Haste Makes Waste?
How many of you are suffering from Build Back Better Fatigue? Seriously, it’s a thing.
Sure, the House passed its version of the President’s tax and spending bill on November 19, and the Senate...more
12/9/2021
/ Beneficiaries ,
Business Ownership ,
C-Corporation ,
Capital Gains Tax ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Good Faith ,
IRS ,
Reorganizations ,
Restructuring ,
S-Corporation ,
Sale of Assets ,
Shareholders ,
Target Company ,
Tax Increases ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Ways and Means Committee
Not Selling Your Business This Year?
Beginning shortly before the House Ways and Means Committee released its version of the President’s Build Back Better plan, several posts on this blog have explored the uptick in M&A...more
11/29/2021
/ Arms Length Transactions ,
Business Ownership ,
Buy-Sell Agreements ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Equity ,
Estate Tax ,
Fair Market Value ,
Family Businesses ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Life Insurance ,
Liquidity ,
Mergers ,
Partnerships ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Purchase Agreement ,
Tax Increases ,
Transfer of Assets ,
Ways and Means Committee
Tax the Rich?
The President’s plan for a tax regime that would ensure the rich pay their “fair share” of the cost of implementing his programs has come one step closer to being realized . . . maybe . . . well, sort of ....more
11/23/2021
/ Adjusted Gross Income ,
C-Corporation ,
Capital Gains ,
Capital Gains Tax ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Estate Tax ,
Gift Tax ,
Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) ,
Income Taxes ,
Infrastructure ,
Inter Vivos Gifts ,
IRS ,
Mark-To-Market ,
Net Investment Income ,
Social Security Taxes ,
Tax Code ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Returns ,
Transfer Taxes ,
Valuation ,
Wealth Tax
Same old in D.C.-
On Monday, November 15, the President will sign into law the approximately $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was finally passed by Congress when the House approved the Senate’s...more
11/15/2021
/ Beneficiaries ,
Business Assets ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Dynasty Trust ,
Fair Market Value ,
Gift Tax ,
Infrastructure ,
IRS ,
Joe Biden ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Net Investment Income ,
Partnerships ,
Revocable Trusts ,
Surcharges ,
Tax Advice ,
Tax Returns ,
Taxable Exchanges ,
Taxable Income ,
Transfer Taxes ,
Valuation
Having Fun?
Hope you had a decent weekend. Perhaps you did something interesting, maybe even fun, like some end-of-season apple picking? Or maybe you had a cider donut with some hot coffee at a farm stand you stumbled upon...more
11/10/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Adjusted Gross Income ,
Capital Gains ,
Fair Market Value ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Long-Term Investment Funds ,
Mergers ,
Net Investment Income ,
Partnerships ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Reorganizations ,
Rollover Equity ,
S-Corporation ,
Sale of Assets ,
Surcharges ,
Surtax ,
Tax Deductions
It Seemed Like a Good Idea-
In July of this year, one of my partners, who chairs the board of a local grantmaking public charity, asked if I would present at a CLE program to be sponsored by the charity on October 28 (last...more
11/1/2021
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Capital Gains ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Federal Budget ,
Grantor Trusts ,
Green Book ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Like Kind Exchanges ,
Popular ,
SALT ,
Tax Increases ,
Ways and Means Committee ,
Wealth Tax
If Only-
Have you ever wondered what trajectory your career or business would have taken had you done something differently? Have you ever wished you could turn back the clock to correct a mistake, to complete an...more
It was quite a week, wasn’t it?-
Manchin-
Senator Manchin continued to attract a lot of attention.
To the dismay of his fellow Democrats, the West Virginian – who also chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources...more
10/13/2021
/ Business Ownership ,
Business Taxes ,
Capital Gains ,
Carbon Taxes ,
Clean Energy ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Debt Ceiling ,
Estate Tax ,
Estate-Tax Exemption ,
Gift Tax ,
Gift-Tax Exemption ,
Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) ,
Grantor Trusts ,
Irrevocable Trusts ,
IRS ,
Joe Biden ,
OECD ,
Pandora Papers ,
Private Equity ,
SALT ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Rates ,
Valuation ,
Ways and Means Committee
Report Card-
A couple of weeks ago, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (“TIGTA”) released a report that presented the results of its review to determine whether the IRS’s “policies, procedures and,...more
8/30/2021
/ Adjusted Gross Income ,
Compensation ,
Employment Tax ,
FICA Taxes ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Net Investment Income ,
Popular ,
S-Corporation ,
Self-Employment Tax ,
Tax Returns ,
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)
The Dog Days-
I’ve never much cared for the month of August. In New York, at least for me, the eighth month of the year – named by the Roman Emperor, Augustus, to honor himself – evokes memories of very warm, very humid...more
8/2/2021
/ Banks ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Business Losses ,
Business Ownership ,
Court of Federal Claims ,
Fair Market Value ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment ,
IRS ,
Joe Biden ,
Loans ,
Partnerships ,
Tax Increases ,
Unsecured Debt
Capital Loss-
If the amount realized by a taxpayer upon the sale of a partnership interest to a third party is insufficient to restore to the taxpayer their adjusted basis for the interest – i.e., their unrecovered...more
7/26/2021
/ Abandonment ,
Bankruptcy Trustees ,
Capital Assets ,
Capital Losses ,
Financial Reporting ,
Investors ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Liquidation ,
Partnerships ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Returns
Movement Toward Tax Increases-
You may have read last week that Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee announced they had reached a deal on a budget resolution that will enable them to bypass Senate Republicans on the...more
7/19/2021
/ 1099s ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Business Expenses ,
Corporate Officers ,
Employment Tax ,
Federal Taxes ,
FICA Taxes ,
Form 941 ,
FUTA ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Joe Biden ,
Management Fees ,
Reasonable Compensation ,
S-Corporation ,
Shareholders ,
