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Lynn Nichols from Nichols Patrick CPE provides the weekly update on the latest federal tax issues. The FICPA provides CPE that you can use at your business, for details see www.ficpa.org/cpe.  The podcast this week covers the following:

1. Congress Passes Highway Bill With $20 Billion in Revenue Raisers
   (Tax Notes Today; Article by Matthew M. Gleeson; 7/2/2012)
   Congress on June 29 gave final approval to a highway transportation conference report    that raises $20.4 billion in gross revenue largely through pension reforms.
         
   Conferees Summarize Highway Bill Report
   (Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of the Conference)
   The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21, H.R. 4348) would highway funding and taxes through fiscal 2014 and raise revenue by stabilizing pension funding, extending the transfer of excess pension assets, and expanding the definition of a tobacco manufacturer, according to a summary released by House and Senate conferees.
   
   
2. Buyer of Property at Sherriff’s Sale Had Constructive Notice of Tax Liens
   (United States v. Bedros Boghossian et al.; No. 2:10-cv-11426; USDC E MI; 6/28/2012)
   A U.S. district court granted the government summary judgment in an action to enforce tax liens against real property that had been sold in a foreclosure sale, finding that the liens against the previous owner were valid and the buyer of the property had constructive notice that the property was encumbered by tax liens.
         
3. Tax Consequences of Proposed Voting Trust Similar to FLP
   (LTR 201226019; 2/16/2012; rel. 6/29/2012)
   The IRS ruled that a trust will be classified as an investment trust during the lives and after the deaths of the settlors of the trust, that during the settlors' lives it will be a permissible S corporation shareholder and qualified voting trust, and that after their deaths their estates will be considered successor grantors of the voting trust.
         
4. IRS Advises on Estate Installment Plan Case
   (ECC 201226027; 4/20/2012; rel. 6/29/2012)
   In e-mailed advice, the IRS determined that the Tax Court has jurisdiction under section 7479 to review the examination division's section 6166 determination that the amount of deferred payment of estate tax should be reduced; the IRS provided guidance on the issue for a particular case.
         
5. Rental Activity Deductions Limited to Amount of Gross Income
   (Rodolfo Velasquez v. Commissioner; CA 9; No. 11-72290; 7/5/2012)
   The Ninth Circuit affirmed the Tax Court's holding that an individual had an income tax deficiency, finding that the Tax Court properly found that deductions attributable to renting a home were limited to the gross income derived from the rental activity.