Top Federal Tax Decisions Of 2025
Over the past year, federal courts have issued decisions that extended the deadline for challenging tax bills in the U.S. Tax Court, allowed the IRS to pursue a woman's decades-old tax debt caused by her return preparer and lifted a $1 million reporting penalty because a jury didn't sign off. Here, Law360 reviews some of the most significant federal tax decisions of 2025.
Top International Tax Cases Of 2025
Government tax administrations came up short in some of the biggest international cases decided this year, including Denmark's challenge to a British trader it accused of deceiving the tax authority into paying thousands of improper refunds. Here, Law360 examines seven of the year's top international tax cases.
Fiscal Year 2026 State Tax Revenues Look Shaky, Experts Say
States are cutting back on general fund spending and setting their budgets on a more defensive footing in fiscal year 2026, according to policy experts, in anticipation of slower tax revenue growth after years of record-setting growth.
Federal More
Restaurant franchiser FAT Brands, its former CEO and other executives told a California federal judge on Tuesday that they reached a deal to resolve the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's civil claims t... (more story)
Importers faced novel levels of uncertainty in 2025 as President Donald Trump introduced several new tariff actions during his second term, including some that prompted importers to challenge a law used to aut... (more story)
The Sixth Circuit vacated a nearly $7 million restitution order against a pharmaceutical salesman convicted of healthcare fraud, finding an Ohio federal court erred in calculating that amount and apportioning liability.
A bipartisan draft bill in the U.S. House would modernize the federal tax code for digital assets, its backers said, by establishing a "commonsense tax treatment" for regulated payment stablecoins, clarifying ... (more story)
Britney Spears is challenging the IRS over the more than $720,000 it assessed against her in 2021, telling the U.S. Tax Court that the agency improperly increased income she received through her pass-through entity.
It would be an "administrative problem" to issue tariff refunds in the aftermath of a potential U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the White House's trade measures, a top economic policy official said.
Tax valuation and advisory firm Andersen Group Inc. has closed a $202 million initial public offering, marking a rare IPO that required legal teams to navigate uncommon structural and governance challenges, ac... (more story)
State & Local More
Interest Grows In Little-Used NY Child Care RE Tax Break
After New York increased a little-used property tax break for landlords of child care centers, and extended its application window through 2027, both landlords and child care providers are showing more interes... (more story)
NFL's Chiefs Moving To $3B Stadium In Kansas
The Kansas City Chiefs are leaving their longtime home in Missouri to play in a new, $3 billion stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, that state's governor and the NFL team announced.
Colo. Forecasts Revenue Decrease In Current Fiscal Year
Colorado's general fund revenue is expected to decline in the current fiscal year, with corporate tax revenue falling because of slow business activity and the effects of the federal budget legislation signed ... (more story)
Chicago Mayor Allows $16.6B Budget Without Head Tax
Chicago's mayor said Tuesday that he will neither sign nor veto the City Council's $16.6 billion budget, which does not contain the $33-per-employee monthly tax on larger employers he sought, meaning it will t... (more story)
Mass. Panel OKs $300M Real Estate Transfer Fee Hike
Massachusetts would double its real estate transfer fees under a bill advanced by a legislative committee that would raise an estimated $300 million annually to fund affordable housing and climate mitigation efforts.
NY Gov. Hochul Vetoes Letting Employer Orgs Alter Tax Base
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed legislation that would have allowed professional employer organizations to include certain expense reimbursements in their tax calculations, a change that would have involved ... (more story)
Ill. To Up Sales Taxes To Fund Transit Without Billionaires' Tax
Illinois will redirect sales tax revenue and increase certain sales tax rates and tolls to stave off a projected shortfall in transit funds under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker that excluded a pr... (more story)
Calif. Appeals Court Upholds Los Angeles' Mansion Tax
A property transfer tax that adds 4% to 5.5% to the cost of Los Angeles real estate deals of more than $5 million is legal under the U.S. and California constitutions, a state appeals panel ruled, upholding a trial court.
