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Full-Text Articles in Law

Tax Court Find Stars Transaction Lacks Economic Substance, Robert D. Probasco, Lee S. Meyercord Mar 2013

Tax Court Find Stars Transaction Lacks Economic Substance, Robert D. Probasco, Lee S. Meyercord

Faculty Scholarship

In Bank of New York Mellon Corp. v. Commissioner, the Tax Court found that a structured trust advantaged repackaged securities (“STARS”) transaction entered into by BNY Mellon lacked economic substance, and disallowed foreign tax credits of $199 million as well as transactional expenses of $8 million. BNY Mellon is the first test case to emerge from the IRS’s attempts to disallow tax benefits to several financial institutions that participated in the STARS transaction.

The STARS transaction is one of a number of different transactions that the IRS refers to as “foreign tax credit generators.” These transactions generally rely on inconsistent …


Recent Irs Guidance Provides A Degree Of Certainty For 403(B) Plans, Gregory L. Needles, Christina Payne-Tsoupros Jan 2013

Recent Irs Guidance Provides A Degree Of Certainty For 403(B) Plans, Gregory L. Needles, Christina Payne-Tsoupros

Journal Articles

The IRS has released long-awaited guidance expanding the availability of self correction for 403(b) plans and opening the pre-approved plan program. On Dec 12, 2012, the IRS released Rev. Proc. 2013-12, 2013-4 IRB 313, which expanded its self-correction program -- the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) -- for 403(b) plans. On 3/28/13, the IRS issued Rev. Proc. 2013-22, 2013-18 IRB 985, opening its 403(b) pre-approved plan program. The broader scope of correction under Rev. Proc. 2013-12 is a welcome relief to 403(b) plan sponsors, who may now take advantage of EPCRS to remedy mistakes and avoid plan disqualification in …


Justice For All: Reimagining The Internal Revenue Service, David J. Herzig Jan 2013

Justice For All: Reimagining The Internal Revenue Service, David J. Herzig

Law Faculty Publications

The ability of the Internal Revenue Service to both collect the tax and enforce the initial determination of tax liability in a neutral and fair manner has been compromised by a February 2011 pronouncement issued by the Department of Justice stating that the President and the Department of Justice believe that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and that the Department of Justice will no longer defend the statute in courts. The pronouncement results in a disparate treatment of similar taxpayers based solely on the forum of litigation. Through this lens, I examine whether it is …


Navigating Tefra Partnership Audits In Multi-Tiered Entity Structures, Mary A. Mcnulty, Robert D. Probasco, Lee S. Meyercord Jan 2013

Navigating Tefra Partnership Audits In Multi-Tiered Entity Structures, Mary A. Mcnulty, Robert D. Probasco, Lee S. Meyercord

Faculty Scholarship

The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) established a unified procedure for determining the tax treatment of partnership items at the partnership level rather than the partner level. Although these rules addressed a serious and real administrative problem in the assessment of partnership level deficiencies, they also created a complex process with many new problems and potential traps. One particularly unique set of challenges arises in the context of multi-tiered entities.

Multi-tiered entities are partnerships that have a partnership or other pass-through entity as a partner. The pass-through partner is commonly referred to as a “tier,” and …