Effective January 1, 2017, neither medical marijuana patients, nor their licensed caregivers, nor cooperative cannabis cultivations will be allowed to sell excess medical cannabis to dispensaries, known as Compassion Centers. Only licensed cultivators, a newly created...
PLDO Law Blog
Firm News
Be Wary of Tax Laws Concerning IRAs
This past June, the IRS issued a Private Letter Ruling (201623001) which impacts surviving spouses in community property states. The decedent and the surviving spouse were married in 2004 and lived in a community property state. They had a son, whom the decedent named...
New Guidelines for Private Management Contracts
In a move that should help facilitate public-private partnerships ("P3s"), the Internal Revenue Service has issued new 'safe harbor' guidelines for private management contracts involving bond-financed municipal assets. Revenue Procedure 2016-44, issued August 22,...
Succession Planning: Confronting the “What’s Next” Question in a Family Business
The "what's next" stage in the family business owner's life is challenging in that decisions have to be made in terms of succession to family members or selling the business and retiring. Yogi Berra would say that when you arrive at this fork in the road, "take it."...
CANNABIS ADVERTISING IN THE AGE OF REGIONAL COMPETITION
Long gone are the days of a state-sanctioned marijuana program standing in isolation in a sea of neighboring prohibitionist states. Presently, over 35 states have legalized medical marijuana, and more than 15 have legalized recreational cannabis. With increased...
IMPORTANT MA DECISION ON SOFTWARE SALES TAX APPORTIONMENT
The case of Oracle USA, Inc. v. Commissioner of Revenue was recently decided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in favor of the taxpayer. The case is important for at least two reasons: First, the Court found that Massachusetts taxpayers have a statutory...
YOU’VE BEEN HACKED: SHOULD YOU (OR YOUR INSURER) PAY THE RANSOM?
It’s 4:00pm on a Friday. You get a text message from a colleague saying they can’t log into their email. Then others start texting you with a similar message. Your IT person reports that there’s unusual activity on your computer network and they’re having trouble...
HOW TO AVOID AN UNWELCOME SURPRISE IN YOUR BUSINESS & ESTATE PLANNING STRATEGY
In 2015, the Rhode Island Division of Taxation issued Declaratory Ruling 2015-01. The question at issue was whether a non-Rhode Island resident decedent’s interest in a multi-member LLC that owned real property was sufficient to subject the decedent’s estate to the...
CREATING A POSITIVE CORPORATE CULTURE STARTS AT THE TOP
Corporate culture is defined in many ways; however, it is generally referred to as the shared values and vision of the company that will serve to achieve short and long-term goals of the business enterprise. It is a top-down dynamic that will impact everyone in the...