Supreme Court Denies Review in Historic Boardwalk and Entergy

The Court this week denied the government’s petition for certiorari in the Entergy case.  As explained in our prior post on the PPL decision, this ruling was inevitable in the wake of the Court’s decision for the taxpayer in PPL.  The denial of certiorari now cements Entergy’s victory in the Fifth Circuit.

The Court also denied certiorari in Historic Boardwalk, the historic rehabilitation tax credit case decided in the government’s favor by the Third Circuit.  See our previous reports here.… Read More

Supreme Court Rules for Taxpayer in PPL

[Note: Miller & Chevalier filed a brief in this case in support of PPL on behalf of American Electric Power Co.]

The Supreme Court this morning unanimously ruled in favor of PPL in its case involving the creditability of the U.K. Windfall tax.  See our prior coverage here.  The opinion was authored by Justice Thomas, with Justice Sotomayor adding a separate concurring opinion.

The Court’s opinion is fairly succinct.  Viewing the government’s position as more formalistic, the Court stated that it would “apply the predominant character test [of the foreign tax credit regulations] using a commonsense approach that considers … Read More

Government Brief in Woods Due on May 30

We previously reported on the Court’s grant of certiorari in Woods, noting that the government’s opening brief would be due on May 9.  If you are looking for the brief, be advised that the Court has extended the filing date until May 30.  The taxpayer’s brief will be due July 22.… Read More

Government Response Filed in Historic Boardwalk

The government has filed its brief opposing certiorari in Historic Boardwalk.  The government characterizes the decision as resting “on a fact-bound examination of the agreements between the parties” that presents no legal issue of broad applicability warranting Supreme Court review.  The brief responds at length to the taxpayer’s argument that the court of appeals misapplied Commissioner v. Culbertson, 337 U.S. 733 (1949), maintaining instead that “the court of appeals properly applied the framework set forth in Culbertson.”

As we previously noted, the taxpayer faces an uphill battle because the Court rarely hears technical tax cases over … Read More

When Characterizing Golfer’s Endorsement Income, Image Matters

As a follow-up to our posts on the Goosen case regarding sourcing of a golfer’s income from sponsors (see here), we provide this update on the case involving golfer Sergio Garcia.  While they were not technically related cases, the significant overlap in issues and facts—not to mention witness testimony—meant that the outcome in Goosen partially determined the outcome in Garcia.

Both cases involved the character of the golfers’ endorsement income.  Coincidentally, the golfers each had an endorsement contract with the same brand—TaylorMade.  The golfers both argued that the lion’s share of the endorsement income was royalty income … Read More

Time to Seek Certiorari in Quality Stores Further Extended Until May 31

The Chief Justice has granted the government a second extension of time to file its petition for certiorari in Quality Stores.  See our previous coverage here.  The petition is now due May 31.  By statute, the time to petition for certiorari can be extended for a maximum of 60 days, so the government is now about at the end of its rope, and it will surely fish or cut bait by the current May 31 deadline.… Read More

Two Amicus Briefs Filed in Loving, Including One by a Group of Former IRS Commissioners

[Note:  Miller & Chevalier member and former Commissioner of Internal Revenue Lawrence B. Gibbs is among the five former Commissioners who filed an amicus brief in support of the Government in the Loving appeal.]

Five former IRS Commissioners filed an amicus brief in support of the Government’s appeal of the district court decision invalidating the IRS’s registration regime for paid tax return preparers.  The former Commissioners “take no position regarding whether the manner in which the Treasury has chosen to regulate tax return preparers is advisable, but they strongly disagree with the District Court’s view that Congress has not empowered … Read More

Briefing Complete in Sophy on Treatment of Mortgage Interest Deduction for Non-Married Couples

The Government has filed its brief in the taxpayers’ appeal to the Ninth Circuit of the Tax Court’s decision that the mortgage interest deduction applies on a per residence rather than per taxpayer basis.  See our previous coverage here.   Section 163(h)(3) limits deductible mortgage interest to “acquisition indebtedness” of $1,000,000 and “home equity indebtedness” of $100,000.   With their Beverly Hills home and Rancho Mirage secondary residence, domestic partners Bruce Voss and Charles Sophy had considerably more indebtedness, and argued that, together, they should be able to deduct interest paid on up to $2.2 million of acquisition and home equity … Read More

Cert Petition in Quality Stores Now Due on May 3

The Supreme Court has granted the government’s request for a one-month extension to file its petition for certiorari in Quality Stores, extending the due date from April 4 to May 3.  As we have previously observed, we believe there is a strong likelihood that the government will petition in this case and that the Court will grant certiorari to resolve the circuit conflict on the treatment for FICA purposes of supplemental unemployment compensation benefits.  See our previous coverage here.

With this extension, however, the Court likely will not decide whether to grant certiorari until early October, after the … Read More

Government Files Opening Brief in Loving; Seeks Expedited Appeal

Two days after the D.C. Circuit denied its motion for stay pending appeal, the Government moved for an expedited appeal and concurrently filed its opening brief.  The Government seeks an expedited resolution of its appeal of the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Judge James E. Boasberg) invalidating a licensing regime for paid federal tax return preparers.  Under the Government’s proposed briefing schedule, briefing would be complete by May 31, 2013.  The Appellees have consented to the Government’s proposed briefing schedule.

In its opening brief, the Government argues that the tax return preparer regulations are … Read More

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