Category: MSK Blog

Corporate, MSK Blog, Tax, Trusts & Estates

New Partnership Audit Regime and Partnership M&A Transactions

business man financial inspector and secretary making report, calculating or checking balance. Internal Revenue Service inspector checking document. Audit concept.
Photo credit: iStock.com/IndypendenZ

By Robin C. Gilden

Background:

Congress has changed the way partnership[1] audits will be conducted in the future. Beginning with tax years starting on or after January 1, 2018, audits will still be done at the partnership level; however unlike current practice where adjustments and additional tax payments are made at the partner level, under the new rules the adjustments and additional tax payments will in many cases now be done at the partnership level with the payments made in the year the tax audit is finalized. The changes were made to make it easier for the IRS to audit partnerships.

The new rules raise a number of unanswered questions in the M&A arena all of which require a significant rethinking of the way partnership M&A transactions are structured and documented. There are likely to be significant differences in the responses to the Open Issues set out below between a transaction involving a LLC, which would survive as a separate legal entity after the acquisition, and a limited partnership which would terminate and not exist as a separate legal entity after the acquisition as it would only have one member. Continue reading “New Partnership Audit Regime and Partnership M&A Transactions”

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International Business, International Trade, MSK Blog

Solar Flare-up with China

Solar power plant panels with sun rays and blue sky
Photo credit: iStock.com/Lara_Uhryn

By Susan Kohn Ross

Two actions took place at the end of last week which heighten concerns that a trade war with China could be ever more likely. First, there was the preliminary decision in the solar panels 201 case. Then, we had the additional sanctions imposed by the President on North Korea.

The 201 solar panel case began when Suniva Inc. and SolarWorld Americas Inc. filed their cases before the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) in April and May 2017. These actions are, of course, in addition to the antidumping and countervailing duties currently being imposed on these products from China. Continue reading “Solar Flare-up with China”

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Immigration, MSK Blog

Lawful Permanent Residence: How Not to Lose It

By Frida GlucoftImmigration Collage l Alert

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at ports of entry to the U.S. routinely question returning lawful permanent residents (“green card” holders) about the length of time spent outside the U.S.A. and the nature of their activities abroad. Generally, an absence from the U.S.A. of six months or longer will result in further inquires and requests for documentation to establish the individual’s intent to retain lawful permanent residence status.

A U.S. “green card” allows the holder to reside in the U.S. as an immigrant as long as the holder’s status does not change. However, that status may be lost if the “green card” holder is deemed to have abandoned his or her U.S. residence or if the individual lacks the requisite ties to the U.S. while living abroad.

The question of whether a “green card” holder has retained his or her status in the U.S. arises when the individual departs from the U.S. for lengthy periods of time usually exceeding one year. The determination of retention of U.S. residence depends upon the circumstances surrounding the individual’s departure and his or her ties to the U.S. Among other factors considered in evaluating retention of U.S. residence are the following: Continue reading “Lawful Permanent Residence: How Not to Lose It”

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Corporate, MSK Blog

Effects of the Shortened T+2 Settlement Cycle

Clock and calendar
Photo credit: iStock.com/STILLFX

By Blake Baron

In March 2017, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) adopted amended Rule 15c6-1(a) which shortens the standard trade settlement cycle for most broker-dealer securities transactions from three business days (known as T+3) to two business days, (known as T+2). On Tuesday, September 5, 2017, the amended rule went into effect.

What Does the Change Apply To?

The new T+2 settlement cycle applies to the same securities transactions currently covered under the T+3 cycle, which the SEC states includes “transactions for stocks, bonds, municipal securities, exchange-traded funds, certain mutual funds, and limited partnerships that trade on an exchange.”

However, the new cycle does not apply to certain categories of securities, such as securities exempt from registration with the SEC due to being backed by a government or governmental institution. Continue reading “Effects of the Shortened T+2 Settlement Cycle”

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Labor & Employment, MSK Blog

NYC Updates “Ban the Box” Law

NYC Updates “Ban the Box” Law to Detail Per Se Violations and Procedures Employers Must Follow to Conduct Employment-Related Criminal Background Checks

By Greg Hessinger

On August 5, 2017, important updates to New York City’s Fair Chance Act went into effect.  The Fair Chance Act (FCA), which regulates criminal background checks on employees and license holders, is the City’s version of a growing trend of so-called municipal “Ban the Box” laws designed to prohibit employers and agencies from denying jobs and licenses to would-be employees because of a criminal conviction(s), especially when the conviction is not directly related to the persons’ ability to perform the job.

The Fair Chance Act itself took effect on October 27, 2015 (see MSK’s prior alert here).  Since then, the New York Commission on Human Rights (Commission), the agency charged with enforcing the FCA, has published revisions that further clarify the law, provide guidelines for per se violations, and detail the analysis and process for legally withdrawing conditional offers of employment based on the results of a criminal background check.  It is those revisions that took effect on August 5, 2017.  (Click here for a copy of the rule).  Continue reading “NYC Updates “Ban the Box” Law”

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International Business, International Trade, MSK Blog

Trading with China – New Reasons to Be Wary!

