Minnesota: Commissioner of Revenue Cannot Disregard Captive REIT

Commissioner of Revenue does not have the authority to attribute income to and assess taxes on a business on the grounds that the business structured itself to comply with the relevant tax statutes and was motivated to do so solely by tax avoidance.

Read the opinion here:
HMN Financial, Inc. v. Commissioner, Docket A09-1164 (Minn. Sup. Ct. May 20, 2010).

District Court: Tax Effect of a Son of Boss Transaction Denied

In a lengthy opinion, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts disallowed the tax benefits accruing from a Son of Boss transaction promoted by KPMG and entered into by the former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Richard Egan.

Fidelity International Currency Advisor A Fund, LLC v. United States, Docket 05-40151 et. al. (D. Mass May 17, 2010)

Tax Court: No Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Assets at Death

The Tax Court rejected the government’s beneficial ownership argument and found that petitioner did not have a property interest in income producing warehouses at death.  Thus, the value of the those warehouses was not includable in his estate for estate tax purposes under Section 2031.

Estate of Fortunato v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2010-105