A national study released in 2015 reported that “nearly half the residential purchases of over $5 million were made by shell companies rather than named people.”[ii] Because shell companies could often be formed without...more
1/5/2024
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Business Ownership ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Department of Finance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FinCEN ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
New York ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Shell Corporations ,
U.S. Treasury ,
US State Departments
This is The End-
I have dreaded the year end for as long as I can remember. As a teenager and then as a young adult I associated the final quarter of the year, and especially the period beginning on Thanksgiving and...more
12/20/2023
/ Business Ownership ,
Capital Gains ,
Carried Interest ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Estate Tax ,
Federal Taxes ,
Gift Tax ,
Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) ,
Income Taxes ,
Investors ,
IRS ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Planning ,
Transfer Taxes ,
Trusts ,
U.S. House
The Office of the New York State Comptroller just released a new report that examines taxpayer migration trends during the pandemic. The report, which builds on an earlier analysis of pre-pandemic taxpayer migration trends,...more
12/8/2023
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Capital Gains ,
Carried Interest ,
Compensation ,
Conciliation ,
Dividends ,
Double Taxation ,
Investment Management ,
K-1 ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
New York ,
Non-Residents ,
Partnerships ,
Relocation ,
Resident Status ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Appeals ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Returns ,
Taxable Income ,
Tribunals
Hope you had a good Thanksgiving Holiday. Some of us probably feel we ate or drank either too much or not enough, watched too much or not enough football, or spent too much time discussing politics and the state of the...more
11/29/2023
/ Business Income ,
C-Corporation ,
Consultants ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Directors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Family Businesses ,
Family Members ,
IRS ,
Marketing ,
Personal Liability ,
Rental Property ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Restructuring ,
Retirement Plan ,
S-Corporation ,
Sole Proprietorship ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates
Thanksgiving has been a national holiday in the U.S. since 1870. During most of that period, at least until recently, it has also been a unifying force as immigrants to this country, eager to be assimilated to American...more
11/22/2023
/ Black Friday ,
Debt ,
Federal Taxes ,
Holidays ,
Immigrants ,
Income Taxes ,
Redistribution ,
State of the Union ,
Stock Markets ,
Tax Revenues ,
Thanksgiving
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 appears that many of the country’s colleges and universities believe they have not already contributed enough to the decline of American education and to the erosion of our society, generally.
These institutions of...more
11/9/2023
/ Activist ,
Annuities ,
Bad Actors ,
Business Income ,
Colleges ,
Dividends ,
Donors ,
Endowment Funds ,
Executive Compensation ,
Exempt Organizations ,
Federal Funding ,
Hate Speech ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Non-Taxable Income ,
Operational Requirements ,
Public Charities ,
Public Policy ,
Rent ,
Royalties ,
Student Loans ,
Students ,
Tax Benefits ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tuition ,
Universities
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
For many weeks, we’ve been hearing about the IRS’s plans to use the funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act[i] to increase and expand its compliance and enforcement efforts with respect to the wealthy, high-income...more
10/27/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Charitable Donations ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Excise Tax ,
Hospitals ,
Income Taxes ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Medicaid ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Exemptions
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
Many of you, perhaps most, may have read about a case that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court during its current term. The case, Moore v. United States, comes out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court...more
10/13/2023
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Apportionment ,
Certiorari ,
Controlled Foreign Corporations ,
Duties ,
Equitable Distribution ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Partner ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Net Investment Income ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Reinvestment Funds ,
SCOTUS ,
Shareholders ,
Sixteenth Amendment ,
Subpart F ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Taxation ,
Ways and Means Committee
It’s wonderful to be part of a successful business, especially in a strong economy. The owners are probably enjoying a more than just decent return on their investment and, in most cases, are getting along well enough. The...more
10/6/2023
/ Business Expenses ,
Business Ownership ,
Corporate Officers ,
Directors ,
Economic Downturn ,
FICA Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Medicare ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Recovery Plans ,
Responsible Party ,
Social Security ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tax Debt ,
Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) ,
Trust Funds ,
Wages ,
Willful Violations ,
Withholding Tax
Another Mess-
Congress has only a few days to avert a “shutdown” of the federal government.
