Fall 2020 • Vol
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Texas Tax Lawyer A Tax Journal Fall 2020 • Vol. 48 • No. 1 www.texastaxsection.org TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM OUR LEADER: The Chair's Message Lora G. Davis, Davis Stephenson, PLLC SPECIAL ATTENTION: Submit a Nomination – Outstanding Texas Tax Lawyer Award Nomination Form ARTICLES: • Back from the Dead: The Return of the NOL Carryback: a discussion of the effect and tax planning opportunities created by the CARES Act Harold “Hap” May, Harold “Hap” May, P.C. • CARES Act Guidance for Coronavirus-Related Distributions and Loans Felicia A. Finston, Wilkins Finston Friedman Law Group L.L.P. William M. Fisher, Wilkins Finston Friedman Law Group L.L.P. Lina A. Wilkins, Wilkins Finston Friedman Law Group L.L.P. • Navigating the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application, Lender Review and Government Audit Process, and Corresponding Tax Consequences Juan F. Vasquez, Jr., Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, P.C. Jaime Vasquez, Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, P.C. Victor J. Viser, Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, P.C. • Tax Law 2020: Criminal Tax Update Michael A. Villa, Jr., Meadows, Collier, Reed, Cousins, Crouch & Ungerman, L.L.P. • Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation “Recent developments are just like ancient history, except they happened less long ago.” First Wednesday Tax Update, June 3, 2020 Bruce A. McGovern, Professor of Law and Director, Tax Clinic, South Texas College of Law Houston 1 • Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation “Recent developments are just like ancient history, except they happened less long ago.” First Wednesday Tax Update, August 5, 2020 Bruce A. McGovern, Professor of Law and Director, Tax Clinic, South Texas College of Law Houston • Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation “Recent developments are just like ancient history, except they happened less long ago.” First Wednesday Tax Update, September 2, 2020 Bruce A. McGovern, Professor of Law and Director, Tax Clinic, South Texas College of Law Houston • Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation “Recent developments are just like ancient history, except they happened less long ago.” First Wednesday Tax Update, October 7, 2020 Bruce A. McGovern, Professor of Law and Director, Tax Clinic, South Texas College of Law Houston PRACTITIONER’S CORNER: • New Proposed Carried Interest Regulations: Implications to the Private Equity Energy Industry Brandon L. Bloom, Thompson & Knight, L.L.P. • Guidance Issued Regarding Deductions of Trusts and Estates Carol Warley, RSM US LLP Rebecca Warren, RSM US LLP • The SECURE Act: The Pros, the Cons, and its Practical Application to Estate Planning + Lessons Learned in the Pandemic Laurel Stephenson, Davis Stephenson, PLLC Shannon Bonn, Davis Stephenson, PLLC 2 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT SUBMISSIONS: • Comments Regarding Proposed Regulations on Proposed Regulations under Section 1061 Committee on Government Submissions SECTION INFORMATION: • 2020 – 2021 Calendar • Tax Section Council Roster • Tax Section Committee Chair and Vice Chair Roster The name and cover design of the Texas Tax Lawyer are the property of the State Bar of Texas Tax Section 3 Dear Fellow Tax Section Members: Fall is here and despite some the challenges of 2020, the Tax Section continues full steam ahead! With all of the tax law changes, I suspect that most of us are busier than a moth in a wool mitten! If you haven’t had a chance to reach out and help others during these trying times, please don’t forget that the CARES Act has provided a great incentive to give to public charities by allowing taxpayers who don’t itemize deductions to take a charitable deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions made in 2020 to qualifying organizations. If you haven’t yet taken advantage of this tax break, don’t miss out on your chance to do so by the end of the year. After all, every great tax attorney loves a tax break! Thank you to our new Texas Tax Lawyer editor, Aaron Borden, who has put together this edition of the Texas Tax Lawyer. We hope you benefit from the informative and interesting articles included in this edition. Tax Section Annual Meeting In case you missed it, the Tax Section held its Annual Meeting and CLE program on Friday, June 26th. The Tax Section was honored to have IRS Commissioner Charles P. Retting as a speaker. In addition, John Strohmeyer and Matthew Myers spoke on Pre- Immigration Tax Planning. Bill Elliot continued his Texas Tax Legends series with a wonderful interview of Emily A. Parker. We had remarkable “attendance” at our virtual meeting and are hopeful that the format allowed many who would not have been able to travel to the meeting to attend in the comfort of their own home or office. Thank you to everyone who worked so diligently