Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (“SLATs”) are one of the many estate planning tools available to taxpayers, and have seen a surge in popularity recently, such that they are one of the most used options for utilizing taxpayers’ federal lifetime gift and estate tax exclusion (“Exclusion”) during life. Each taxpayer’s Exclusion amount, or the amount which…
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On February 2, 2022, the Tax Court issued a memorandum opinion in the case of John M. Larson (“Larson”).[1] This case involves a dispute going back more than 20 years. Mr. Larson was an attorney and CPA. He and two other men, Robert A. Plaff and David Amir Makov, promoted a fraudulent tax shelter transaction…
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In a recent Chief Counsel Advice (“CCA”) issued by the IRS, the IRS concluded that the taxpayer’s sale of stock did not qualify for the gain exclusion as Qualified Small Business Stock (“QSBS”) under Section 1202 since the business of the corporation was akin to brokerage services.[1] The IRS concluded that the corporation’s business, one…
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In another recent case involving a multi-entity tax savings strategy, pitched as the “integrated tax plan,” particularly leveraging “management fees,” we see again the Tax Court scrutinizing the legitimacy of the structure, incorporating a C corporation and a partnership, and in turn allowing the IRS to whipsaw the taxpayers.[1] Facts Around late 2009 through early…
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In the Heiting v. United States[1] decision issued on October 18, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court decision[2] to dismiss a couple’s claim for a refund of taxes, rejecting the taxpayers’ argument that the repurchase of restricted stock previously sold by their trustee was effectively a…
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Since we’re the cool, diamond-handed, trendy-loving, FUD(fear, uncertainty, and doubt)-crushing, FOMO(fear of missing out)-haters and at the same time professionals, now seems just as good of time as ever to discuss what we are doing at our firm to familiarize ourselves and become more competent in the ever-growing and evolving world of magic internet money,…
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Under current law, the unified credit against estate and gift tax sits at $10,000,000, subject to indexing for inflation (the “Exemption”).[1] As a result of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, this number increased from $5,000,000 effective January 1, 2018 and through December 31, 2025, with the number set to drop back down to $5,000,000on…
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Earlier this year I discussed President Joe Biden’s proposed tax policies, which was prepared in anticipation of President Biden’s impending announcement regarding the Build Back Better Act.[1] As we approach the end of the Biden administration’s first year, tax professionals are on the edge of their seat. A plethora of different legislative changes directed at…
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So, we did not write on the first District Court case which was a loss for CIC Services, LLC (“CIC”) and Ryan, LLC(“Ryan”), the Plaintiffs. But, a Supreme Court decision gave the Plaintiffs another bite at the apple. This case involves Notice 2016-66 (“Notice”), the older-sibling notice to Notice 2017-10, in which micro-captive insurance transactions…
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In a recent Tax Court case, a taxpayer was denied a contribution deduction for income paid into a sole proprietorship profit-sharing plan when the Court determined that such income had not been derived from the trade or business with respect to which the plan was established.[1] Rather, the income was paid to the taxpayer under…
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