The Answer, In A Word, Is Federalism: SALT In Review
From the treasury secretary's view of states that resist conformity to a proposed retroactive tax on California's billionaires, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
After New York increased a little-used property tax break for landlords of child care centers, and extended its application window through 2027, both landlords and child care providers are showing more interes... (more story)
The Kansas City Chiefs are leaving their longtime home in Missouri to play in a new, $3 billion stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, that state's governor and the NFL team announced.
Colorado's general fund revenue is expected to decline in the current fiscal year, with corporate tax revenue falling because of slow business activity and the effects of the federal budget legislation signed ... (more story)
Chicago's mayor said Tuesday that he will neither sign nor veto the City Council's $16.6 billion budget, which does not contain the $33-per-employee monthly tax on larger employers he sought, meaning it will t... (more story)
Massachusetts would double its real estate transfer fees under a bill advanced by a legislative committee that would raise an estimated $300 million annually to fund affordable housing and climate mitigation efforts.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed legislation that would have allowed professional employer organizations to include certain expense reimbursements in their tax calculations, a change that would have involved ... (more story)
Illinois will redirect sales tax revenue and increase certain sales tax rates and tolls to stave off a projected shortfall in transit funds under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker that excluded a pr... (more story)
A property transfer tax that adds 4% to 5.5% to the cost of Los Angeles real estate deals of more than $5 million is legal under the U.S. and California constitutions, a state appeals panel ruled, upholding a trial court.
From the treasury secretary's view of states that resist conformity to a proposed retroactive tax on California's billionaires, RSM's David Brunori offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news.
International More
The Biggest UK Commercial Fraud Cases In 2025
Denmark's stinging defeat in a £1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) tax fraud claim and a U.K. Supreme Court ruling that widens the net for individuals who facilitate fraud are among the defining moments in the biggest... (more story)
Trade Court Remands Canada Lumber Duty Calculation Again
The U.S. Commerce Department again failed to sufficiently justify how it calculated a subsidy rate in an antidumping duty administrative review for a Canadian exporter of softwood lumber products, the U.S. Cou... (more story)
How Fractional GCs Can Manage Risks Of Engagement
As more organizations eliminate their in-house legal departments in favor of outsourcing legal work, fractional general counsel roles offer practitioners an engaging and flexible way to practice at a high leve... (more story)
Taxation With Representation: Baker Botts, Morgan Lewis
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Trump Media and Technology Group merges with fusion power company TAE Technologies, pharmaceutical company Cencora boosts its stake in cancer care company OneOncolo... (more story)
Polsinelli Lands Glaser Weil Tax Pro In Los Angeles
Polsinelli PC is expanding its business team, bringing in a tax pro from Glaser Weil as a shareholder in its Los Angeles office.
Czech Republic, Estonia Shift To Backing Min. Tax Deal For US
The Czech Republic and Estonia have shifted to supporting the proposed U.S. exemption from the global minimum tax's international provisions at the global tax policymaking body hosted by the Organization for E... (more story)
How OECD Tax Update Tackles Mobile Workforce Complexity
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s recently updated model tax convention — a recalibration of international tax principles in response to an increasingly mobile workforce — should prom... (more story)
Denmark's stinging defeat in a £1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) tax fraud claim and a U.K. Supreme Court ruling that widens the net for individuals who facilitate fraud are among the defining moments in the biggest... (more story)
The U.S. Commerce Department again failed to sufficiently justify how it calculated a subsidy rate in an antidumping duty administrative review for a Canadian exporter of softwood lumber products, the U.S. Cou... (more story)
As more organizations eliminate their in-house legal departments in favor of outsourcing legal work, fractional general counsel roles offer practitioners an engaging and flexible way to practice at a high leve... (more story)
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Trump Media and Technology Group merges with fusion power company TAE Technologies, pharmaceutical company Cencora boosts its stake in cancer care company OneOncolo... (more story)
Polsinelli PC is expanding its business team, bringing in a tax pro from Glaser Weil as a shareholder in its Los Angeles office.
The Czech Republic and Estonia have shifted to supporting the proposed U.S. exemption from the global minimum tax's international provisions at the global tax policymaking body hosted by the Organization for E... (more story)
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s recently updated model tax convention — a recalibration of international tax principles in response to an increasingly mobile workforce — should prom... (more story)