Historically, taxpayers who made settlement payments to the government or relator under False Claims Act actions could offset those often considerable costs by deducting all or part of the payment for federal income tax purposes. But the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted in December, dramatically shifted the tax treatment of such payments, resulting in the potential loss of valuable tax benefits. Now more than ever, companies must carefully consider the tax treatment of ... Keep Reading »

Recent tax legislation, informally known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) contains several changes that affect the insurance industry. A centerpiece of the Act lowers the corporate income tax rate to 21 percent, which generally applies to all corporations. Other reforms not specific to the insurance industry will also significantly affect many insurance companies. These include eliminating the corporate alternative minimum tax, a reduction of the general ... Keep Reading »

A growing number of startups are offering virtual currencies to investors through initial coin offerings (ICOs) as a way to raise capital, often with little or no awareness of the tax consequences of their actions. Many startups sell specially created cryptocurrencies to initial project backers who expect the currency to increase in value if the startup succeeds. These cryptocurrencies, or tokens, are initially issued in fixed, limited amounts which generally can be used ... Keep Reading »