Last term, on June 21, 2018, the Supreme Court decided South Dakota v. Wayfair, the first sales tax jurisdiction case heard by the Court in 25 years.1 The Court’s decision in Wayfair has significant implications for online retailers, as well as for the future of stare decisis.2 Background Wayfair overruled two prior Supreme Court decisions…
Tag: Tax
Reconsidering Tax Policy on Constructive Receipt
Nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements are commonplace among executives in the American workforce. These arrangements raise tax timing issues for our cash-basis accounting system. When should the compensation be determined to have been “constructively received” by the worker, and thus subject to taxation? Our policy on the issue was originally too lenient in the wake of…
TCJA’s Impact on S-Corps and LLCs
In 2017, approximately 81% of all businesses in the US were organized as pass-through entities, with S-corporations (“S-corps”) and Limited Liability Companies (“LLCs”) comprising approximately 68% of all businesses. 1 The passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) on December 22, 2017, presented many changes for pass-through entities to consider when determining the most…
Using the Federal Tax Code to Combat Money Laundering in Real Estate
Real estate transactions are an attractive vehicle for criminals looking to launder their money.1 Sanctioned foreign officials, organized crime syndicates, and even terror groups move money domestically and internationally through real estate transactions.2 The problem of money laundering in real estate (MLRE) has been prevalent in the United States for decades: the Mafia built Las…
Revised Tax Treatment for Net Operating Losses and Potential Effects
When Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in late 2017, the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) experienced a major adjustment. In addition to numerous, noteworthy changes in the Code, the treatment of “net operating losses” is now subject to different parameters. A net operating loss (“NOL”) is a loss taken by a business where…
A Tasty Tax Exclusion for Silicon Valley Employees
In 1999, Google’s forty employees hosted a cook off to see who would be the future first chef of their company’s kitchen.1 After sampling 25 different cooks, the office ultimately named Charlie Ayers the winner of the competition after trying his eclectic and worldly selection.2 Google’s early employees and Ayers could hardly imagine the gourmet…
Is the End of Tax-Funded Subsidies for Professional Sports Stadiums Near?
Amidst polarizing protests by figures such as Colin Kaepernick, the National Football League and other professional sports organizations have stood at the center of political discussions surrounding free speech, racial inequality, and the role of social media in government in recent years. Amidst contentious debate, however, a closely related topic of advantages and monetary support…
Carbon Pricing: Current State
In a world coming to a consensus on climate change, there exists a multitude of methods which governments can utilize to influence greenhouse emissions. The current global focus is on carbon pricing. Carbon pricing is an increase to the cost of carbon dioxide emissions.1 I would argue that carbon pricing is superior to other energy…
The Art of the Deal? Taking a Closer Look at Wisconsin’s $3 Billion Deal with Foxconn
Last month, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed into law a bill approving up to $3 billion in subsidies and tax breaks for Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn, in return for the company’s promise to build a manufacturing facility in the state.1 Under the agreement, Foxconn would invest $10 billion to construct a facility over six years,…
Tax Uncertainty for Businesses After the Regulatory Freeze
President Trump’s new executive leadership is likely to bring increasing uncertainty for businesses in the area of tax law as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) struggles to make sense of the reach and intent of some of the President’s recent orders on federal rulemaking. In one of his first major acts after taking office, President…