Prose by Tax Pros - Another Article by Hale E. Sheppard

The IRS is attacking partnerships that donate conservation easements to charitable organizations and then pass along the corresponding tax deductions to their partners. In an effort to dispense with cases quickly and avoid addressing the key issue — valuation of easements — the IRS often raises a long list of technical arguments. These generally focus on unintentional flaws with the deed of conser...

This article examines the main issues in conservation easement disputes, the arguments typically raised by the IRS, various Tax Court cases focused on conservation purpose, and a new, non-easement case that might fortify taxpayer defenses.

This article explains assessment-periods, IRS duties related to extension requests, and the findings of the recent governmental report. More importantly, it analyzes the following critical issues related to Form 872: If a taxpayer declines to grant a Form 872 during an audit, is he permanently deprived of the chance to present his case to the Appeals Office? What strategic advantages are gained by...

In light of the IRS’s new “compliance campaign,” nonresident aliens and those involved with foreign owners of U.S. real property would be wise to contact experienced tax/legal professionals in order to explore the options for proactively rectifying any issues with the IRS on the most beneficial terms available.

The IRS often shifts its resources, focusing enforcement efforts in priority areas. In recent years, the IRS has devoted considerable attention to failures to report foreign assets, charitable deductions related to conservation easements, and captive insurance companies. While these matters tend to grab headlines, the IRS continues to plod ahead, largely unnoticed, challenging other tax issues tha...

This article explains the general tax and information-reporting duties for U.S. taxpayers with international connections, the application of the exit tax, the details about the new RPCFC, and interesting issues triggered by the RPCFC that are likely unknown to many taxpayers. The IRS has implemented numerous voluntary disclosure programs over the past decade for taxpayers with international tax no...

Many people have grown weary of cases focused on penalties for failing to declare foreign accounts on FinCEN Form 114 (“FBAR”), which is understandable given all the attention heaped on this topic since 2008. However, the reality is that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) continues to aggressively impose severe FBAR penalties, while the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) regularly files lawsuits in D...

Partnerships and others under attack by the IRS as part of its “compliance campaign” against conservation easement and substantially similar transactions need to be aware of relevant Chief Counsel directives and implement appropriate defense strategies from the very start of the audit process. This article summarizes conservation easement donations and related tax deductions, identifies the partie...

The IRS has been attacking for several years what it has labeled syndicated conservation easement transactions (“SCETs”). Among the many weapons employed by the IRS are identifying SCETs as “listed transactions” in Notice 2017-10, 2017-4 IRB 544, launching a “compliance campaign” consisting of dozens of specialized Revenue Agents, featuring SCETs on the IRS’s “dirty dozen” list, and engaging in a...

This article examines the main concepts around conservation easement donations, categories of IRS attacks against partnerships, evolution of the appraiser penalty rules, and impacts of new IRS guidance. Unless somebody has been living under the proverbial rock the past few years, he is aware that the IRS is aggressively attacking “syndicated” partnerships that donate conservation easements to char...

Each FBAR case is unique, teaching valuable lessons about the evolving definition of “willfulness,” key procedural issues, etc. This article centers on two recent cases, Rum and Ott, and what they add to the dialogue on FBAR penalty defense.

This recording explains the evolving attacks against conservation easement deductions by the IRS, describes the scope and limitations of the Section 7525 federally authorized tax practitioner privilege, and identifies the theories recently raised by the IRS in its effort to gather all potentially pertinent data, including communications with accountants.

Hale E. Sheppard examines the conservation easement donation process and potential flaws with the IRS’s stringent position on “commercial forestry.”

This article identifies the U.S. tax and information-reporting duties triggered by holding foreign assets, explains several different disclosure programs currently offered by the IRS, reviews the original guidance from the IRS upon announcing the UVDP back in 2018, and analyzes important information added by the IRS in 2020.

This article provides an overview of the easement donation process, describes many of the well-known IRS enforcement techniques, and analyzes the significance of the more obscure steps, largely procedural in nature, taken by the IRS lately.

Hale E. Sheppard's article explains the conservation easement donation process, main stages of a partnership tax dispute, specific data sharing duties imposed on a TMP, recent challenges by the IRS, and allegations by the partners.