Plan Administrator’s Denial of Disability Benefits Found to Be An Abuse of Discretion, Attorneys Fees Awarded

While ERISA plan administrators’ discretion in interpreting a plan are generally given deference by the courts, there is a limit—and in the case of Rote v. Titan, CA8 Nos. 09-2510/28900, the administrator was found to have abused that discretion. The case came at the end of what was a long strike for the union that [...]

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Street Lights Properly Classified As Seven Year Recovery Property By Utility

In PPL Corporation v. Commissioner, 135 TC No. 8, the IRS lost its argument that an electric utility could not depreciate street lights over a seven year period under MACRS. The IRS argued such street lights were properly categorized under asset class 49.14, Electric Utility Transmission and Distribution Plant (with a recovery period of 20 [...]

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The first steps…

The first steps to Building your Client’s Financial Foundation  Is your client’s financial foundation stable? While most of us prefer to discuss investment strategies initially, a very important precursory step needs to occur first. A solid financial foundation enables individuals and families to create security in which to build upon. The three most important components [...]

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Transaction Treated as Sale of Stock, Built-In Gain Tax Triggered

A taxpayer found that the transaction he entered into to attempt to delay gain recognition to get outside the built-in gain period of his S corporation failed to succeed in the case of Anschutz Company v. Commissioner, 135 TC No. 9.

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IRS Held Liable for Fees When Agent Failed to Consult IRS Copy of Return

A failure of the IRS to consult their own copy of the tax returns filed by the taxpayer for prior years was held sufficient in Burgess v. Commissioner, TC Summary Opinion 2010-98, to grant the taxpayer a partial award of fees.  The examination in question began in April 2007 and was concluded with the issuance [...]

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Being Too Busy With Other Financial and Tax Matters to Remember a Rollover Not Good Enough to Get Relief

In PLR 201029025 the IRS refused to grant an extension of time to make a rollover of a distribution from a retirement plan beyond 60 days for a taxpayer who simply had such a complex financial and tax situation occurring at the time of the transaction that he failed to note the funds did not [...]

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How Does Someone Become a Great Leader?

After reading Gary Cohen’s Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions, I discovered the answer was simple: just ask. Well, it may not be that simple, but it sure is a great start.

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Appraisal for Conservation Easement That Relied on Discount Based on Tax Court Decisions Found Fatally Flawed

The issue was the taxpayer’s appraisal report in the case of Scheidelman & Perry v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2010-151.  Because the appraisal failed to meet the standards for a qualified appraisal, the taxpayer lost the entire charitable deduction claimed for a conservation easement

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Marriage Costs Couple Two Homebuyer Credits

The IRS often gets asked by the offices of various members of Congress to write explanatory letters which they can then forward to their constituents asking about various issues.  Amusingly, most often the letters are simply explaining why the bad result exists primarily due to how the law is written (meaning very often what their [...]

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Whether Land on Building Was Owned or Leased Held to Determine If Transactions With Landlords Were Sales

In Technical Advice Memorandum 201027045, the IRS Chief Counsel’s office determined that the issue of whether a taxpayer owned the land on which it constructed buildings would determine whether or not its transfers of buildings would be treated as sales. The taxpayer in the case was a retailer who had two methods of building stores [...]

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