New York’s personal income tax law, like that of other states, conforms with the federal system of income taxation. The reason typically given for such conformity is to simplify tax return preparation, improve compliance and...more
7/24/2025
/ Audits ,
Compliance ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Like Kind Exchanges ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
New York ,
Partnerships ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Section 1031 Exchange ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Returns ,
Taxation
An Agency Under Siege -
The mission statement of the IRS reminds taxpayers that it is their responsibility to understand and meet their tax obligations, while it is the role of the IRS to “enforce the [tax] law with...more
6/11/2025
/ Corporate Taxes ,
Estate Tax ,
High Net-Worth ,
Income Taxes ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
IRS ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Self-Employment Tax ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Liability ,
U.S. Treasury
Every conveyance of property or of an interest in property from one person to another is prompted, or at least influenced, by economic considerations. The parties to the transaction may swap properties, or one party may...more
5/29/2025
/ Estate Tax ,
Gift Tax ,
Grantor Trusts ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Partnerships ,
Property Tax ,
Property Transaction Taxes ,
S-Corporation ,
Shareholders ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Taxable Income ,
Taxation ,
Termination ,
Transfer Taxes ,
Trust Distributions ,
Trusts
Last month, Bloomberg carried an article about a “small but growing trend” of states that are either cutting their individual income taxes or phasing them out entirely.
According to the article, the states adopting these...more
4/29/2025
/ Appeals ,
Business Entities ,
Capital Gains ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Income Taxes ,
Non-Residents ,
S-Corporation ,
Shareholders ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Liability ,
Taxation
Few provisions of the Code have a single, clear meaning that leaves no room for interpretation. Even many of those that, on the surface, appear fairly straightforward, are usually open to alternative “understandings.”...more
4/11/2025
/ 501(c)(3) ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Tax ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Nonprofits ,
Penalties ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Liability
A parent will sometimes transfer money to a child to enable the child to make an investment that the child could not otherwise make on their own. For example, the child may have identified an attractive business opportunity...more
4/1/2025
/ Borrowers ,
Estate Tax ,
Fair Market Value ,
Gift Tax ,
Interest Rates ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
IRS ,
Loans ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Trusts
According to the New York City Comptroller, the City collected approximately $1.13 billion in Real Property Transfer Tax (“RPTT”) in the FY 2024. The Comptroller’s Office has forecast that $1.21 billion of RPTT will be...more
2/27/2025
/ Charitable Organizations ,
City of New York ,
Exempt Organizations ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Nonprofits ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Real Estate Transfers ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Liability ,
Transfer Taxes
Late last year, the Office of the State Comptroller (the “OSC”) estimated that sales and use tax receipts would increase by 2.3% in the SFY 2024-2025. The OSC also projected that collections from sales and use taxes would...more
2/18/2025
/ Appeals ,
Audits ,
Business Entities ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Delinquency Status ,
New York ,
Noncompliance ,
Penalties ,
Personal Liability ,
Sales Tax ,
Shareholders ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Returns ,
Taxation
Many successful business owners attribute some part of their success to their community. For some of these owners, it is not enough to simply acknowledge this “debt”; they feel an obligation to share some of their financial...more
2/10/2025
/ Business Entities ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Donations ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Loans ,
Nonprofits ,
Private Foundations ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning
If you’ve worked with the owners of closely held businesses for even just a few years, you have realized they are only half joking when they complain about having the government as a partner. Consider how much federal, state,...more
1/28/2025
/ Business Entities ,
Business Ownership ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Partnerships ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Returns ,
Withholding Tax
You are probably aware that many employers are discarding the fully flexible, remote work policies that were forced upon them – as “nonessential” businesses – during the COVID-19 pandemic[i] and which they retained as an...more
1/22/2025
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Policies ,
Income Taxes ,
New York ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Non-Residents ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
State Labor Laws ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Appeals ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning
Just a few weeks ago, many individual taxpayers, driven by what they viewed as the relatively imminent expiration of the enhanced federal transfer tax exemptions, sought advice on how to leverage their remaining exemption and...more
1/14/2025
/ Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Federal Taxes ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Partnerships ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Returns ,
Trusts
Earlier this year the IRS announced that, as part of its larger compliance efforts begun last fall under the Inflation Reduction Act, the agency’s stepped-up enforcement activity with respect to high wealth, high income...more
10/31/2024
/ Audits ,
Compliance ,
Debt Collection ,
Deficiency Notices ,
Documentation ,
Due Process ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Overpayment ,
SCOTUS ,
Solicitor General ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tax Appeals ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Debt ,
Tax Levy ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Returns
