On January 17, 2024, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) released a bill, the “Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024”...more
Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention of Bitcoin in 2009 opened the door to rethinking the way value can be transferred and stored. However, crypto markets have long been considered by most analysts and attorneys as the “Wild West” of...more
CYBERSECURITY - Ransomware Incident Compromises Unemployment Claim Information of 1.6M in WA - It is being reported that the Office of the Washington State Auditor (SAO) is investigating a security incident, allegedly...more
Under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) established by the CARES Act, a borrower is eligible for forgiveness of all or a portion of the principal amount of a loan made in accordance with the PPP if certain conditions...more
On July 6, 2020, the IRS issued Tax Tip 2020-80 to remind business taxpayers that, commencing with payments made in 2020, they must report any payments of over $600 per year for services by non-employees on Form 1099-NEC (for...more
On October 9, 2019, the IRS released Revenue Ruling 2019-24, which provides guidance with respect to hard forks and airdrops of cryptocurrency, and new frequently asked questions (FAQs), which provide guidance on other...more
In this first of (we hope) many posts on the interesting and myriad tax issues arising in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, we focus on the very basic U.S. federal income tax consequences of...more
Possession of virtual currency, also known as cryptocurrency, is legal in the U.S. as well as many other parts of the world. The most well-known form of virtual currency is Bitcoin. There are other virtual currencies that...more
Due to its unprecedented level of value appreciation, Bitcoin investors, consumers and businesses are looking for IRS Guidance. IRS recognizes that “virtual currency” may be used to pay for goods or services, or be held for...more
In last year’s materials, loosely styled “Make America Great Again!,” we ruminated upon (and also thought about) what role, if any, federal income taxes might play in helping to make America great again, once the interminable...more
A prominent Washington State video game company, Valve Corporation, creator of Half-Life, Counter-Strike, and Left 4 Dead, has been sued by a former employee it converted into an independent contractor as an accommodation to...more
On June 29, 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Trade Preferences Extension Act (the Act) into law. In addition to containing several revenue offsets, the Act significantly increased penalties for incorrect information...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance on July 15 aimed at curbing the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The guidance provides several examples of workers in the construction industry. ...more
Earlier Friday, it was reported by Carmel DeAmicis of re/code that Homejoy, the home cleaning start-up that uses independent contractors as their home cleaners, was closing down its operations due to four misclassification...more
Yesterday, June 12, FedEx announced in papers filed with the SEC that its Ground Division “has reached an agreement in principle with [drivers] in the independent contractor litigation that is pending in …California [federal...more
A recent online edition of New York Magazine’s “Daily Intelligencer” includes a comprehensive article on how Silicon Valley startup tech companies using “the 1099 model” may be exposed to employment, tax and benefit law...more
Today’s online edition of New York Magazine’s “Daily Intelligencer” includes a comprehensive article on how Silicon Valley start-up tech companies using “the 1099 model” may be exposed to employment, tax, and benefit law...more