July 16, 2024

"D.C. Circuit Lands Wide of the Mark in Farhy" Published in Tax Notes Federal

Alon Farhy was not the most sympathetic of taxpayers. That may explain why the D.C. Circuit was inclined to decide against him. He failed — perhaps intentionally — to file several tax forms for 2004 and subsequent years, for which the IRS eventually assessed penalties of nearly $500,000. The Tax Court held in Farhy’s favor, based on an unbiased (albeit incomplete) analysis of the relevant law. On appeal, the D.C. Circuit was apparently incapable of such judicial restraint, deciding against the admittedly noncompliant Farhy after a cursory analysis of what it thought to be the relevant law.

In an article published in Tax Notes Federal, Kevin M. Jacobs, Brendan Sinnott and Kenneth Brewer analyze the decision's impact on tax law interpretation and advocate for fair treatment of taxpayers.

READ THE TAX NOTES ARTICLE

Thought Leadership

Labor & Benefits: How to Prepare for a Successful Audit

August 5, 2025

A&M Senior Director Emily Miligan was recently a guest on the Weaver: Beyond the Numbers podcast and shared insights on how organizations can best prepare for a benefit plan audit.

Thought Leadership

Tax losses in share deals – Hidden value impacting purchase price negotiations?

August 4, 2025

In many M&A share transactions, tax losses may represent significant hidden value. But that value depends particularly on two key questions: Can the tax losses survive the transaction and can the parties mutually agree on a business plan substantiating the future usage of the potentially surviving tax losses? Our article outlines how jurisdiction-specific rules — especially Germany’s strict change-in-ownership regime — affect the usability of tax losses post-closing, whether tax losses can provide a shelter for historic tax risks and why tax losses impact purchase price negotiations.