Cross Refined Coal: A Partnership Recap

“If the government treats tax-advantaged transactions as shams unless they make economic sense on a pre-tax basis, then it takes away with the executive hand what it gives with the legislative.”[1] Despite these words issued by the Ninth Circuit in 1995, the Internal Revenue Service continues to challenge certain investments that Congress expressly encourages through…
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The Importance of a Properly Prepared Form 706 Estate Tax Return

A recent Private Letter Ruling (“PLR”) issued by the IRS highlighted the importance of a properly prepared Form 706 Estate (and Generation Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (“706”).[1] The PLR granted the requesting Estate a 120-day extension to make a QTIP election (discussed below) as well as divide the QTIP Trust into a Generation Skipping Transfer…
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Fixing S Corporation Problems Just Got a Lot Easier

Tax rules relating to S corporations are a frequent and often time-consuming problem. With the release of Revenue Procedure 2022-19[1], the IRS just made it easier for S corporations to confirm compliance with tax rules and also has eased the administrative burden on the IRS in dealing with these taxpayers. The Internal Revenue Code provides…
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Mississippi Estate Administration

As mentioned in my previous article on the general probate process in Mississippi, the term “probate” technically only refers to the process of proving a will as valid.[1] However, it is most commonly used as a catch-all term to encapsulate the entire probate and estate administration processes, both for testate and intestate estates. The main…
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Is a Revocable Trust a Trust (and Related Topics)?

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has recently issued an opinion that discusses a number of topics especially important to asset protection and trust attorneys.[1] Some of the issues discussed involve trust law, tax law, asset protection law, and contract law. As recognized in the dissent, the court’s conclusions on a number of these issues…
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Incomplete Non-Grantor Trusts: A Tax Planning Tool

In recent years, estate planners and tax practitioners have been utilizing incomplete non-grantor trusts, or ING trusts, with increased frequency. The most common use of ING trusts has been to minimize state income taxes, but an often-overlooked aspect of ING trusts is their effectiveness as a tax planning tool at the federal level. ING trusts…
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Mississippi Probate Review

Probate, a word that strikes fear into the hearts of untold masses. Everyone knows that probate is an extremely complex, time consuming, and expensive process. But is it really? Certainly, in many circumstances it can be, but such is not always the case. In this article, I will outline the basics of the probate process…
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MTC Partnership Update

Last year, I wrote about the Multistate Tax Commission’s (“MTC”) undertaking called the Project on State Taxation of Partnerships (“Project”).[1] Throughout the Project, the MTC has updated the Project website with summaries, notes, markups to draft documents, and other useful information.[2] The most recent Project meeting was held on July 25, 2022.[3] Broadly speaking, the…
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Taxpayer Loses Royalty Tax Case Appeal

In a recent appellate decision from the Ninth Circuit, a taxpayer/attorney/neurosurgeon/corporate shareholder who helped develop a patented imaging technology was held liable for ordinary income assessments with respect to annual royalty payments related to patent royalty income. Facts Dr. Aaron Filler, a licensed attorney and neurosurgeon, contributed to the development of a certain Diffusion Tensor…
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[**Practice Alert: Corporate Transparency Act is Here: What You Need to Know**](https://esapllc.com/practice-alert-cta-mar-2024/)
[**Practice Alert: Corporate Transparency Act is Here: What You Need to Know**](https://esapllc.com/practice-alert-cta-mar-2024/)