apple seeds LLC is a growing organization that provides indoor playground facilities, classes, birthday parties and other activities. As an emerging and growing business, apple seeds needed a business-minded legal partner who understood the challenges of being a middle market business. They needed help building the company from the ground floor up, and providing a solid foundation for future growth.  

Tax partner Andrew Ben-Ami is quoted in Real Estate Finance & Investment’s article, “Government shutdown leads to cancellation of OZ public hearing,” where he discusses the recent government shutdown’s impact on opportunity zones. A January 10 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) hearing, which was canceled as the agency was closed during the shutdown, was intended to give a platform for public comment on additional proposed opportunity zone regulations.

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin represented a client recently who sold his 50% interest in a New York City executive search company, and negotiated his retention as a consultant.

We are pleased to announce that Andrew R. Ben-Ami has joined Tarter Krinsky & Drogin as a Partner and will lead the firm’s Tax Practice.

As we start a new year, we would like to share with you some of our most popular legal alerts from 2019. Our top-read alerts range from construction, labor & employment, tax, immigration, trusts & estates, cooperatives & condominiums, real estate, corporate & securities, litigation and intellectual property, reflecting the broad array of our full-service practice. We hope that our alerts have been valuable to you and your colleagues, and demonstrate our commitment to providing helpful information to you.

Investing in a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) may be attractive to many taxpayers, but older investors may be concerned with the possibility that they may pass away while holding the QOF investment and what that will mean for their estates and heirs.

Giuliano Iannaccone and Luigi Perin recently co-authored Stati Uniti d'America: Diritto e Fiscalità d'Impresa (United States of America: Business Law and Taxation), a comprehensive resource to navigating the complicated business and tax issues facing Italian companies interested in doing business in the United States.

As we head into summer, we would like to share with you some of our most popular legal alerts from the first half of 2019. Our top-read alerts range from construction, labor and employment, tax, corporate and securities, immigration, cooperatives and condominiums, commercial leasing, real estate, litigation and intellectual property, reflecting the broad array of our full-service practice. We hope that our alerts have been valuable to you and your colleagues, and demonstrate our commitment to providing helpful information to you.

As we start a new year, we would like to share with you some of our most popular legal alerts from 2018. Our top-read alerts range from construction, corporate and securities, labor and employment, tax and intellectual property, reflecting the broad array of our full-service practice. We hope that our alerts have been valuable to you and your colleagues, and demonstrate our commitment to providing helpful information to you.

One of the positive developments resulting from the 2017 tax legislation has been offering taxpayers a limited-time opportunity to defer gain on the sale of assets, reduce the gain when finally recognized and even eliminate gain on certain new investments. This is all made possible under the 2017 Tax Act by investing in "Qualified Opportunity Zones," a new provision that allows taxpayers to free up capital gains and reinvest those gains in economically distressed census tracts.

The 2017 Tax Act is offering a limited-time opportunity for taxpayers to defer gain on the sale of assets, reduce the gain when finally recognized and even eliminate gain on certain new investments. This is all made possible under the 2017 Tax Act by investing in "Qualified Opportunity Zones," a new provision that allows taxpayers to free up capital gains and reinvest those gains in economically distressed communities. Learn more about the intricacies of these tax benefits.

In a closely watched case involving South Dakota’s 2016 law requiring the collection of state sales tax by out of state retailers who have no physical presence in the state, in a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court yesterday decided to overturn two of its older decisions prohibiting the practice in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. No. 17-494. Many states have been waiting for this decision and are likely to pass their own remote taxation laws, and online sellers will then need to collect and remit tax to each such state.

On December 3, 2015, the "Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act" (FAST ACT) was passed by Congress and signed into law on December 4, 2015. An important, but widely overlooked provision of the law, which went into effect on January 1, 2018, is the provision by which the U.S. government may revoke or deny the U.S. passport of an individual with a "seriously delinquent tax debt."

The new year brings new tax laws, and one of the most prominent changes for many will be a new deduction for pass-through income.

Wealth Strategies Journal featured an article by Tax partner Andrew Ben-Ami that discusses significant IRS rule changes for partnerships and LLC’s that are certain to go into effect next year. The article examines how those changes will impact the 2018 tax year and present owners with new decisions about how to handle IRS audits and any adjustments that may be required. Andrew recommends that every partnership and LLC should consider revising their agreements to adapt to the new rules since failure to do so not only may lead to disputes among partners, but could also impact buyers and sellers of partnership interests.

Businesses across the nation are buzzing about Congressional action on tax reform - action that may not even occur. And yet, many partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs) have not yet delved into significant IRS audit rule changes that are certain to go into effect next year. The changes, which will impact the 2018 tax year for partnerships and LLCs, will present owners with new decisions about how to handle IRS audits and any adjustments that may be required.

The IRS has announced new fees for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) submissions under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) effective February 1, 2016.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that it will begin conducting focused audits aimed at determining compliance with Internal Revenue Code Section 409A.   Section 409A is a complex and easily overlooked provision of the tax law which can result in draconian penalties.  For this reason, we strongly recommend that our clients become familiar with the law, and review their existing documents now to avoid these penalties. 

When it comes to payroll issues and withholding taxes, it is easy to decide to rely on your outside payroll service to determine the correct amounts to withhold. But the reporting and withholding requirements for employee compensation can be complex when multiple state jurisdictions are involved, and a payroll service can only rely on the information that they are given; it is up to the employer to gather the relevant information.

The Middle-Class Tax Relief Act of 2010, which has just gone into effect, will have a significant impact on estate tax planning. It applies to the estates of those who died in 2010 and who will die in 2011 and 2012. Further legislation is expected to cover tax treatment of gifts and deaths that occur in 2013 and beyond. In the meantime, you need to review your existing estate plans in light of the Act. 

In the current economic environment, where taxpayers may be sustaining losses from a variety of transactions, both individual and business taxpayers need to consider how the tax benefits from such losses can provide some measure of relief.