It is widely expected that Congress will address tax reform early in its 2017 session. This alert summarizes current law, President-Elect Trump’s proposal, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s proposal on key individual income tax provisions relevant to high-net-worth individuals. Estate, gift, and generation-skipping tax proposals (including possible changes to the treatment of basis […]
On January 20, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. Because immigration was a pivotal issue in his presidential campaign, many foreign nationals and employers are wondering what changes we can expect in U.S. immigration policy and practice under the new administration. President-elect Trump’s statements on […]
Effective January 1, 2017, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is revising the gift rules applicable to executive branch employees. The revisions were prompted by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which requires OGE to periodically update its regulations. For the most part, the revisions are non-substantive edits that enhance readability and remove gender […]
On November 1, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2016-66 identifying certain transactions relating to small captive insurance companies as a “transaction of interest.” Prior to this notice, the IRS had identified certain small captives as amongst its list of “Dirty Dozen Tax Scams.” Also, the IRS has been actively examining captives and […]
On October 4, 2016, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued revised regulations governing how recourse partnership liabilities are allocated among partners. These temporary regulations, which are binding on taxpayers immediately, relate to so-called “bottom-dollar payment obligations” (BDPOs). Generally, if a partner guarantees a recourse partnership liability, the liability will be allocated to […]
IntroductionOn July 13 2016, the US Supreme Court issued its ruling in Puerto Rico v Franklin California Tax-Free Trust. Affirming the decision of the court of appeals, the Supreme Court ruled by a vote of fiveto two that the US Bankruptcy Code pre-empts the Recovery Act, which Puerto Rico enacted in 2014to address its mounting […]
Last month, the IRS issued comprehensive proposed regulations which mark the first official guidance since IRS Notice 2007-62 on the application of Code section 457 to certain deferred compensation plans of state and local governments and tax-exempt entities (the “Proposed Regulations”). This client alert is an update to our February 2009 client alert “Bona Fide […]
Above The Law (ATL) recently named Caplin & Drysdale‘s Bankruptcy Group among the ATL Top Law Firm Bankruptcy Practices along with thirty other firms across the country. Caplin was selected as one of the “go to” firms for Chapter 11 cases. ATL noted that for relatively small, “bantamweight” or boutique-style bankruptcy groups like Caplin & Drysdale: “huge […]
In a world of free-ranging capital and cross-border transactions, the question of whether US courtswill apply US law to transactions taking place in other countries is important. It is therefore a matterof both interest and concern that judges in the Southern District of New York have reached oppositeconclusions when asked to give extraterritorial effect to […]
The Deal Pipeline spoke with Caplin & Drysdale’s Jeffrey A. Liesemer concerning jurisdictional clashes between bankruptcy courts, federal district courts, and federal agencies. Mr. Liesemer’s comments relate to Tribune Publishing’s efforts to acquire bankrupt Freedom Communications. The bankruptcy court in Freedom’s case approved Tribune’s bid, but a district court issued a temporary restraining order halting the transaction at the urging […]