Tax Blog

Last week, the Fifth Circuit in Matter of Diaz invalided a bankruptcy court rule that would have required that taxpayers make available to creditors any current or projected tax refund in excess of $2,000.  Docket No. 19-50982 (5^th Cir., Aug. 26, 2020).

The perfect storm is developing for this issue to affect a growing number of taxpayers.  Due to the economic downturn during the Coronavirus pandemic, a record number of bankruptcies is anticipated.  Also expected is a potentially unprecedented number of tax refunds as a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ...

For companies that have implemented employee layoffs in the past several years and made severance payments to terminated employees, the prospect of eligibility for federal tax refunds for any FICA taxes withheld from such payments took another step forward with the Sixth Circuit’s January 4th denial of the government’s petition for rehearing en banc in United States v. Quality Stores (Civil No. 10-1563, 6th Cir. 2012).

The rehearing petition was filed after a government loss in September of last year in which the appellate court affirmed a lower court’s decision that ...