Last Friday, New York’s Governor Hochul delivered the following remarks at the annual meeting of the Business Council of New York State:“Someone asked me today, are we going to raise income taxes? I said, ‘I’m not raising...more
9/26/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Business Taxes ,
Disallowance Defense ,
Income Taxes ,
New York ,
Non-Resident Income Taxes ,
Remote Working ,
State Budgets ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Audits ,
Tax Liability ,
Taxable Income
Over the last couple of years, several of my friends have become citizens of the country from which their parents emigrated to the U.S. Also during that period, some acquaintances took advantage of the so-called “golden...more
7/26/2024
/ Citizenship ,
Exit Tax ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Investment ,
Golden Visa ,
Green Cards ,
Income Taxes ,
Investment Property ,
IRS ,
Like Kind Exchanges ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Replacement Properties ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax-Deferred Exchanges
In less than four months, the citizens of the United States will be electing their next President to a four-year term. They will also be deciding which of the two major political parties will “control” the Senate, the House,...more
7/11/2024
/ Apportionment ,
C-Corporation ,
Conservatives ,
Controlled Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Corporations ,
IRS ,
Moore v US ,
Partnerships ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Presidential Elections ,
Repatriation ,
S-Corporation ,
SCOTUS ,
Shareholders ,
Sixteenth Amendment ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deferral ,
Tax Liability ,
Term Limits
An anonymous thinker, lost to history, is credited with having said that the unofficial motto of the IRS is, “We have what it takes to take what you have.” In some instances, the truth of the above statement is manifested in...more
5/30/2024
/ Alter Ego ,
Appeals ,
Audits ,
Bad Actors ,
Bank Accounts ,
Capital Gains ,
Deficiency Notices ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
S-Corporation ,
Sole Proprietorship ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Liens
Earlier this year, the OECD observed there has been a significant increase in global wealth inequality over the last two decades. It also acknowledged that “taxation is a key instrument . . . that governments have at their...more
5/16/2024
/ Audits ,
Capital Gains ,
Federal Budget ,
Foreign Governments ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Net Investment Income ,
OECD ,
Presidential Elections ,
Surtax ,
Tax Authority ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Tax Increases ,
Tax Liability ,
United Nations ,
Wealth Tax ,
Whistleblowers
Imagine the IRS notifies Taxpayer that they have an outstanding tax liability with respect to Tax Year, and that the agency intends to levy on Taxpayer’s property to collect the allegedly unpaid tax. Taxpayer challenges the...more
4/19/2024
/ Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Overpayment ,
Popular ,
Spouses ,
Tax Appeals ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Debt ,
Tax Levy ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Refunds ,
Tax Returns
How many times have you wished that you could undo something from your past, perhaps a string of incoherent statements made at a client dinner while slightly under the influence, or an expletive-filled email composed and sent...more
3/7/2024
/ Abrogation ,
Capital Gains ,
Cash Transactions ,
Fair Market Value ,
IRS ,
Property Transaction Taxes ,
Property Valuation ,
Reacquisitions ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Related Parties ,
Repossess ,
Rescission ,
Selling a Business ,
Tax Liability
Would you be surprised to learn that most shareholders of closely held corporations, and especially those with minority or merely passive interests, believe they cannot be held responsible for the tax obligations of their...more
2/15/2024
/ Closely Held Businesses ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability ,
Liquidation ,
Securities ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Purchase Agreement ,
Stock Sale Agreements ,
Stock Transfer ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Shelters ,
Transferees
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill on Friday, November 20, 2023, that allows New York City cannabis businesses to deduct business expenses paid or incurred in carrying on such business for purposes of determining...more
11/21/2023
/ Business Expenses ,
Business Taxes ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Schedule I Drugs ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Liability
NY Needs the Revenue-
A couple of weeks ago, the Tax Foundation released its latest “State Business Tax Climate Index,” which assesses a state’s tax system and compares it to that of other states. New York seems to be a...more
11/15/2023
/ Audits ,
Conciliation ,
Investors ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Managing Members ,
New York ,
OCC ,
Penalties ,
Personal Liability ,
Responsible Person Liability ,
Sales Tax ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Revenues
It’s not enough for the founder of a closely held business to have successfully established the business. The business has to grow, not only to increase profits, but also to make it more competitive and to diversify its...more
11/6/2023
/ Bypass Trusts ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Disclaimers ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Executors ,
Fair Market Value ,
Family Businesses ,
Gift Tax ,
Irrevocable Trusts ,
IRS ,
Marital Trusts ,
Personal Liability ,
QTIP Trusts ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Tax Liability ,
Taxation ,
Transfer Taxes ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
Uncertain Future-
The Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”) recently released some data for the federal government’s 2023 fiscal year. According to the CBO, the federal budget deficit for the year was $1.7 trillion, or...more
10/23/2023
/ Allocation of Funds ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
C-Corporation ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Debtors ,
Double Taxation ,
Federal Debt Collection ,
Interest Rates ,
Lenders ,
Net Operating Losses ,
Price Inflation ,
Pro Rata Allocation Rule ,
S-Corporation ,
Sale of Assets ,
Shareholders ,
Tax Liability ,
Taxable Income ,
Unsecured Debt