Tax Topics

Retirement accounts can be an integral part of wealth accumulation and estate planning. In this blog series, we consider the issues in Australian superannuation (retirement) accounts. Many Australians live in the US on E-3, O-1, and EB-2 visas, or as U.S. green card holders, or citizens. These U.S.-based Australians, have likely, accumulated retirement benefits in […]

Peter Palsen, International Tax Professional In the 2018 book Red Card – How the U.S. Blew the Whistle on the World’s Biggest Sports Scandal, author Ken Bensinger spends 368 pages discussing how the Internal Revenue Services (IRS), Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) collectively carried out a cross-border, […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner On December 13, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released proposed regulations which provide guidance for businesses and individuals regarding the tax treatment of charitable fund donations made in exchange for state and local tax (SALT) credits. Additionally, the proposed regulations provided guidance regarding the application of the “quid pro quo” […]

Whether a worker is properly classified as an employee or as an independent contractor depends upon the facts and circumstances. Generally, the determination is made under common law tests considering the right to control and direct the individual performing services. However, in some factual situations, the determination of the proper worker classification status may not […]

The below comparison outlines the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” passed by the House of Representatives on November 16 and the Senate on December 2. Since the two plans differ, they will now be sent to a conference committee where negotiators from both chambers will create a unified bill. After, both parties must approve the […]

Rebecca Sheppard, Esq., Partner On August 29, 2018, in response to South Dakota v. Wayfair,the Maryland General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review (AELR) approved the Comptroller of Maryland’s emergency regulations imposing economic nexus standards to require remote vendors lacking Maryland physical presence to collect Maryland sales tax on in-state sales. Wayfair […]

The chief executive of Credit Suisse recently appeared in front of a Senate subcommittee to answer questions related to the bank’s role in aiding tax evasion. A similar hearing in 2008 resulted in a $780 million fine for Swiss bank UBS after the bank admitted helping U.S. taxpayers shield assets to avoid taxes. In conjunction […]

A QTIP trust, despite its silly name, is a valuable estate planning tool. QTIP, or “Qualified Terminable Interest Property” is a name derived from the tax law that legalises the tax benefits of the trust. When property is given to a spouse outright (not subject to a trust), it qualifies for what is known as […]

Eli S. Noff, Esq.,CPA, PartnerBrent Conrad In an effort to reduce persistent high unemployment rates resulting from the 2008 financial crisis, President Obama signed The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010 (HIRE Act)1to incentivize employers to hire and retain workers. Tax incentives provided in the HIRE Act included: (1) a payroll tax holiday, […]

Eli S. Noff, Esq., CPA, Partner Under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §6013(d)(3), spouses who file joint income tax returns are subject to joint and several liability for the income tax reported on those returns. In other words, the IRS will hold each spouse responsible for the entire amount of tax due. Sometimes, however, one spouse […]