It’s not looking good in the House, as Speaker McCarthy has struggled to bring certain members of the majority into line, while...more
9/29/2023
/ Business Assets ,
Capital Assets ,
Distribution Rules ,
Government Shutdown ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Liquidation ,
Partnership Interests ,
Partnerships ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Speaker of the House
Since 1995 to the present, the LLC has emerged as the entity of choice for the vast majority of entrepreneurs. This form of business entity owes its success to the flexibility and to the tax benefits that it affords its...more
9/22/2023
/ Beneficiaries ,
C-Corporation ,
Capital Gains ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Federal Taxes ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Net Operating Losses ,
Reasonable Compensation ,
S-Corporation ,
Shareholders ,
Small Business ,
Tax Liability ,
Trusts
Last week, the IRS announced “the start of a sweeping, historic effort to restore fairness in tax compliance by shifting more attention onto high-income earners, partnerships, large corporations and promoters abusing the...more
9/14/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Balance Sheets ,
Compliance ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Limited Partnerships ,
S-Corporation ,
Self Employed ,
Self-Employment Tax ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Debt ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Liability ,
Taxable Income ,
Wealth Tax
Approaching Year End-
Which holiday do you dread the most? For me, it has always been, and likely will always be, Labor Day. Of course, with each passing year, anything that I describe as “always” is less meaningful than...more
9/7/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
CFC ,
Controlled Foreign Corporations ,
Equity ,
FICA Taxes ,
Grantee ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Medicare ,
Qualified Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) ,
Remuneration ,
Selling a Business ,
Social Security ,
Stocks ,
Taxable Income ,
Taxation ,
Vesting ,
Wages ,
Withholding Tax
NY’s Almost There-
Back in June of this year, New York’s legislature passed a bill that, if enacted, would create the first state-level public database with information regarding the ownership of limited liability...more
8/24/2023
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Business Entities ,
Business Ownership ,
Civil Liberties ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FinCEN ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
New York ,
Privacy Act of 1974 ,
Tax Audits ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Reform ,
Transparency ,
US State Departments ,
Whistleblowers
Do you feel as challenged as I do when someone asks you to explain the term “Bidenomics”? I know that it is predicated upon the imposition of higher taxes on businesses and their owners, which have not yet materialized....more
8/17/2023
/ Business Ownership ,
Buyers ,
Cancellation of Debt (COD) ,
Capital Gains ,
China ,
Debt ,
Fair Market Value ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Taxes ,
Income Taxes ,
Insolvency ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Recessions ,
S-Corporation ,
Startups ,
Tax Court ,
Third-Party
Death of a Parent-
In the context of a family-owned business, it is often the case that the matriarch or patriarch of the family is also the chief executive of the business. They may have founded the business, or they may...more
8/11/2023
/ Closely Held Businesses ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Family Businesses ,
Heirs ,
Insolvency ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Spouses ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Liens ,
Tax Returns ,
Transfer Taxes ,
Trusts
Faulty Framework?
The question posed above is not intended to be rhetorical. Rather, it is one that the owners of a closely held business should consider thoroughly before transferring or committing any business assets to...more
8/4/2023
/ Charitable Donations ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Charitable Trusts ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Fair Market Value ,
Family Businesses ,
For-Profit Corporations ,
IRS ,
Nonprofits ,
Public Charities ,
S-Corporation ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Deductions
Losses Weren’t Always Bad-
Most tax advisers are aware that, prior to the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (the “TRA”),[i] the Code placed few limitations on the ability of an individual taxpayer to use deductions from a particular...more
7/27/2023
/ Business Losses ,
Capital Contributions ,
Deficit Reduction ,
IRS ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Membership Interest ,
Net Operating Losses ,
Non-Recourse Loans ,
Partnership Interests ,
Partnerships ,
Passive Losses ,
Promissory Notes ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Losses ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Reform
What Was Intended?
Transactions between commonly controlled, closely held businesses are often conducted in an informal manner. This is unfortunate because, in the absence of documentation, it is sometimes difficult to...more
7/20/2023
/ Bad Debt ,
Capital Assets ,
Capital Contributions ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Creditors ,
Debt ,
Debtor-Creditor ,
Deductions ,
Equitable Contribution ,
Equity ,
Fair Market Value ,
Fund Transfers ,
Investment ,
IRS ,
Loans ,
Ownership Interest ,
Real Estate Development ,
S-Corporation ,
Secured Debt ,
Tax Court ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Returns
It’s Complicated-
The Code includes a number of complex rules that are aimed at those overseas business and investment activities of U.S. taxpayers that Congress has determined may result in the improper deferral or...more
7/11/2023
/ CARES Act ,
Controlled Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Earned Income ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Ownership ,
Foreign Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Parent Corporation ,
Senate Finance Committee ,
Stock Ownership ,
Subpart F ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deferral
Earlier this week, the United States celebrated the 247th anniversary of its declaration of independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain, though the latter did not formally recognize the independence of its thirteen...more