Eversheds Sutherland 11th Circuit Business Blog
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Tax Penalty May Be Communicated to Taxpayer Prior to Required Supervisory Approval

In Kroner v. Commissioner, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 25650 (11th Cir. Sept. 13, 2022), the court reversed a U.S. Tax Court decision to hold that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) did not violate section 6751(b) of the Internal Revenue Code when it obtained supervisory approval prior to the assessment of a tax penalty, even though the penalty was communicated to the taxpayer prior to...

Equitable Estoppel Unavailable to Require Reimbursement from Treasury of Taxes Paid Under Protest

In Affordable Bio Feedstock, Inc. v United States, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 20577 (11th Cir. July 26, 2022), the Eleventh Circuit held that the taxpayer was not eligible for reimbursement of protest payments made to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) because “payments of money from the Federal Treasury are limited to those authorized by statute.” The sole issue before the court was...

Treasury Department Conservation Easement Regulation Invalidated

In an important development in the ongoing litigation over taxation of conservation easements, Hewitt v. Commissioner, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 38555 (11th Cir. Dec. 29, 2021), invalidated a U.S. Treasury Department regulation issued in 1986 for failure to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act.  The panel reversed a United States Tax Court’s decision, and remanded the case for...

Conservation Easements with a Limited Reservation of Development Rights Are Potentially Deductible

In Pine Mountain Preserve LLLP v. Commissioner, 2020 WL 6193897 (11th Cir. Oct. 22, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit was asked whether a grantor’s reservation of limited development rights prevents a conservation easement from satisfying the requirements to claim a charitable deduction under the qualified conservation contribution rules of section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code. In an...

Existence of a Golf Course Does Not Prevent Tax Deduction for Conservation Easement

In Champions Retreat Golf Founders, LLC v. Commissioner, 2020 WL 2462534 (11th Cir. May 13, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit was asked to review whether the grant of a conservation easement over a golf course was made “exclusively for conservation purposes”—a requirement to receive a charitable contribution deduction. In an opinion by visiting Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the Northern District...

How Accountable Are You for Your Accountant’s Tax Fraud? The Eleventh Circuit Decides Not to Answer.

In Finnegan v. Commissioner, 2019 WL 2428109 (11th Cir. June 11, 2019), the Eleventh Circuit was asked to review whether a taxpayer may be indefinitely held responsible for the fraud of its paid tax return preparer. It is a question of special interest to small business owners that rely on an outside accountant to help with their taxes. Ultimately, the court chose not to answer the...

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