7 Year-End Tax Planning Moves for Small Businesses
There is still time for business owners in Maine and elsewhere to significantly reduce their tax bills for 2018. Taking the changes included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (ACJA), here are seven year-end moves to consider: 1. Claim 100% Bonus Depreciation for...
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination Allegations: Is Your Business Vulnerable?
Do you know what constitutes pay discrimination in the eyes of the courts and regulators? As equal pay for men and women has become a hot-button issue in the business world due to the #MeToo movement and recent surveys documenting widespread pay disparity, you...
Proposed Regs Would Expand Health Reimbursement Arrangements
Three federal agencies—the IRS, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services—have issued proposed regulations that would let employers fund tax-exempted health reimbursement arrangements in order to help pay for employees’ individual health...
Small Employers: Should You Jump on the MEP Bandwagon?
There are approximately 38 million private sector employees in the United States who lack access to a retirement savings plan through their employers. Now, momentum is growing in Washington, D.C. to fix this situation by letting small employers take advantage of...
The IRS Tells Employers How to Report W-2 Scams
What should you do if your company becomes the victim of a W-2 scam? The IRS recently explained how to report the scam and your next steps (and how to avoid being taken in by this scam!). What Is A W-2 Scam? Any company can be the target of a W-2 scam. These scams...
Court in Brundle Case Sticks to Earlier ESOP Liability and Damages Rulings
Brundle v. Wilmington Trust N.A. (Brundle II) Three months after ruling the ESOP trustee was liable for causing the plan to overpay, the court had a chance to revisit its decision in the context of the trustee’s motion for reconsideration. While the court admitted to...
Compromised Projections Compel Chancery to ‘Defer’ to Deal Price
In re PetSmart, Inc. A statutory appraisal decision from the Delaware Court of Chancery offered a familiar valuation contest between the discounted cash flow analysis and the merger price. Shareholders opposed to the going-private merger of PetSmart claimed that their...
Appreciation Case Highlights Contribution by Non-Owner Spouse
Allison v. Allison A Michigan divorce case that centered on the non-owner spouse’s right to the appreciation in value of allegedly separate property is informative as it shows what factors the court considers for its active/passive analysis. However, the size of the...
Expert’s Damages Opinion Specific Enough for Class Certification Stage
Willis v. Big Lots, Inc. In what is becoming a common practice, the defendants in a potential securities class action filed a Daubert challenge to exclude financial expert testimony at the class certification stage. Although courts are divided whether Daubert should...
Chancery’s DCF Upends Appraisal Arbitrage Strategy
In re Appraisal of SWS Group, Inc. Only days after deferring to the merger price in the PetSmart case, the Delaware Court of Chancery opted for the discounted cash flow analysis in the instant appraisal proceeding. This case, which featured a bank holding company,...