I have always been impressed with the Swiss government’s longstanding capacity for discretion – much like the governmental equivalent of a friend that can keep a secret. Unfortunately, as we have been discovering, there are some very good reasons that Swiss account holders have demanded confidentiality, and Switzerland has finally had to cough up its [...]

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According to the recent decision in United States v. Quality Stores,
Inc., No. 1:09-cv-44 (W.D. Mich. Feb. 23, 2010) (”Quality Stores”),
severance payments resulting from an involuntary termination are not
subject to taxation under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act
(”FICA”) because such payments do not constitute “wages.” Prior to
Quality Stores, it was generally accepted that severance payments are
taxed like [...]

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On March 18, 2010 the President signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010 (“HIRE”) into law.  HIRE provides $13 billion worth of tax incentives to businesses in the form of –

(1) Temporary payroll tax relief for employers who hire individuals that have been unemployed at least 60 days;
(2) An income tax credit [...]

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The Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) is considering requiring businesses to report “uncertain tax positions”  if they are “a business taxpayer with total assets in excess of $10 million…. [or] a taxpayer who prepares financial statements, or is included in the financial statements of a related entity, so long as that taxpayer or related [...]

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I first wrote about proposed changes in the taxation of carried interests (the manager’s share of income from a venture or private equity fund) in June of 2008 (see http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs056/1101631528224/archive/1102150842963.html). Last December, the House finally approved a bill to tax carried interests at ordinary income rates rather than capital gains rates (and subject such [...]

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As discussed in a recent post regarding the government’s COBRA program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 made certain individuals terminated in the period beginning Sept. 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009 eligible to receive a government financed subsidy equal to 65% of the COBRA continuation premium. Such program was initiated in [...]

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The Obama administration has just made my year-end busier. On November 7th, the President signed into law the Worker, Homeowner, and Business Act of 2009 (the “WHB 2009 Act”) which, among other things, extends the period that businesses can carry back a net operating loss (NOL) arising in either 2008 or 2009. This [...]

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By now, everyone has heard of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), which has turned traditional deferred compensation on its head by including deferrals in gross income unless they meet strict requirements.  While Hollywood may have been the furthest thing from Congress’s collective mind when Code Section 409A [...]

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In an act of charity, or good business (depending how you look at it), the IRS announced an extension, through October 15, 2009, of the deadline to participate in the foreign bank account voluntary disclosure program. The program, unveiled March 26, 2009, provides penalty relief  for individuals that have failed to adequately report income tied [...]

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