On March 19, 2026, in Jones Bluff, LLC v. Commissioner, 166 T.C. No. 6 (2026), the Tax Court held that a partnership could not assert due process claims to invalidate an IRS adjustment on behalf of its partners under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (the “BBA”) regime. The
Martin T. Hamilton
Martin T. Hamilton is a partner in the Tax Department. He primarily handles U.S. corporate, partnership and international tax matters.
Martin's practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, cross-border investments and structured financing arrangements, as well as tax-efficient corporate financing techniques and the tax treatment of complex financial products. He has experience with public and private cross-border mergers, acquisitions, offerings and financings, and has advised both U.S. and international clients, including private equity funds, commercial and investment banks, insurance companies and multinational industrials, on the U.S. tax impact of these global transactions.
In addition, Martin has worked on transactions in the financial services, technology, insurance, real estate, health care, energy, natural resources and industrial sectors, and these transactions have involved inbound and outbound investment throughout Europe and North America, as well as major markets in East and South Asia, South America and Australia.
Martin also regularly represents clients in tax controversies and other matters before the U.S. tax authorities.
Recent Federal Privilege Ruling Related to AI Tools Has Implications for Routine Tax Advisor Arrangements
On February 10, 2026, Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York ruled in United States v. Heppner that documents generated through a consumer version of Anthropic’s Claude AI were not protected by the attorney-client privilege or the work-product doctrine under the circumstances presented. The decision appears to be the first to squarely address privilege and work product claims arising from a non-lawyer’s use of a consumer-grade insecure, non-enterprise AI tool for “legal research,” as well as the potential consequences of inputting privileged information (provided to an individual by counsel) into an AI tool. However, putting the novelty of the AI context aside, Judge Rakoff grounded his analysis in traditional privilege principles: that disclosure of privileged communications to a third party in circumstances that undermine confidentiality (here, the corporation operating the AI tool) may result in waiver. And that an AI tool is just that – a tool, not an attorney. Accordingly, this decision reinforces the importance of only using properly secured AI tools with confidential or privileged information and for decisions about using AI in the privileged context to be made by those who best appreciate the risks involved: i.e., lawyers.
Treasury and the IRS Release Final and Proposed Regulations on Section 892
I. Introduction
On December 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) published final regulations (the “Final Regulations”) and proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) under section 892.[1] The Final Regulations finalize, with modifications…
How Relevant Is It? The Economic Substance Doctrine According to Liberty Global and Patel
I. Introduction
Should courts respect a transaction for tax purposes, when it otherwise complies with the technical requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations? When should a court take the next step and consider the economic substance of a transaction and its motivations?
In two highly-awaited court decisions…
President Trump Signs One Big Beautiful Bill Act into Law
I. Introduction
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “Act”) into law.[1] The Act is similar to the Senate Finance Committee’s draft legislative text (the “SFC Bill”) (released on June 16, 2025), with several modifications and omissions. The Act’s key differences from…
Tax Court Breaks New Ground on the Deductibility of Termination Fees with AbbVie Ruling
On June 17, 2025, the Tax Court opinion in AbbVie Inc. and Subsidiaries v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue was issued,[1] holding that the approximately $1.6 billion termination fee AbbVie (a Delaware corporation) paid to its abandoned merger partner Shire plc (an Irish company) was properly an ordinary deductible business…
Proposed Changes to Interest Rate Tax Treatment for RICs
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “OBBBA“), passed by the U.S. House of Representatives (the “House“) on May 22, 2025, is a comprehensive legislative package that seeks to implement sweeping reforms in tax policy, immigration, healthcare, and infrastructure as part of the federal budget reconciliation…
One Big Beautiful Bill Passed by the House
On Thursday May 22, the House of Representatives passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1, hereafter the “Bill”). The Bill will now be considered by the U.S. Senate.
The following is a summary of some of the key provisions that have been changed from the version…
One Big Beautiful Bill: Update on Provisions for Sports Industry
Update (7/11/2025): On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act (the “OBBBA”). Consistent with the earlier draft bill released by the Senate, the OBBBA did not include either of the two proposed changes that would have been particularly relevant for the sports industry…
The One Big Beautiful Bill: Tax Reform 2025
On May 18, 2025, the House Budget Committee approved the legislation entitled, “The One, Big, Beautiful Bill” (the “House Bill”). The bill is expected to be revised by the House Rules Committee before being sent to the House floor for a vote.
The House Bill extends…