This blog post targets employers who sponsor retirement or welfare plans and are concerned about their responsibility to stay informed and track the status of the Department of Labor’s “Fiduciary Rule.” This issue is more subjective than those about which I normally write, but with so many regulatory obligations, I hope you agree that it is worthwhile to decide what to prioritize. Before going further, I warn any financial advisors seeking additional insights into the ... Keep Reading »
District Court Doesn’t Apply Economic Substance Doctrine to Transaction Where Taxpayer’s Sole Motive Was Tax Avoidance
Judge Schiltz of the U.S. District Court of Minnesota recently issued an opinion in Wells Fargo & Co. v. United States, that qualifies as a key development in the law of economic substance. Taxpayers have battled the government for decades over the precise contours of the judicially-created doctrine often advanced by the government and employed by the courts to deny tax benefits of particular transactions that comply with the strict terms of the Tax Code, but which ... Keep Reading »
Are your Workers Employees or Independent Contractors?
Tax exempt organizations face the same worker classification issues as for-profit organizations. When an individual performs services for a tax exempt organization on his or her own (not through another organization) and is compensated for such services, that individual is acting as an employee or an independent contractor with respect to the tax exempt organization. Proper classification of a service provider as an employee or an independent contractor is very important ... Keep Reading »