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Newsletter + Legal Alerts
Mike King’s Corner: Stamp it©!
Author: Mike King
Issue: July 16, 2018
QUESTION: WHY WAS THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ORDERED TO PAY OVER $3.5 MILLION FOR USING A PICTURE OF LADY LIBERTY ON A STAMP??
ANSWER: THE POST OFFICE USED A PICTURE OF A COPYRIGHT PROTECTED STATUE OF LIBERTY AT A CASINO IN LAS VEGAS!
Robert S. Davidson (the “sculptor”) sued the United States acting as the U.S. Postal Service (“Postal Service”) for copyright infringement. Davidson v. United States (U.S.Ct. Federal Claims, No. 13-942 C (filed: June 29, 2018). The court of claims awarded the sculptor $3,554,946.95 plus interest as compensation for the copyright infringement by the Postal Service for putting a picture of Lady Liberty on a stamp.
Legal Alert: New Audit Rules (Part 1)
Issue: May 29, 2018
New Audit Rules: Part 1 – Who Can Opt Out?
There are changes coming, effective this tax year, that require all entities taxed as partnerships to contemplate many issues that they haven’t needed to in the past. In this multi-part series, we will outline several provisions in the new IRS audit rules that impact these entities. These changes directly affect both general and limited partnerships as well as limited liability companies that are taxed as partnerships.
The new rules were enacted by Congress in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (“BBA”) and are sometimes referred to as the BBA audit rules.
Legal Alert: New Audit Rules (Part 2)
Issue: May 29, 2018
New Audit Rules: Part 2 – The Partnership Representative
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (“BBA”) provides that partnerships and LLCs taxed as partnerships must appoint a Partnership Representative (“PR”). The PR need not be a partner or a member and will have substantially broader powers than the old Tax Matters Partner in connection with partnership audits.
The new audit rules provide that the PR has almost complete authority to act on behalf of the partnership or LLC (and therefore, effectively, the partners and members) when dealing with the IRS, without any requirement that the PR keep the partners, the members or the managers advised as to anything, even the very existence of the ongoing audit.
Legal Alert: New Audit Rules (Part 3)
Issue: May 29, 2018
New Audit Rules: Part 3 – Who Pays the Tax?
This is the third of our articles dealing with the new audit rules established for partnerships for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017. This article deals with whether, after an audit resulting in the need for additional payment to the IRS, to (a) apply the default rule of taxing the partnership during the year of the audit (the “audit year”) so that the then-current members bear the tax burden, or (b) elect to “push out” the tax to those who were partners during the year being audited (the “review year”).
Greg Gnepper Acknowledges Anniversary of “Influential” Supreme Court Decision
Author: Greg Gnepper
Issue: May 25, 2018
On May 10, we marked the 125-year anniversary of Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893). In this historic decision, the United States Supreme Court gave its definitive answer to an age-old question: Are tomatoes considered fruits or vegetables?
The case started when Congress passed the Tariff Act of 1883, which imposed a tax on imported vegetables. Mr. Nix sued the port authority for assessing the tax on his tomatoes. He cited botanical classifications and noted that tomatoes grow on vines and contain seeds—like fruit.
