President Obama’s most recent budget proposes several changes to the conservation easement deduction. The Internal Revenue Code allows taxpayers to claim a deduction for the contribution of a qualified real property interest to a qualified organization to be used strictly for conservation purposes. I.R.C. § 170(h). Individual taxpayers may generally claim a conservation easement deduction

A three-judge panel of the D.C Circuit Court is in the process of deciding on whether the 1% IRC § 4371 foreign excise tax (FET) applies to retrocession transactions between foreign entities. The Court heard oral arguments on February 20 in Validus Reinsurance Ltd. v. United States (No. 14-5081) to determine whether to uphold the

The IRS recently issued Notice 2015-16, which initiates the process of developing regulations under section 4980I of the Internal Revenue Code. Congress enacted section 4980I as part of the Affordable Care Act. The section applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and it imposes a 40% excise tax on any excess benefit provided

In questions submitted to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, Senate Finance Committee member and U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) sharply criticized the IRS Office of Chief Counsel for undermining the IRS whistleblower program. Grassley voiced his concern over the three main issues hampering the whistleblower program: slowdown of payments, undermining of the whistleblower program by IRS

The IRS recently issued Revenue Procedure 2015-20, which makes it easier for small businesses to apply the new repair and maintenance regulations. The new regulations clarify when taxpayers must deduct as opposed to capitalize expenses incurred for acquiring, maintaining, repairing and replacing tangible property. Prior to the IRS’s issuance of the final regulations, courts applied

Captive Insurance Companies (CIC) are insurance companies created to insure the risks of related entities. Utilizing a CIC allows the insured to better protect itself from risk while having more control over the insurance provided. Under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 831(b), small insurance companies for which the premiums do not exceed $1.2 million are

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Paul Ryan, R-Wis, recently stated that Congress has until the 2015 August recess to make progress on comprehensive tax reform. While Ryan stated that comprehensive tax reform will occur in phases over a one to three year period, he believes the first steps must be taken by August. Among