Microsoft Loses Its Work Product and Privilege Dispute | tax break podcast Episode 4 - a podcast by Miller & Chevalier

In this episode of tax break, hosts Loren Ponds and Steve Dixon are joined by guest Kevin Kenworthy (Chair of Miller & Chevalier's Tax Department) to discuss the upshot of the district court's decision in Microsoft's transfer-pricing case as it pertains to claims of work-product protection and section 7525 in the context of transfer pricing and international tax planning.

Microsoft lost its fight to protect tax and transfer pricing planning documents from government discovery in litigation over Microsoft's cost-sharing arrangement. There were 174 documents that Microsoft withheld on claims of work-product protection and section 7525 privilege. The district court rejected all of those claims, most notably with a wholesale rejection of any claims to the section 7525 privilege over documents prepared by Microsoft's accounting firm on the grounds that the accounting firm's planning was not protected because it was "in connection with the promotion of the direct or indirect participation of the person in any tax shelter." We discuss, in turn, the district court's analysis of Microsoft's work-product and section 7525 privilege claims.

Thanks to our guest Kevin Kenworthy for joining us: https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/kevin-l-kenworthy

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Questions? Contact us at podcasts@milchev.com.

tax break is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts.

tax break is a podcast about tax law, brought to you by Miller & Chevalier and hosted by Steve Dixon and Loren Ponds. We'll provide you with perspective on select tax issues that will go deeper than what the tax press covers, but not so deep that you’ll have to pull out your regulations or read treatises to follow along. The aim of tax break is to focus only on the tax law issues that we find interesting. Subscribe to tax break wherever you get your podcasts.

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