanent and punted the fate of the extenders to 2015 and the incoming 114th Congress. So, yes, that means that these very same provisions expired as of December 31, 2014, leaving tax practitioners with the same tax planning uncertainties in 2015.

Read the white paper.

A pair of Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate have re-introduced legislation aimed at preventing the abuse of offshore tax havens by multinational companies, reports Accounting Today.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, a senior member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a member of the Senate Budget Committee, introduced the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act on Monday. The bill would close a number of offshore tax breaks, eliminating many tax incentives for U.S. companies to move jobs and operations offshore, and modifying the rules on corporate inversions for businesses dodging U.S. taxes.

Doggett and Whitehouse introduced similar legislation in 2013, Accounting Today reports.

Read the story.

Billions of tax dollars are squandered in the United States every year because of a decades-old loophole in federal law that allows tens of thousands of businesses to do the wrong thing – simply because they’ve been doing it all along, reports the News  Observer.

The safe harbor rule, officially known as Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978, allows many companies can identify their workers as independent contractors for tax purposes even though the workers are, in fact, employees.

“Under the safe harbor rule, the company just has to have a “reasonable basis” for doing so,” the News & Observer reports. “Generally, companies must just show they’ve been doing it this way all along and that others in their industry do it the same way.”

Read the story.

Equifax Workforce Solutions will present a complimentary webinar about the latest developments in Washington affecting the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program.

The webinar will be Thursday, Nov. 20, at 1 p.m. Central time.

WOTC experts from Equifax will join lobbyist Evan Migdail of DLA Piper, who is also a consultant to the National Employment Opportunity Network, to address the prospects for renewal and as well as the actions employers need to do new to be ready for the likely re-instatement of WOTC.

Topics
–Will Congress make WOTC permanent?
–What are the key bills?
–Will Congress add new WOTC categories?
–Who are the key lawmakers and where do they stand?
–Do lawmakers understand the value of WOTC?
–What data do we have to support the effectiveness of WOTC?
–What have State Workforce Agencies been doing during the WOTC hiatus?

Register for the webinar.

Norton Rose Fulbright will present a complimentary webinar on tax considerations that optimize after-tax returns in acquisitive transactions.

The webinar will be Thursday, Sept. 4, at noon Central time.

On its website, the firm says discussion will include acquisitive corporate nontaxable reorganizations, taxable asset and stock acquisitions using Internal Revenue Code Sections 336 and Section 338(h)(10), and the unique considerations that arise when either the buyer or seller is an S corporation.

Consideration will be given to the tax sections of the primary deal documents including the seller’s tax representations and tax indemnities and the importance to the buyer of tax due diligence on the target corporation, the firm says.

Register for the webinar.

PwC offers a free on-demand webcast on the evolving country-by-country tax reporting landscape for companies involved in the extractives industry.

Understanding how your company is impacted by the latest developments in country-by-country reporting is a key issue for the extractives industry, PwC says on its website. Publicly reporting government payments brings with it a number of disclosure risks that need to be considered and carefully managed.

The webcast highlights some of those risks and suggest practical approaches to collecting and collating the key data.

Get more information and see the on-demand webcast.