Blogs

Business and Financial Services

The First Round of Opportunity Zone Fund Regulations Are Out!

Some of the highlights of the first round of proposed regulations released on October 19, 2018 in conjunction with Revenue Ruling 2018-29 are as follows: Capital Gains: The regulations take the position that only capital gains for federal income tax purposes are eligible to be invested in a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF). Thus, gains such…

October 29, 2018

Business and Financial Services

Opportunity Funds are Knocking: Let them in and Learn How They Can Work for You: Q & A

This is the next post in a series of articles diving into the new “Opportunity Fund” program. In previous posts, we described the general framework for the new Opportunity Fund program, the tax benefits to taxpayers who invest in Opportunity Funds, and how the funds work. Now, we will answer some of the more common…

August 27, 2018

Business and Financial Services

Opportunity Funds are Knocking: Let them in and Learn How They Can Work for You: How the Funds Work

This is the third post in a series of articles diving into the new “Opportunity Fund” program. In our first post, we described the general framework for the new Opportunity Fund program which you can find here. In the second post, we discussed the tax benefits to taxpayers who invest in Opportunity Funds. Now, let’s…

August 14, 2018

Business and Financial Services

Opportunity Funds are Knocking: Let them in and Learn How They Can Work for You – What Are the Tax Incentives and What Investors Need to Know

This is the second post in a series of articles wherein we will dive into the new “Opportunity Fund” program. In our first post, we described the general framework for the new Opportunity Fund program which you can find here. There are three tax benefits that investors in an Opportunity Fund can take advantage of,…

August 9, 2018

Business and Financial Services

Opportunity Funds are Knocking: Let them in and Learn How They Can Work for You

This is the first feature in a series of articles wherein we will dive into the new “Opportunity Fund” program. The recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is most widely known for changing corporate tax rates, limiting the mortgage interest and state deduction for individuals, and for providing the qualified business income pass-through…

August 6, 2018

Business and Financial Services

Internet Defamation Guide – 10 Questions to Spot or Avoid Online Defamation

As internet speech grows, so do internet defamation cases. It is easier today to ruin names, brands, and reputations with online negative statements. Yet it is also easier today to raise issues and advocate change before a widespread audience connected by the internet. These 10 questions should help an online company spot or a blogger…

August 2, 2018

Business and Financial Services

Virginia Employers: Are Your Non-Competes Enforceable?

Restrictive covenants continue to be among the most hotly contested employment law issues in Virginia. Non-solicitation and non-competition clauses are fundamentally important to a business like yours. Drafted well, they provide your company with significant legal protections against a key employee usurping the sales opportunities and client relationships developed while in your employ to start a competing business or to provide an unfair advantage to one of your competitors. However, Virginia…

August 1, 2018

Business and Financial Services

Freedom of Speech or Freedom from Defamation? – 5 Takeaways from Yelp’s Recent Court Victory

Earlier this month, California’s highest court ruled that Yelp did not have to remove defamatory posts despite having been ordered to do so. In the plurality opinion, the California Supreme Court held in Hassell v. Bird that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (“CDA”) immunized Yelp from the “take-down” order.1 The Hassell…

July 18, 2018

Business and Financial Services

DOL Explains When Employees Must Be Paid for Travel Time

Eighty years ago the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) established federal minimum wage and overtime requirements for hourly employees. The law’s basic tenet seems straightforward: Employers must pay employees for their “work.” Yet for many employers, compliance with the FLSA on issues such as employee travel time continues to be problematic because the FLSA does not really explain when an employee is at “work.” The FLSA and Portal-to-Portal Act The Supreme Court initially explained that “work”…

July 6, 2018

Business and Financial Services

First Amendment Protections For Internet Company / AI “Speech”

Freedom of speech has long applied beyond the spoken and written word. The Supreme Court has held that it applies to conduct, such as burning a flag, and it is currently considering whether it applies to the baking of wedding cakes in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. But what about internet search engine…

May 17, 2018