***This article is a follow-up to a prior article from 2019 which can be found here. Life insurance is a great tool that can serve a variety of purposes. Most often, it is thought of as an income replacement/hedge against premature death to provide for one’s family, and it is certainly a great tool to…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel recently issued CCA 202152018 (“CCA”), in which the IRS is attacking yet another business valuation.[1] The IRS takes the position in the CCA that because the valuation used failed to account for a potential acquisition, the grantor retained annuity trust (“GRAT”) failed to properly qualify as a GRAT even…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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,…
Read More
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…
Read More