Business Related Issues
Business Related Issues / Memorandum Opinions / Tax Opinions

Tribune Media Company v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2021-122

On October 26, 2021, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Tribune Media Company v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2021-122). The primary issue presented in Tribune Media Company v. Commissioner was whether the Ricketts family (a partner of the petitioner in “Chicago Baseball Holdings, LLC”) entered into a “bona fide debt” for tax purposes. (You may remember these parties from the January 2020 decision of Chicago Baseball Holdings v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2020-2). Held: The Tax Court found the petitioner’s argument as futile as the Chicago Cubs were between 1907 and 2016. Background to the Debt Structure in Tribune Media Company v. Commissioner Despite its ups and downs, your fearless editor still views baseball as America’s pastime. I should add that I have been a Red Sox fan since birth, and so I understand the futility, the heartbreaks,[1] and the triumphs of the Cubs more than most casual…

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November 5, 2021
Taxing, Briefly
Taxing, Briefly
Taxing, Briefly

Can the Government Take My Tax Refund?

A maxim for today: The Government giveth, but more often it taketh away. Within the last two weeks, I have been approached and asked by multiple folks, "Can the government take my tax refund?" In this Taxing, Briefly article, we'll discuss offsetting tax refunds to pay other state and Federal obligations. If you overpay tax to the government (due to over withholding or some other fortuitous circumstance), you are entitled to a refund of this overpayment. If you owe a liability for previous year or otherwise, the U.S. government has the ability to “offset” your tax refund against any liability you may have. What’s more, the IRS may offset your refund due to past-due support;[1] debts owed to other federal agencies;[2] past-due, legally enforceable State income tax obligations;[3] and unemployment compensation debts.[4] The Mechanics of Refund Offsets The Department of Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service issues tax refunds, and Congress…

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November 4, 2021
Business Related Issues
Business Related Issues / Memorandum Opinions / Tax Opinions

Goldberg v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2021-119

On October 19, 2021, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Goldberg v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2021-119). The primary issue presented in Goldberg v. Commissioner was whether Mr. Goldberg is prohibited from now challenging his underlying tax liabilities because of his failure to challenge an earlier Notice of Federal Tax Lien Filing and Your Right to a Hearing under IRC § 6320 or because of his nonparticipation in an even earlier TEFRA proceedings and Tax Court litigation. Held: Sorry, Ronny. You had your shot(s). Background to Goldberg v. Commissioner Ronald Goldberg, the petitioner in this case, was a partner in two oil and gas partnerships. The partnerships were both subject to audit and litigation procedures under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) (IRC § 6221 through IRC § 6234),[1] which resulted in administrative adjustments to the partnerships’ information returns. Because partnerships are…

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November 3, 2021
Taxing, Briefly
Taxing, Briefly
Taxing, Briefly

Donation-Based Crowdfunding

Background to Donation-Based Crowdfunding You’ve seen it on Facebook countless times. A tragedy occurs to a friend of a friend, and your (first level) friend sets up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the poor unfortunate souls. An old friend approached me not too long ago. Her brother needed an organ transplant, but because he majored in circus at Florida State (no joke…well, a circus major is, itself, a joke), her brother had no insurance. Her other brother (from the same mother) started a GoFundMe page to raise the $50k needed for the surgery. My friend, we’ll call her Matie, has somewhat of a worrywart of a father, and he did what every armchair lawyer would do. He Googled the tax consequences of crowdfunding. As he read through the numerous message boards, he came upon something that concerned him greatly. If a crowdsourcing campaign raises over $20k or has…

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November 3, 2021
Procedural Issues
Full Tax Court Opinions / Procedural Issues / Tax Opinions

Insinga v. Commissioner
157 T.C. No. 8

On October 27, 2021, the Tax Court issued its opinion in Insinga v. Commissioner (157 T.C. No. 8). The primary issue presented in Insinga v. Commissioner was whether the Tax Court’s jurisdiction over a whistleblower petition filed under IRC § 7623(b)(4) was extinguished by the death of the petitioner-whistleblower. Held: Heck no; whistle on whistler. Background to Insinga v. Commissioner Pursuant to IRC § 7623(b)(4), the petitioner filed a timely petition in the Tax Court for review of an adverse determination of the IRS Whistleblower Office (“WBO”) regarding his claims for an award. His claims and petition sought awards in connection with eight target taxpayers and ninety-four transactions. Subsequently, the petitioner amended the petition to include only two such taxpayers, though it is unclear how many transactions these two ne’er-do-wells were responsible for. The petitioner in Insinga v. Commissioner died in March 2021. Seizing on this rather fortunate turn of events, the…

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November 1, 2021
Income Tax Issues
Income Tax Issues / Memorandum Opinions / Tax Opinions

Dodd v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2021-118

On October 5, 2021, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Dodd v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2021-118). The primary issue presented in Dodd v. Commissioner were whether the petitioner was liable for the unpaid tax related to unreported IRC § 1231 gain Holding: Indeed she was. Background to Dodd v. Commissioner During 2013, the petitioner in Dodd v. Commissioner was employed as the office manager of a law firm in Washington, D.C. During 2013, and continuing at least until 2020, the petitioner was also a member of Cadillac Investment Partners, LLC (Cadillac). The petitioner was the managing member of Cadillac and held a 33.5% share of its profit, loss, and capital account. As managing member, the petitioner regularly signed agreements, tax returns, and other documents on Cadillac's behalf. The managing partner of the firm, for which the petitioner worked, held the remaining 66.5% interest in Cadillac's…

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October 25, 2021
Penalties Under the Code
Memorandum Opinions / Procedural Issues / Tax Opinions

Crim v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2021-117

On October 4, 2021, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Crim v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2021-117). The primary issue presented in Crim v. Commissioner was whether the penalties assessed against the petitioner for promotion of abusive tax shelters under IRC § 6700(a) were assessed the period of limitations on assessment had expired. Author's Note: If you read nothing else, I beg you to read the Post Script, where I describe the esteemed (and in-no-way-ironical) authorship of John Michael Crim... Initial Observation in Crim v. Commissioner Although not addressed directly in the Tax Court’s opinion of Crim v. Commissioner, one has to wonder if the petitioner’s last name (Crim) was short for what he was (a convicted tax criminal).  We’re just saying…  For that matter, given Mr. Crim's weighty literary provenance, it is, perhaps, the most fortunate given nom-de-plume in history. Background to Petitioners’ Misdeeds During 1999-2003,…

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October 22, 2021