The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) placed a $10,000 annual limit on the deductibility of state and local taxes (SALT). In response to and attempting to work around that limitation, several states enacted programs that create charitable entities, contributions to which would entitle the donor to a credit reducing their property tax. This would reduce the amount of SALT paid by a taxpayer and allow the full deduction of the charitable contribution. New York’s…

On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., et al., decided (5-4 although not the usual liberal/conservative split) that an online retailer does not have to maintain a physical presence in a state in order to be required to collect the state’s sales and use tax. This opinion overturns the pre-internet era 1992 precedent of Quill v. North Dakota, finding that Quill was erroneously decided. This decision says…

This week the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for South Dakota v. Wayfair, regarding whether physical presence is required within a state for sales and use tax purposes, specifically addressing internet sellers. The case is challenging the Court’s 1992 decision in Quill v. North Dakota, 504 US 298, which upheld a decision from 1967 (National Bellas Hess v. Illinois, 386 US 753) and requires physical presence within a state in order to impose…

California’s Documentary Transfer Tax Act (Rev. & Tax. Code §§ 11901, et seq.) is based upon the former federal Documentary Stamp Tax Act first enacted by Congress to raise revenues for the Spanish-American War.  The federal law was repealed, effective Jan. 1, 1968, and simultaneously California, like many other states, picked up the tax with conforming legislation authorizing counties and cities to adopt their own documentary stamp tax on transferring of interests in real property. …

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) limited the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) to $10,000 for federal tax purposes. For those living in states that impose a personal income tax, this limitation may result in an increase in federal tax if their deductions for property taxes and income taxes paid to states and localities exceed the $10,000 limit. Continue Reading. …

Many blockchain companies are using a largely unregulated means of raising funds, commonly known as an initial coin offering (ICO).[1]  An ICO consists of the issuance of a newly generated cryptocurrency (generally referred to as a token) that runs on blockchain technology, in exchange for fiat currency (such as U.S. dollars) or other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ethereum. Broadly, tokens can either be classified as “utility tokens,” which provide users with access to…