It is quite common in transactions for the seller to accept a promissory note with payments over time rather than being paid the full purchase price up front. In this situation, if the taxpayer were to be taxed on the full amount of income at the time of the transaction, but not be paid the…
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A recent case shows how a shareholder and corporation, being considered alter egos, can cause unintended consequences. In Lothringer,[1]a corporate shareholder’s individual property was subject to enforced collection action by the IRS to satisfy corporate tax liabilities.[2] The court’s finding that the corporation was the shareholder’s alter ego allowed the IRS to hold the shareholder…
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Introduction Generally, a taxpayer may deduct the fair market value of appreciated property donated to a qualified charitable organization.[1] This provision expands the benefits available to taxpayers with respect to charitable deductions. The result, in effect, is that a taxpayer may gift an appreciated asset in lieu of selling the asset, paying tax, and then…
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Those of us who handle acquisition transactions can take for granted that asset acquisitions avoid the buyer assuming unintended liabilities of the seller. As a general rule, acquisitions of an entity’s equity cause the buyer to take any liabilities of the business conducted by the entity. However, asset acquisitions generally allow the buyer to selectively…
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On Friday, March 26, 2020, history was made. In one fell swoop, Congress dropped $2.2 trillion to keep the United States’ economy going during the COVID-19 epidemic with the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). With such a lengthy bill, many are wondering what all is contained in the…
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In the recent Messina case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the Tax Court denying S corporation shareholders losses as a result of lack of basis, particularly in this case, debt basis. In rendering their opinions, the Ninth Circuit and Tax Court discussed a taxpayer’s ability to argue substance over form…
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In a recent taxpayer-favorable case, the Tax Court upheld a loss deduction for a worthless investment under Code Section 165. At issue was an interest held by a partnership in a related family-owned real estate development business. The taxpayer, MCM Investment Management LLC (“MCM”) alleged its interest in McMillin Companies, LLC (“InvestCo”), a real estate…
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The income taxation of life insurance death benefits seems fairly simple initially. Many people know the general rule that death benefits are not subject to income tax. However, there are exceptions that can apply which will cause the beneficiary to owe income tax on the receipt of death benefits. This article describes certain of these…
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Parents are often in a position to help their children take advantage of business opportunities. A parent’s connections, business knowledge, expertise, and other intangibles acquired over may years of work can be used to benefit a child starting a career or business. Likewise, a parent may advance funds to a child to start or acquire…
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One of the more common engagements for our firm is to assist with business sales and acquisitions. This article is the fifth in a series of articles which will walk through and generally discuss the steps typically associated with the sale of a business. In Part 1, we discussed the breakdown of the business, the…
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