#notabank

If MoneyGram is a “bank” under the applicable Internal Revenue Code provision, it can take a large deduction that it cannot otherwise take. The Fifth Circuit did not agree with its claim to be a bank: “MoneyGram contends that when a customer buys a money order, the customer is placing funds with MoneyGram for safekeeping, at least until such time as the recipient of the money order presents it for payment. The tax court rejected this argument, likening a money order to the purchase of a gift card rather than a deposit in a bank account. We agree.” MoneyGram Int’l v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, No. 20-60146 (June 1, 2021).