To heighten an already exciting time of year, yesterday both Houses of Congress passed a substantial re-write of major portions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. All that awaits now is the formality of President Trump's signature, which as of this writing has not...
PLDO Law Blog
Month: December 2017
WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT: A PARADIGM SHIFT?
With the seemingly daily news reports of sexual harassment scandals, business owners and investors are starting to realize an inconvenient fact: leaving the problem of workplace sexual harassment to the human resources department or middle-managers may no longer be...
Stay Ahead of the Constant Innovations in Cybercrime
Most business owners have been exposed to cybercrime during the past ten years and the rate of attack by these criminals increases daily. Cybercrime includes phishing and spamming, and those performing the criminal act are referred to as "hackers." Cybercrime is...
RI Marijuana Cultivators License Application Process Will Not Reopen in 2018
Late last week, the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR) announced that the agency will not reopen the licensed cultivator application process in 2018. In the notice, the DBR stated that under its authority it "may modify the licensed cultivator...
HOW LIFE INSURANCE PROCEEDS COULD AFFECT A COMPANY’S VALUATION FOR ESTATE TAX PURPOSES
A recent case brought to light the impact that a stock-purchase agreement and life insurance proceeds may – or may not - have on the valuation of a closely held company for estate tax purposes. In this case that caused a split between the 8th and 11th Circuits, the...
HASTE MAKES WASTE . . . CASH THE CHECK.
One never knows what corner the grim reaper lies behind. A final illness can often accelerate quickly and deprive a donor of adequate time to complete gifts for tax purposes that he intended to make. In a recent federal court case, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals...
ATTENTION SNOWBIRDS: DO YOU PASS THE DOMICILE TEST?
“A person doesn't know how much he has to be thankful for until he has to pay taxes on it.” This anonymous quote is timely. It is rumored that the Rhode Island Division of Taxation (“the Division”) is reviewing its procedures for determining whether a Rhode Islander...
HOW CLOSELY HELD BUSINESSES CAN PREVENT MANAGEMENT DEADLOCKS
Differences in opinion on how to achieve a stated goal in a closely held business can lead to disputes that block the enterprise from moving forward. Closely held businesses are characterized by a limited number of shareholders and a lack of public trading. The...
WHY ESTATE PLANNING FOR BUSINESSES IS CRITICAL (NOT OPTIONAL)
Owning your own business can be extremely demanding. From your customers to your employees, there’s hardly enough time in the day. While most entrepreneurs are consumed by the day-to-day challenges of running their businesses, they often neglect the critical task of...
