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Louis Vlahos

Louis Vlahos practices tax law and has extensive experience in corporate, individual and partnership income taxation, and in estate and gift taxation, including tax planning, ruling requests and tax controversy.

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Goodbye New York

Late last year, the U.S. Census Bureau released data showing population shifts across the country during 2021.[i] According to this information, New York lost 1.8 percent of its population.[ii]

It appears New York’s experience was not an isolated case. In a report issued earlier this month, the Tax Foundation – relying not only upon the Census Bureau’s data but also upon the data sets of some major moving companies – concluded that “[t]he picture painted by this population shift is a clear one of people leaving high-tax, high-cost states for lower-tax, lower-cost alternatives.”[iii]…
Continue Reading Leaving New York – But What About One’s New York Business?

Counting the Days?

We are 302 days away from the national mid-term elections, to be held November 8, 2022, yet the first full week of the new year has already highlighted some of the economic issues with which the Administration will have to grapple over the next few months if it hopes to have any chance of enacting at least a portion of its social spending measures and the tax increases by which it plans to finance them.…
Continue Reading Gifting Business Interests Before Selling the Business? Think Valuation

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 filing and payment obligations imposed upon taxpayers – both personal and business- or investment-related – including the extended filing due dates, one may reasonably assert there is no tax “season,” as such term is commonly understood, because tax obligations run throughout the year.…
Continue Reading ‘Tis the Season . . . to Recall Taxes?

 Down to the Wire?

“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 are observing the behavior of their representatives in Congress these last few weeks.

At this point, a number of folks are wondering whether the eviscerated version of the legislation proposed by the Administration in April of this year, and passed by the House last month[i], will be enacted into law before the end of this year, early next year, or not at all.…
Continue Reading The Tax-Deferred Rollover – Some Considerations

Haste Makes Waste?

How many of you are suffering from Build Back Better Fatigue? Seriously, it’s a thing.[i]

Sure, the House passed its version of the President’s tax and spending bill on November 19[ii], and the Senate took up the bill after its Thanksgiving recess, with Senate Majority Leader Schumer setting a Christmas deadline for its passage. During this past week, however, certain key Democrats have expressed doubts over Senator Schumer’s timeline. On December 1, the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal, said he was skeptical about Congress being able to meet that deadline. The very next day, Senator Manchin intimated that the bill may not be approved this year.[iii]…
Continue Reading Selling Your S Corporation’s Business? What If It’s Not an S Corporation?

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 activity as the owners of many closely held businesses have sought to sell them before the effective dates[i] of any new or increased federal income taxes.

In most cases, the individuals disposing of these businesses were already considering – if not yet committed to the timing of – their exit. Their concern over increased taxes,[ii] however, has accelerated the decision to sell for many; increased taxes translate into fewer net proceeds and a lower return on their years of investment.[iii]…
Continue Reading Not Selling Despite Tax Increases? Review the Buy-Sell Agreement Among Owners

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 . . . at least in part. You know, half a loaf (unless it’s whole wheat) is better than none. Voting strictly along party lines,[i] the House of Representatives on Friday[ii] morning passed an approximately $1.75 trillion version of Mr. Biden’s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan by a vote of 220 to 213.[iii]…
Continue Reading One Step Closer to “Building Back” – Where Do Federal Transfer Taxes Stand?

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 version of the legislation on November 5. According to various reports, an estimated $6 billion of this monumental sum will find its way into Senator Manchin’s West Virginia:

“[Manchin] said $3 billion will go to federal highway programs in the state; nearly $200 million will go to complete Corridor H of the Appalachian Development Highway System, which is known within the state as the Robert C. Byrd Highway System; $190 million for statewide transit; $43 million for state airports and $700 million to rehabilitate abandon [sic] mine lands.”[i]

…
Continue Reading Gift Transfers: Not on the Congressional Agenda, But Still in the Crosshairs of the IRS

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 on your way back from attending a football game at a small college? That said, few experiences are better than a midafternoon walk in a quiet park under a blue sky, with the sun on your back like a blanket wrapped over your shoulders to fend off the autumn chill.…
Continue Reading Selling to Private Equity? Maybe You Should “F Reorg” First