Tax Monitor

TIPS FOR THE SMALL EMPLOYER: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW ABOUT THE SECURE ACT AND YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN

January 23, 2020

The SECURE Act, signed into law on December 20, 2019, may help alleviate some of the burdens small employers face when providing retirement plans. Here are a few key things you need to know when evaluating what, if any, changes you should make to take advantage of this new legislation. 

OPEN MULTIPLE EMPLOYER PLANS

While Multiple Employer Plans (or MEPs) are not new to the retirement industry, they…

The Other Probate: A Guide to Ancillary Administration in West Virginia

May 23, 2019

The Initial Probate

Most people are familiar with the concept of probating an estate upon the death of the decedent.  The administration of the decedent’s estate is initiated in the county and state where the decedent lived at the time of his or her death, known as the decedent’s domicile.  Depending on the state in which the decedent lived, the estate administration procedure may be different if…

U.S. Supreme Court Holds That West Virginia Tax Exemption Unlawfully Discriminates Against Federal Law Enforcement Retirees

April 7, 2019

The United States Supreme Court recently put an end to West Virginia’s practice of exempting pension income of certain State law enforcement officers from the State’s income tax while disallowing the exemption for similarly situated federal retirees.  At issue was a provision in the State’s tax code that exempts from West Virginia income tax pension payments received from a number of pension funds…

U.S. Supreme Court Decision Clears the Way for West Virginia to Tax Internet Sales

October 10, 2018

On June 21, 2018, in a 5-4 opinion, the United States Supreme Court overturned Quill Corp. v. North Dakota and National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of Illinois, which had previously held that a state cannot require an out-of-state seller with no physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales taxes on goods the seller ships to consumers in the state.  See South Dakota v. …

Estate Planning Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

January 22, 2018

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Tax Act”) into law which makes significant changes to the estate, gift, and generation skipping taxes.

The Tax Act doubles the estate, gift, and generation skipping tax exemptions to approximately $11.2 Million per person for 2018, which provides significant relief for high net worth individuals and families with valuable…

New Claims Procedure for ERISA Plans: Providing Disability Benefits

December 19, 2017

New Claims Procedure for ERISA Plans: Providing Disability Benefits

In December 2016, the Department of Labor published final regulations in connection with claims procedures for plans providing disability benefits.  The regulations were originally scheduled to be effective for claims filed under a plan on or after January 1, 2018, but that date has been delayed until April 1, 2018.  The regulations…

Notes on Portability: Relief for Late Portability Elections, When to Elect Portability, and How to Maximize GST Tax Effectiveness in the Absence of Portability for GST Exemption

October 9, 2017

Portability

Since the concept of “portability” was made permanent in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, it has been an essential and beneficial estate planning tool.  Portability allows a decedent to carryover his or her unused estate and gift tax exclusion amount ($5.49 million in 2017) for use by the surviving spouse’s estate.  Thus, if a decedent has not used all of his or her estate…

Tax Court Invalidates a Micro-Captive Insurance Arrangement; Likely to Embolden IRS in its Compliance Efforts

September 11, 2017

In recent years, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has increased its audits of micro-captive insurance companies in the belief that small businesses are using them to insure against improbable risks on which they never pay claims, and which the premiums return to the business owners or heirs with little to no tax.  In fact, micro-captive insurance is one of the IRS Large Business and…

New Audit Rules May Require Amendments to Partnership Agreements and LLC Operating Agreements

March 1, 2017

Overview.

Effective for tax years beginning on January 1, 2018, the IRS has a new set of rules to govern partnership audit procedures.  Since the vast majority of limited liability companies (LLCs) are taxed as partnerships, these new rules may require amendments to LLC operating agreements as well as partnership agreements to ensure that the economic burden of future tax assessments are allocated…

Filing Deadline Changes for Tax Year 2016

December 12, 2016

Beginning with returns for tax year 2016, a new law will go into effect which revises the due dates for partnership and C corporation returns and changes the extended due dates for some returns. The new rules are summarized below.

Due Dates Prior to Change

Before this change, domestic corporations (including S corporations) had to file their returns by the 15th day of the third month after the end…

Tax Deferred Annuities – Heightened Fiduciary Scrutiny

November 14, 2016

Over the last several years, much has been written in connection with the surge of “excessive fee” litigation against Section 401(k) plans.  The surge continues and has now been extended to Section 403(b) plans which are often referred to as Tax Deferred Annuities.  One commentator estimates that over twenty class action excessive fee litigation cases were filed during the first quarter of 2016…

Tax Commissioner publishes tentative 2017 Natural Resource Valuation Variables for Public Comment

July 13, 2016

On June 30, 2016, the State Tax Commissioner published the 2017 tentative natural resource property valuation variables developed by the State Tax Department for appraising natural gas, oil, coal, managed timberland and other natural resources for ad valorem tax purposes. The Tax Department will accept written public comments on the valuation variables until August 1, 2016.  Final valuation…