Income Tax

August is Like Sunday

As far back as I can remember, the end of August has always elicited a sense of dread comparable to what many schoolchildren, and a fair number of adults, experience every Sunday afternoon.

In retrospect, I cannot say that this feeling of doom was ever fully warranted.[i] Still, its presence has been undeniable, and it is especially palpable this year, and for good reason.  Continue Reading New York’s Tax Treatment of Compensatory Restricted Stock and Dividends in the Hands of a Nonresident Executive

Bon Voyage?

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.[i]

Also during that period, some acquaintances took advantage of the so-called “golden visa” programs still being offered by a handful of European Union members.[ii]

A few clients gave up their U.S. citizenship, or their status as permanent residents of the U.S. (green card holders), and paid the resulting exit tax.[iii]Continue Reading Swapping Foreign Real Properties On a Tax Deferred Basis

Notice of Deficiency

Over the years, I have observed there is only one thing that a taxpayer fears more than being notified by the IRS that their income tax return for a particular taxable year has been selected for audit, and that is being notified that the IRS has determined the taxpayer owes additional tax,[i] plus interest[ii] and penalties,[iii]  for such year.

A taxpayer who has received a timely[iv] notice of deficiency[v] is generally presented with three basic options:Continue Reading Missing the Tax Court’s 90-Day Deficiency Deadline – Now What?

Tax Season

As we approach the deadline for paying federal individual income taxes and, generally, for filing the returns on which such taxes are determined, some of you may be recalling how the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 appropriated billions of dollars[i] to the IRS to bolster enforcement of the Code, including hiring more enforcement agents, providing legal support, and investing in “investigative technology.”Continue Reading An Inveterate Golfer At the IRS

What Corporate Shield?

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 corporations?

I, for one, would not. Over the years, I have both experienced and read about many situations in which shareholders realized too late that the “limited liability” protection the corporate shield affords them under a state’s business corporation law goes only so far, even in cases where the corporation is respected as a separate legal entity.[i]Continue Reading Shareholder-Transferee Liability for a Corporation’s Income Tax

Mixing Holidays With Business

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 Dis-Union with family or friends. Then there were some who, having overheard in the midst of the merrymaking how someone else had implemented what sounded like a wonderful tax-saving strategy, resolved to do the same themselves for 2024.[i]Continue Reading The Family Business – Compensating Family-Employees

Tax the Rich

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 earners, partnerships, and large corporations.

According to the IRS, not only will the agency add a significant number of new employees, especially examiners, it will also introduce the use of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to identify persons who may be skirting their tax obligations.Continue Reading Hospitals and Community Benefit: Senators See a Shortfall

Last Week

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.[i] The case, Moore v. United States, comes out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.[ii] The Supreme Court recognized the national significance of the case and granted cert in March of this year.[iii] Within less than two weeks of the taxpayer’s having filed its brief with the Court,[iv] about 25 amicus briefs were filed in support.[v]Continue Reading Supreme Court to Decide: No Realization Means No Moore Income Tax?

“Once More Into the Breach”[i]

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 nation’s tax laws.”[ii]

The IRS added that its efforts “will be driven with the help of improved technology as well as Artificial Intelligence that will help IRS compliance teams better detect tax cheating.”Continue Reading Self-Employment Tax and the Limited Partner – Substance Over Form, or Something Else?

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 it was the year before, at least to the extent it relates to me. That said, there is something about entering the final “stretch” of the year that makes me more anxious than usual.  

After years of trying to determine the root cause of this condition, I recognized that it had nothing to do with the beginning of the school year, as I had initially surmised,[i] nor with the pressure to collect delinquent accounts before the year end,[ii] which I find to be the most unpleasant of responsibilities.[iii] Continue Reading Withholding Taxes: Deferred Comp and Services Overseas