Blogs

Business and Financial Services

Tax Law: Engaging Appraisers for Closely-Held Business Interests

Valuing a closely held business can become critical in tax planning, litigation, financing, succession planning, and the sale of a business. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, the analysis explains that qualified appraisers can help determine the value of closely held business interests by evaluating factors such as net worth, earning power, dividend-paying capacity, marketability, and minority ownership discounts. The article notes that…

March 1, 2012

Business and Financial Services

Details Matter: Family Limited Liability Companies and 1031 Exchanges

Family limited liability companies and Section 1031 exchanges can offer important tax and estate planning benefits, but only if taxpayers follow the technical requirements precisely. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Wills, Trusts and Estates Newsletter, Jonathan C. Kinney explains that the IRS and the Tax Court have increasingly challenged family LLCs, family limited partnerships, and 1031 exchanges when taxpayers fail to satisfy even basic procedural requirements.…

November 1, 2011

Tax Law

Portability Rule Clarified

The IRS clarified in 2011 that a surviving spouse can preserve a deceased spouse’s unused federal estate tax exemption only if the executor files an estate tax return making the portability election. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Wills, Trusts and Estates Newsletter, Jonathan C. Kinney explains that portability allows a surviving spouse to use the unused portion of the deceased spouse’s exemption, potentially increasing the couple’s combined estate tax protection…

November 1, 2011

Business and Financial Services

Tax Law: IRS Announces New Settlement Procedure for Workers Misclassified as Independent Contractors

The IRS introduced a new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program in 2011 that allowed employers to reclassify workers previously treated as independent contractors without facing the full penalties that normally accompany worker misclassification. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in BKK Business Law News, the analysis explains that eligible employers could pay a reduced amount equal to roughly 10 percent of the employment taxes that otherwise would have been due for the most…

November 1, 2011

Business and Financial Services

Tax Law: Tax Consequences of Contributing Property to a Corporation

Contributing appreciated property to a corporation can create significant tax consequences depending on whether the transferor maintains sufficient control of the company after the transaction. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, Ronald A. Feuerstein explains that no gain or loss is generally recognized when property is transferred solely in exchange for stock and the contributing parties collectively control at least 80 percent of the…

July 1, 2011

Tax Law

Tax Law: 2010 Tax Relief Act Has Far-Reaching Consequences

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 significantly changed estate taxes, gift taxes, income taxes, payroll taxes, and business incentives for 2011 and 2012. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, the analysis explains that the law increased the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to $5 million per person while reducing the top transfer tax rate to 35 percent. The…

January 1, 2011

Business and Financial Services

Health Savings Accounts

Health savings accounts, or HSAs, allow individuals enrolled in high-deductible health plans to set aside money on a tax-advantaged basis for qualified medical expenses. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, the analysis explains that HSA contributions can generally be made on a pre-tax basis, investment earnings grow tax-free, and withdrawals remain tax-free when used for eligible medical expenses. The article also notes that unlike flexible…

November 1, 2010

Tax Law

Tax Law: Health Care Tax Credits, Penalties and “Cadillac” Plans

The Affordable Care Act created new tax credits, penalties, and excise taxes that affected businesses differently depending on their size and the type of health coverage they offered. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, the analysis explains that small employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees could qualify for a tax credit if they contributed toward employee health insurance premiums. The article notes that the full credit was…

September 1, 2010

Tax Law

Recent Tax Developments

Several major federal tax developments in 2010 affected businesses, estates, and individual taxpayers. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, the analysis appears to focus on recent IRS guidance, health care tax changes, and developing rules affecting business planning and estate planning. The article is associated with Bean Kinney tax attorney Ronald A. Feuerstein, although no specific author is listed on the publication itself.

July 1, 2010

Tax Law

Tax Law: Economic Substance Test Enacted as Part of Health Care Law

The Affordable Care Act included several lesser-known tax provisions, including a major change to the federal economic substance doctrine. In this Bean, Kinney & Korman article published in the BKK Business Law Newsletter, the analysis explains that new Internal Revenue Code Section 7701(o) formally codified the economic substance doctrine and required a taxpayer to satisfy both parts of a two-part test. A transaction would only be respected if it meaningfully changed the taxpayer’s economic…

May 1, 2010