By Susan Kohn Ross

port
Photo credit: iStock.com/nattanan726

Today, President Trump signed into law H.R. 3364, the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act”. The general press is covering this story by writing about Russia’s initial retaliation taking the form of cutting the staff authorized at the U.S. embassy in Moscow and the seizure of certain U.S. diplomatic property within Russia. When it comes to international traders, the impact on dealing with Russia, but also Iran and North Korea, takes the form of enhanced compliance efforts.

The new law will provide more in the way of direct and indirect sanctions. A direct sanction arises because the person (or company/entity) is listed by one of the relevant U.S. agencies on the appropriate blocked persons list. A secondary sanction arises because a blocked person (individual or entity) owns or has a controlling ownership in a company not otherwise listed as blocked. Of course, additional headaches exist when there is U.S. content in the good being sold, so the impact is on both exports and imports. Continue reading “Trading with China – New Reasons to Be Wary!”

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Estate Planning, Legislation, MSK Blog, Trusts, Trusts & Estates

IRS Gives Surviving Spouses a Second (or Third) Bite at the Portability Apple

By Jeffrey Eisen

“Portability” is the ability of a surviving spouse to use not only his or her own estate tax exemption, but also some or all of the exemption of the first spouse to die, as long as the first spouse died in 2011 or later.  With the estate tax exemption for 2017 at $5,490,000, this can allow estates of nearly $11,000,000 to escape estate tax. While a full discussion of portability is beyond the scope of this post, suffice it to say that portability can save the day in one or more of these situations: if proper estate planning has not been done, if life insurance, IRAs or retirement plans left to the surviving spouse constitute a very large portion of a couple’s assets, or if a couple’s assets of any type are worth near the value of one exemption but less than both (e.g., $4,500,000 to $10,500,000).

The catch is that if the deceased spouse’s assets are worth less than his or her exemption amount, the deceased spouse’s executor has to file a federal estate tax return (Form 706) for the deceased spouse to “claim” the deceased spouse’s unused exemption and thus invoke “portability.”   This is the direct opposite of the normal rule that if a decedent’s estate is worth less than the estate tax exemption amount (after taking lifetime gifts into account), no estate tax return filing is necessary.  But if the deceased spouse’s executor does not file a timely estate tax return for the deceased spouse (nine months after the date of death, or an additional six months thereafter if a request for an extension was properly filed by the nine month deadline), the ability to use portability is permanently lost. Continue reading “IRS Gives Surviving Spouses a Second (or Third) Bite at the Portability Apple”

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Corporate, MSK Blog

Changes From the SEC: Confidentiality is Key

IPO (Initial public offering)
Photo credit: iStock.com/designer491

By Blake Baron

In a recent effort to foster increased public offering activity, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on June 29, 2017 that it will permit all companies to submit voluntary draft registration statements relating to initial public offerings (IPOs), certain follow-on offerings and national securities exchange listings for non-public review. This process will be available for nearly all offerings made in the first year after a company has entered the public reporting system. This benefit will take effect on July 10, 2017.

So, why is this an important change? Continue reading “Changes From the SEC: Confidentiality is Key”

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Legislation, MSK Blog, Tax, Trusts & Estates

California State Board of Equalization Gutted

By Jeffrey D. Davine

The Taxpayer Transparency and Fairness Act of 2017

Established by the California Constitution in 1879, the California State Board of Equalization (the “BOE”) has been the agency charged with administering most of the taxes imposed by California.  In addition, the BOE was the tribunal whose function was to decide taxpayer appeals of decisions by the California Franchise Tax Board (the “FTB”) concerning income tax matters.  All of this is about to change with the passage of AB 102.  AB 102, which is named the “Taxpayer Transparency and Fairness Act of 2017” (the “Act”), was signed into law by Governor Brown on June 27th.  The Act effectively cuts the legs out from underneath the BOE.

Background

In March of this year, the California Department of Finance issued a derisive report asserting that the BOE misallocated tax revenues, used BOE employees to assist elected BOE members with political activities, and attempted to improperly affect BOE audits.  In response, and at the urging of the Governor, the Act was passed by the California Legislature. Continue reading “California State Board of Equalization Gutted”

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Corporate, Cybersecurity, MSK Blog

If You SEC Something, Say Something

Cybersecurity of network of connected devices and personal data security
Photo credit: iStock.com/NicoElNino

By Susan Kohn Ross

Just about every survey of General Counsels reveals the same #1 culprit of sleepless nights….. a cybersecurity hack. If you run a business in today’s global environment, it is hard to escape the fundamental reality that it is more than likely a matter of when, not if, you will face a cyber threat. And depending on the nature of your business, that threat can have a wide range of implications. If you are a public company, there is an additional issue to consider… what do you have to disclose to your investors and shareholders?

Being prepared for a hack with a comprehensive written information security plan and an equally robust incident response plan is just one component to be considered if you are a public company. You must also have a plan to meet your reporting and disclosure obligations to a variety of governmental bodies. While measuring your response needs in the wake of a hack, and determining if there are state, federal or international laws and regulations that require reporting, you must also pay close attention to possible disclosure obligations in your SEC filings. Specifically, if you have tripped a disclosure to a state attorney general or your company’s customers, then it is possible you may also have a disclosure obligation to your shareholders. Continue reading “If You SEC Something, Say Something”

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