Tax Monitor

U.S. Supreme Court Holds That West Virginia Tax Exemption Unlawfully Discriminates Against Federal Law Enforcement Retirees

April 7, 2019

The United States Supreme Court recently put an end to West Virginia’s practice of exempting pension income of certain State law enforcement officers from the State’s income tax while disallowing the exemption for similarly situated federal retirees.  At issue was a provision in the State’s tax code that exempts from West Virginia income tax pension payments received from a number of pension funds…

Estate Planning Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

January 22, 2018

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Tax Act”) into law which makes significant changes to the estate, gift, and generation skipping taxes.

The Tax Act doubles the estate, gift, and generation skipping tax exemptions to approximately $11.2 Million per person for 2018, which provides significant relief for high net worth individuals and families with valuable…

Tax Deferred Annuities – Heightened Fiduciary Scrutiny

November 14, 2016

Over the last several years, much has been written in connection with the surge of “excessive fee” litigation against Section 401(k) plans.  The surge continues and has now been extended to Section 403(b) plans which are often referred to as Tax Deferred Annuities.  One commentator estimates that over twenty class action excessive fee litigation cases were filed during the first quarter of 2016…

Employee or Independent Contractor? That is the Question

February 11, 2016

The federal government continues to focus on what various agencies refer to as “misclassified” employees -- workers who should be treated as employees but whom the employer classifies as independent contractors. Many businesses prefer to utilize independent contractors rather than employees. With independent contractors, businesses are not subject to FICA/FUTA obligations, federal and state…

Increased Limited Liability Company Tax Audits Are Coming

January 7, 2016

The increase in usage of limited liability companies (“LLCs”) as the business form of choice has led to changes in the IRS statutes concerning audits of LLCs. On November 2, 2015, President Obama signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (“BBA”) into law. The BBA brings drastic changes to the audit process of partnerships which will allow the IRS greater enforcement and collection authority in…