When it comes to federal tax matters, an important aspect of risk management includes making sure that the statute of limitations on tax assessments will expire. This is particularly important for tax years where there is a potentially contentious issue or debatable reporting position taken on the treatment of a material item. However, increasing reporting burdens imposed on international activities coupled with exceptions to the statute of limitations heighten the ... Keep Reading »
District Court Doesn’t Apply Economic Substance Doctrine to Transaction Where Taxpayer’s Sole Motive Was Tax Avoidance
Judge Schiltz of the U.S. District Court of Minnesota recently issued an opinion in Wells Fargo & Co. v. United States, that qualifies as a key development in the law of economic substance. Taxpayers have battled the government for decades over the precise contours of the judicially-created doctrine often advanced by the government and employed by the courts to deny tax benefits of particular transactions that comply with the strict terms of the Tax Code, but which ... Keep Reading »