Spouses ,
Tax Court ,
Withholding Tax
Head-Scratchers-
The Code is chock-full of provisions that will challenge the intellectual capacity, not to mention the patience, of most tax professionals. The complexity of these rules does not arise out of some sadistic...more
I Read the News Today-
Much of today’s news is dominated by the future of the Administration’s broadly defined infrastructure plan. Discussions among “those in the know” inevitably turn into debates over the wisdom of...more
6/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Infrastructure ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
S-Corporation ,
Shareholders ,
Split Dollar ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Policy ,
Tax Returns ,
Trusts
What A Ride-
No one anticipated that the Administration’s proposed tax increases would fly through Congress easily – at least no one residing in a state in which the recreational use of marijuana has not been legalized....more
6/14/2021
/ Bipartisan Agreement ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
C-Corporation ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Tax ,
FICA Taxes ,
Financial Adviser ,
Infrastructure ,
IRS ,
Joe Biden ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Marijuana ,
Medicare ,
Net Investment Income ,
Partnerships ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Compensation ,
S-Corporation ,
Shareholders ,
Social Security Taxes ,
Wealth Tax
Recap-
Last week, we considered several of the revenue proposals included in the Biden Administration’s 2022 Budget that are probably of interest – or should we say, “of concern”? – to the owners of closely held...more
6/7/2021
/ C-Corporation ,
Capital Contributions ,
Capital Gains Tax ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Compensation ,
Fair Market Value ,
Federal Budget ,
Gift Tax ,
Green Book ,
Hedge Funds ,
Income Taxes ,
Investment Partnerships ,
IRS ,
Joe Biden ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Long-Term Investment Funds ,
Partnerships ,
Profits Interests ,
S-Corporation ,
Tax Equity ,
Tax Equity Partnership ,
Transfer Taxes ,
Valuation ,
Vested Benefits
Extra, Extra!-
Last Friday afternoon, as millions of unsuspecting Americans prepared for the long Memorial Day weekend – for many, perhaps, their first mask-less holiday celebration in almost 15 months – the Biden...more
6/2/2021
/ Adjusted Gross Income ,
Biden Administration ,
C-Corporation ,
Capital Gains ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Dynasty Trust ,
Fair Market Value ,
Family Businesses ,
Federal Budget ,
Fiscal Year ,
Gift Tax ,
Green Book ,
Interest Rates ,
Irrevocable Trusts ,
IRS ,
Like Kind Exchanges ,
Loans ,
Long-Term Investment Funds ,
Popular ,
Public Charities ,
Revocable Trusts ,
Spouses ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Increases ,
Taxable Income ,
Transfer Taxes ,
Trust Assets ,
Trusts ,
U.S. Treasury
Tax Gap-
In a report released last week, the U.S. Treasury Department explained that the so-called “tax gap” – i.e., the difference between the amount of federal income taxes owed by taxpayers for a taxable year and the...more
5/25/2021
/ Audits ,
Business Expenses ,
Business Losses ,
Business Taxes ,
C-Corporation ,
Capital Expenditures ,
Capital Gains ,
CCA ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Enforcement ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Like Kind Exchanges ,
Long-Term Investment Funds ,
Net Investment Income ,
Partnerships ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Real Estate Investments ,
S-Corporation ,
Shareholders ,
Tax Advice ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Rates ,
Taxable Income ,
U.S. Treasury
Ask the owner of a closely held business to describe their most recently recurring nightmare and you are likely to get an earful regarding the prospect of an increased federal income tax on their profits, an increased federal...more
5/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bona Fide Purchaser ,
Capital Gains ,
Cash Transactions ,
CCA ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Estate Tax ,
Fair Market Value ,
Federal Taxes ,
Income Taxes ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Joe Biden ,
OCC ,
Promissory Notes ,
Tax Advice ,
Tax Deferral ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Liability ,
Unsecured Debt
A Night to Remember?
Did you listen to the President’s speech last Wednesday? He addressed a joint session of Congress to pitch the Administration’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan. Due to COVID-related...more
5/3/2021
/ Capital Assets ,
Capital Gains ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Estate Tax ,
Fair Market Value ,
Gift Tax ,
IRS ,
Joe Biden ,
Liquidity ,
Qualified Small Business Stock ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Liability ,
Taxable Income ,
Wealth Tax
“Yeah, I’m the Tax Man”
Last week, several media outlets reported that Mr. Biden will soon propose that Congress increase the federal income tax rate applicable to long-term capital gains recognized by individual...more
4/26/2021
/ American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) ,
Baby Boomers ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Business Assets ,
Business Ownership ,
Business Taxes ,
Capital Gains ,
Census ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Depreciation ,
Economic Downturn ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Joe Biden ,
Loans ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Personal Property ,
Popular ,
Retirement Funds ,
Tangible Property ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Reform ,
Tax Relief Act of 2010 ,
Tax-Free Transfers ,
Taxable Income
The New York state budget deal announced yesterday includes a workaround of the temporary federal limit on state and local tax deductions (the SALT cap). The provision was part of Gov. Cuomo’s initial budget proposal in...more
4/7/2021
/ Business Income ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Itemized Deductions ,
New York ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
S-Corporation ,
SALT ,
Shareholders ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Taxable Income
According to Justice Learned Hand, “Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to...more
4/5/2021
/ Business Expenses ,
Business Taxes ,
Capital Gains ,
Enforcement ,
Estate Tax ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Infrastructure ,
IRS ,
Joe Biden ,
New York ,
Qui Tam ,
Shell Corporations ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Audits ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Wealth Tax ,
Whistleblowers ,
Withholding Tax