Tag Archives: Tax

Tax Season Is in Full Swing: Beware of the W-2 Spear Phishing Scam

By BakerHostetler on January 27, 2017 Posted in Income Tax, Privacy

By Patrick H. Haggerty Editor’s Note: This blog post is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s Data Privacy Monitor blog. Last year we saw an unprecedented number of companies of all sizes fall victim to a W-2 spear phishing scam. The scam usually began with a “spoofing” email that appeared to have been sent by a … Continue Reading

Retirement Planning Strategies under the Scrutiny of the Federal Fisc

By Lucas Witters on August 26, 2015 Posted in Retirement Planning, Tax

President Obama’s proposed budget for 2016 shows that some retirement planning strategies have drawn the attention of the Federal government and may be subject to future legislative limitations. The President’s proposed budget suggests that Roth IRA conversions be limited to only pre-tax contributions. This would effectively eliminate the “backdoor” Roth IRA conversions by which taxpayers … Continue Reading

Bitcoin and the Like: Tax Considerations

By Ashley Thompson on April 1, 2015 Posted in Tax, Virtual Currency

Virtual currency is a new, untested, and unregulated asset. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) defines “virtual currency” as a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and/or a store of value. “Convertible virtual currency” is virtual currency that has an equivalent value in real currency, or acts … Continue Reading

Obama Proposes “Middle Class” Tax Increases at Death

By Kevin Robertson on March 24, 2015 Posted in Tax

The prospects of significant tax legislation this year are low. Nevertheless, when the President proposes “tax reform” it makes headlines. The Obama administration’s latest tax proposals for fiscal year 2016 would increase dramatically both the rates of transfer/income taxation at death and the number of people subject to those higher taxes in the event of … Continue Reading

IRS “Wealth Squad” – Something to Keep in Mind During Tax Season

By Joseph Verciglio on January 7, 2014 Posted in Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Income Tax, Tax

The IRS Global High Wealth Industry (“GHWI”) (part of the IRS Large Business & International Division) is auditing individuals with tens of millions of assets or income who utilize complicated financial and estate plan structures. GHWI was established by the IRS in late 2009, but now has a few years of service “under its belt”. … Continue Reading

Is Tax Law Ever Permanent?

By Jennifer Eschedor on June 10, 2013 Posted in Tax

According to dictionary.com, permanent means “existing perpetually; everlasting, especially without significant change.” However, for federal tax law purposes, something is “permanent” only so long as Congress and the President do not act to change it. Take, for instance, the “basic exclusion amount” for federal gift and estate tax purposes. This is the amount that a … Continue Reading

BakerHostetler’s 24th Annual Tax, Budget and Health Care Policy Seminar

By Christopher Fidler on June 10, 2013 Posted in Tax

Registration remains open for BakerHostetler’s 24th Annual Tax, Budget and Health Care Policy Seminar taking place on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 in Washington, DC. The emphasis of this conference is to provide insight to enable business owners and decision makers to effectively plan for tax and health care costs affecting businesses. For those responsible for … Continue Reading

Required Updates for Entity-Assigned EINs

By Lisa Roberts-Mamone on June 5, 2013 Posted in EINs

On May 3, 2013, the IRS issued final regulations that will require all persons (including trusts and estates) with employer identification numbers (“EIN”) to provide updated information to the IRS in a prescribed manner beginning in 2014. The IRS has concluded that current, accurate information about taxpayers and their responsible parties (e.g., their fiduciaries) is … Continue Reading