Intel Unit's Tax Appeal: Only One Judge Really Matters

Intel subsidiary Altera Corp.'s cost-sharing structure—and that of other Silicon Valley companies—lies in the hands of one appellate court judge: Susan Graber. The judge's questioning during recent oral argument in the company’s dispute with the IRS could signal a victory for the government, but all agree Altera probably wouldn’t take that lying down. Will the company find itself at war again over whether it’s going to be forced to include stock compensation in its U.S. taxable income? And what about the controversy sparked over handling opinions by judges who die or otherwise become unavailable before the court is done with a case? In this week’s special edition of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax reporter Sony Kassam and legal editor Carolina Vargas get reactions to this second go-round in the Ninth Circuit and take a look at what's ahead. This episode features Patrick Smith, a partner at Ivins, Phillips & Barker; Barbara Mantegani, a tax adviser and founder of Mantegani Tax; Calvin Johnson, a professor at the University of Texas in Austin; and Susan Yorke, an attorney at the California Appellate Law Group. This episode is the final part of a three-part series examining the case. Hosts: Sony Kassam and Carolina Vargas Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch