Florida Supreme Court Nixes Daubert Amendment
In 2013, Florida’s legislature rejected the long-standing Frye standard on the admissibility of expert witness testimony and adopted the Daubert standard and Federal Rule of Evidence 702 with two amendments to the state’s Evidence Code. Subsequently, The Florida Bar’s...
Important Changes for Individuals in the New Tax Law
For individual taxpayers, the new tax law — commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) — includes many expected changes, some unexpected ones and some that didn't make the final cut. Here are the most important things that individual taxpayers need to know...
Tax Cut Law: Mostly Good News for Employers and Employees
For Maine employers, the most immediate concrete change the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will bring about is new payroll tax withholding rates. Here's the latest from the IRS: "We anticipate issuing the initial withholding guidance in January reflecting the new...
Market Data Approach ‘Particular Unsuitable’ to Valuing Feature Film
Holder v. Howe, 2016 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 8989 (Dec. 14, 2016) A bankruptcy-related suit in front of the California Court of Appeal turned on the issue of how to value an aged film that never made any money. The trial court dismissed the plaintiff expert’s approach...
How Might the New Tax Reform Law Affect You?
Now that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has passed, everyone wants to know how much they'll save. President Trump and Republican members of Congress say the bill will bring $3.2 trillion in tax cuts. Here's a comparison of how tax results for a typical family of...
Landmark Tax Reform Bill Passes
The most significant tax legislation in decades has passed. The new tax reform law is commonly referred to as the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" (TCJA). Now Maine businesses and individuals are trying to digest the details and evaluate how the changes will impact their tax...
Reasonable Compensation Analysis Ignores Objective Evidence, Tax Court Says
Transupport, Inc. v. Commissioner, 2016 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 214 (Nov. 23, 2016) Expert independence was front and center as an issue in the Exelon tax case. Now comes, a reasonable compensation case in which the Tax Court zeroed in on the same point. The court rebuked...
Big Accounting Rule Changes Coming Soon
If your Maine business is scrambling to get up-to-date on changes to the federal tax rules under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, note that there also will be major changes to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Here's an overview of the major accounting...
Alerding Comments on Washington State Double-Dip Analysis
In re Marriage of Cheng, 2016 Wash. App LEXIS 2854 (Nov. 22, 2016) A double-dip decision out of Washington State prompted a reader’s request for comment from veteran valuator Jim Alerding (Alerding Consulting), who frequently deals with divorce-related valuation...
How to Save Tax with an Installment Sale
Considering selling real estate in Maine before the end of the year? Most likely you hope to entice a qualified buyer who has plenty of cash on hand. But being open to the idea of an installment sale may help you seal the deal, and fortunately, installment sales also...