to make the online format such a success! Next year’s Annual Meeting is scheduled to take place on Friday, June 18, 2021. Whether the meeting occurs in person in Fort Worth as planned or online, the Tax Section is again planning a half-day format so that members can take advantage of offerings from other sections, including the plenary luncheon if we are in person. There is sure to be an outstanding line up, so please mark your calendars and plan to attend! Planning for the 2020-2021 Section Year The new officers met via Zoom on August 5, 2020 to begin planning for the year. In addition, the Officers, Council, and Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs met on September 11, 2020. There was much discussion about how to continue to offer networking and Continuing Legal Education to Tax Section members during these interesting times. International Tax Symposium Due to extenuating circumstances, the 23rd International Tax Symposium has been postponed until 2021. First Wednesday Tax Update Bruce McGovern, Professor of Law and Director, Tax Clinic, South Texas College of Law Houston, continues to provide his popular monthly tax update, with monthly attendance that regularly exceeds 100 Tax Section members. In November, Professor McGovern welcomed guest speakers Laurel Stephenson, Tax Section Council Member, Davis Stephenson, PLLC and Shannon Bonn Weber, Davis Stephenson, PLLC, to present on the SECURE Act. Professor McGovern will return in December. There will be no presentation in January due to the holiday break. Below are some important reminders about the Monthly Update. The registration link is sent via eblast about a week before the first Wednesday of the month. The registration link can also be found at the Texas Tax Section website a week before the update. A member cannot sign up for the update once the live broadcast has begun. If for any reason you do not receive the eblast, you can register by going to the Texas Tax Section website. Members are now required to self-report their CLE credit as we are unable to report on your behalf due to the virtual nature of the presentation. The CLE number will be provided in both an email to all registrants and at the end of the update. The recorded program is posted online in the 24/7 Library about 2 weeks after the live program. Members can log in to the Texas Tax Section website to watch it for CLE credit. Annual Comptroller Briefing Planning for the Tax Section’s Annual Comptroller Briefing in 2021 is underway. Stay tuned for more information. Additional Online CLE programming A very special thank you to Council Members Abbey Garber and Audrey Morris for their outstanding presentation “Zooming into Tax Court” on September 29, 2020. Audrey and Abbey brought in the first two litigants in Texas to try a case in Tax Court online. These litigants shared invaluable insights into how to best utilize the technology and made suggestions to ensure everything runs smoothly. The program is now available in the 24/7 Library. The Tax Section is planning to offer its members additional online CLE programming this year. The State and Local Tax Committee is planning quarterly SALT updates that should be available soon. In addition, a new state property tax virtual presentation is in the planning stages. If you have suggestions for topics of interest for future presentations, please contact me or any member of the CLE Committee of the Tax Section. Tax Law in Day Tax Law in a Day is a seminar specifically designed to provide information on a wide variety of basic tax topics. Renesha Fountain, Tax Section Council member, and Harriet Wessel are planning Tax Law in a Day, which is scheduled as a virtual meeting over two days, February 4 and 5, 2020. If you are interested in presenting a CLE during that program or have suggestions for topics or speakers, please reach out to Renesha or Harriet. Committee on Government Submissions The Committee on Government Submissions continues its work under the leadership of Sam Megally, Jason Freeman, and Josh Prywes. On October 5, 2020, the Committee submitted comments to the Internal Revenue Service regarding the Proposed Regulations relate to Section 1061 of the Code. This project was the result of great collaboration among several committees. The principal drafters of the comments were Lee S. Meyercord and Nathan T. Smithson, Co-Chairs of the Partnership and Real Estate Tax Committee, Andrew E. Botts, Brandon L. Bloom, Todd Lowther, Julia Pashin, and Jeff Wallace, members of the Partnership and Real Estate Tax Committee, and Carol G. Warley, Chair of the Estate and Gift Tax Committee. Mary A. McNulty, past Chair of the Tax Section and member of the Partnership and Real Estate Tax Committee, also reviewed the Comments and provided substantive suggestions. The comments are included in this edition. On November 9, 2020, the Committee provided comments to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts on draft proposed 34 Tex.