It Seemed Like a Good Idea
In July of this year, one of my partners, who chairs the board of a local grantmaking public charity,[i] asked if I would present at a CLE program to be sponsored by the charity on October 28 (last Thursday). When I asked if she had a particular topic in mind, she suggested I update the group on the tax features of the President’s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan. Continue Reading The 2022 Federal Budget, Including Tax Changes – Are We There Yet?
If Only
Have you ever wondered what trajectory your career or business would have taken had you done something differently? Have you ever wished you could turn back the clock to correct a mistake, to complete an unfinished task, to approach an old project from another perspective?
Each of us has experienced such “what if?” moments in our professional or business lives.[i] Continue Reading The Tax “Do-Over” – Is There Such a Thing?
Tax the Rich?
A few days ago, an opinion piece that appeared in the Wall Street Journal[i] began as follows:
“President Biden’s effort to pass the largest tax increase in U.S. history is based on the verifiably false claim that Americans with high incomes don’t pay their ‘fair share.’ In no other country do the rich bear a greater share of the income-tax burden than they do in the U.S.”
The author briefly described data from the OECD, the Joint Committee on Taxation, and the Congressional Budget Office which, the author states, support the above claim.[ii] Continue Reading Maybe Tax the Rich, but Not The Conversion of S corps into Partnerships – What Gives?
What A Week
It was quite a week, wasn’t it?
Manchin
Senator Manchin continued to attract a lot of attention.
To the dismay of his fellow Democrats, the West Virginian – who also chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee – challenged the wisdom of a “carbon tax” (which may harm his state’s coal industry), and unequivocally stated that natural gas (a fossil fuel) must be part of President Biden’s clean energy initiative.[i]
September 2021
What was your month like?
If you’re a transactional professional – a class in which I include those who advise clients on the purchase and sale of businesses and investment assets, as well as those who assist clients in developing and implementing estate plans – it may be that the Earth’s 24-hour day, not to mention your own physical limitations, are preventing you from satisfying all your obligations as thoroughly and as quickly as you would like.[i] Continue Reading Tax Hikes, Senator Manchin, and Effective Dates – OH MY!
Where Are We?
Have you seen the Triumvirate of late? No, not Julius, Pompey, and Crassus.[i] I’m referring to more contemporary political figures, whose names and exploits are not likely to appear in volumes[ii] that will be studied throughout the world for centuries.
The lower cased “t” triumvirate of which I speak consists of President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, and Speaker of the House Pelosi.[iii] The group’s standings in polls are anemic.[iv] Not a good place for life-long politicians.
I am delighted to launch TaxSlaw – where those hungry for tax knowledge come to chow down. Those who have been following me know that I have written about tax concerns for the closely-held business for more than a decade. I hope TaxSlaw– my opus, so to speak – will take that approach to the next level … keeping you well informed and offering a chuckle once in a while. (It isn’t easy to find humor among taxes.) Scroll through and enjoy the handiwork of award-winning political cartoonist Walt Handelsman. And true fans won’t want to miss out on an opportunity to get my limited edition TaxSlaw t-shirt – while supplies last! You need to subscribe and provide your mailing address – scroll down to the link.
Thanks for joining me here. I look forward to hearing from you!
First Step
Last Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved that portion of the 2022 budget legislation with which it was tasked by the Congressional Budget resolution of August 24. The text of the bill prepared by the Committee – almost nine hundred pages long – was passed along party lines, except for one Democrat who joined her Republican colleagues to oppose the measure.[i]
Continue Reading Disposing of Assets Under The Ways and Means Committee’s Proposals
Living the Dream
“How was your weekend?” Thank you for asking. Awful.[i]
“Why?” you ask. (Humor me. Pretend you’re interested.) I’ll tell you.
One word, with 535 syllables: Congress.[ii]
When the reconciliation budget resolutions were passed by the Senate and then the House,[iii] the committees to which reconciliation instructions were given were also directed “to submit legislation to the Committee on the Budget by September 15. . . though this date is not binding.”[iv]
With its passage of the resolution, the Senate went on vacation; with its passage, the House resumed its vacation.
The Senate officially returns from its recess today, the House next Monday.
Continue Reading Tax Hikes, Effective Dates, and Selling a Business
Summertime in Washington
On August 11, the Senate passed the $3.5 trillion budget resolution for the 2021-2022 fiscal year – S. Con. Res. 14, as amended – by a vote of 50 to 49, strictly along party lines, including Democratic Senators Manchin and Sinema who have repeatedly questioned the wisdom of such an expensive measure. The Senate’s overview[i] of the budget resolution began as follows:
On July 13th, 2021, the Senate Budget Committee, with the support of Leader Schumer and President Biden, announced a framework agreement of $3.5 trillion in FY2022 Budget Reconciliation instructions to enact the Build Back Better agenda. The agreement calls for the $3.5 trillion in long-term investments to be fully offset by a combination of new tax revenues, health care savings, and long-term economic growth. In addition, the agreement would prohibit new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year, and on small businesses and family farms.
Then, on August 24, the House also passed the budget resolution – H. Res. 601 – by a vote of 220 to 212, also strictly along party lines, including every Democrat who threatened to vote against the resolution unless it included a provision that repealed the cap on the SALT deduction, and including those moderates who threatened to oppose the resolution unless the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill was enacted first, all of whom submitted to the Speaker.[ii] Continue Reading Tax Increases Are In Sight