On June 5, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-39 providing relief for Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) and their investors (QOF investors), and clarified previously issued relief to Qualified Opportunity Zone Businesses (QOZBs) affected by the president’s declarations of major disasters caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (which now apply in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories). This GT Alert summarizes the relief measures provided by the guidance. Continue …

Whether the 5-4 Supreme Court decision in Thole vs. U.S. Bank on June 1 is “good news” for employers and will limit lawsuits by defined benefit participants, as some commentators have forecast, remains to be seen. From the perspective of advising fiduciaries how to discharge their responsibilities and avoid litigation, however, what the majority opinion means in practice should not be overlooked. Jeffrey Mamorsky and Jonathan Sulds delve into this issue in their column for …

Plan sponsor employers and employees participating in 401(k) or other retirement plans should be aware of cybersecurity breaches and unauthorized plan distributions. Vigilance may be even more critical because of the March 2020 CARES Act legislation that permits early retirement distributions without penalty for plan participants affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The heightened level of plan distributions coupled with the security risks associated with electronic communications and the “new normal” of working…

Join Greenberg Traurig’s Tax Practice Group for a June 23 presentation on how the COVID-19 crisis and shelter-at-home orders affect state and local taxes; how (some) states have responded and the longer-term implications of more people working remotely—as individuals and businesses may need to alter their tax plans and filings to match the altered work conditions caused by the pandemic. Key Topics to be Addressed: Effects of working remotely on personal income taxes, withholding, residency…

NEW YORK – June 9, 2020 – Glenn Newman, global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP Tax shareholder and former president of the New York City Tax Commission,  will speak on the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) webinar June 10 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. ET. Newman will discuss filing Real Property Income and Expense statements and the new requirements for filing the storefront registry for commercial space and rent rolls for residential properties. Click here to read…

Life changes as a result of COVID-19 may also have business considerations. One of those considerations is how changing residence will affect an individual’s taxes. That has become even more important after the deduction of state and local taxes on federal tax returns was limited to $10,000 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, making those taxes more burdensome than they had once been. Continue reading the full article, published by Financial Advisor…

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to have a significant financial impact on state and local governments (Issuers). Issuers have not only had to defer the deadlines for taxes owed to them by their taxpayers, but they also still face lower tax and other revenues and increased expenses, possibly for years to come. In an April 2020 GT Alert (Prior Alert), we discussed how Issuers could use tax and revenue anticipation notes (TRANs) to address…