Mention the “tax season” and most folks think of the weeks leading up to the April 15 deadline for filing one’s federal individual income tax return and paying the associated income tax. Truth be told, given the number of...more
“I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.” – Pres. Ronald Regan-
That line probably describes the exasperation with which many Americans...more
12/14/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Business Ownership ,
Capital Gains ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Fair Market Value ,
Federal Budget ,
Income Taxes ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Stocks ,
Target Company ,
Tax Code ,
Tax Deferral ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax-Free Exchanges
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
Tax the Rich?
A few days ago, an opinion piece that appeared in the Wall Street Journal began as follows:
“President Biden’s effort to pass the largest tax increase in U.S. history is based on the verifiably false...more
10/18/2021
/ Built-In Gains ,
C-Corporation ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Fair Market Value ,
Joe Biden ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Liquidation ,
OECD ,
S-Corporation ,
Sale of Assets ,
Shareholders ,
Tax Increases ,
Taxable Income ,
Ways and Means Committee ,
Wealth Tax
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
What was your month like?
If you’re a transactional professional – a class in which I include those who advise clients on the purchase and sale of businesses and investment assets, as well as those who assist clients in...more
10/5/2021
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Business Ownership ,
Capital Gains ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Federal Taxes ,
Joe Biden ,
Popular ,
Tax Code ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Increases ,
Ways and Means Committee
Where Are We?
Have you seen the Triumvirate of late? No, not Julius, Pompey, and Crassus. I’m referring to more contemporary political figures, whose names and exploits are not likely to appear in volumes that will be...more
9/28/2021
/ Estate Tax ,
Fair Market Value ,
Gift Tax ,
Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) ,
Grantor Trusts ,
Green Book ,
Income Taxes ,
Joe Biden ,
Obama Administration ,
Tax Code ,
Tax Legislation ,
Tax Planning ,
Trust Income ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ways and Means Committee
First Step-
Last Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved that portion of the 2022 budget legislation with which it was tasked by the Congressional Budget resolution of August 24. The text of the bill...more
9/21/2021
/ Adjusted Gross Income ,
Business Assets ,
Business Income ,
C-Corporation ,
Capital Gains ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Estate Tax ,
Gift Tax ,
Grantor Trusts ,
Investors ,
Joe Biden ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Liquidation ,
Qualified Small Business Stock ,
S-Corporation ,
Shareholders ,
Subsidiaries ,
Surtax ,
Tax Increases ,
Taxable Income ,
Valuation ,
Wealth Tax
Living the Dream-
“How was your weekend?” Thank you for asking. Awful.
“Why?” you ask. (Humor me. Pretend you’re interested.) I’ll tell you. One word, with 535 syllables: Congress.
When the reconciliation budget...more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Business Ownership ,
Business Taxes ,
Capital Gains ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Green Book ,
Income Taxes ,
Partnerships ,
Popular ,
Reconciliation ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Revenues ,
Wealth Tax
Summertime in Washington-
On August 11, the Senate passed the $3.5 trillion budget resolution for the 2021-2022 fiscal year – S. Con. Res. 14, as amended – by a vote of 50 to 49, strictly along party lines, including...more
9/7/2021
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Congressional Budget Resolution ,
Earn-Outs ,
Escrow Accounts ,
Estate Tax ,
General-Business ,
Gift Tax ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Popular ,
SALT ,
Selling a Business ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Rates ,
Transfer of Assets
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)
Welcome to the Governor’s office, Ms. Hochul. Unfortunately, congratulations are hardly in order; indeed, a wish for good luck seems much more appropriate.
I suppose you realize that the last round of tax legislation,...more
8/23/2021
/ Business Ownership ,
Capital Assets ,
Capital Gains ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Estate Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Like Kind Exchanges ,
Long-Term Investment Funds ,
New York ,
S-Corporation ,
Stock Transfer ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Legislation ,
Tax Rates ,
Transfer on Death Deed (TOD) ,
Transfer Taxes
The Calm Before?
I’m confused. For better or worse, I’m pretty sure that I am not alone.
Last week, in a letter addressed to the American people, forty-six of the fifty Republicans in the U.S. Senate indicated they...more
8/16/2021
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
C-Corporation ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debtors ,
Infrastructure ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Liquidation ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Tax Increases ,
Taxable Distributions ,
Trustees
Compare and Contrast-
Have you spoken to anybody about the infrastructure bill on which the Senate is about to vote? I know I haven’t, except to explain that Speaker Pelosi has stated the House will not consider the bill...more
8/9/2021
/ C-Corporation ,
Capital Gains ,
Estate Planning ,
Grantor Trusts ,
Infrastructure ,
Non-Resident Aliens ,
PCBs ,
Popular ,
S-Corporation ,
Small Business ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Rates
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
NH vs MA-
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court denied New Hampshire’s request that the Court exercise its original jurisdiction under the Constitution[i] to hear and resolve a conflict involving the taxation by Massachusetts...more
7/6/2021
/ Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Commerce ,
Earned Income Tax ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Non-Residents ,
Out-of-State Employees ,
Remote Working ,
SCOTUS ,
State Sovereignty ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Credits ,
Telecommuting ,
Wages