Tax

  • Finance

    Year-End Tax Planning 2014

    Year-end tax planning is especially challenging this year because Congress has yet to act on a host of tax breaks that expired at the end of 2013. Some of these tax breaks may be retroactively reinstated and extended, but Congress may not decide the fate of these tax breaks until the very end of this year (and, possibly, not until next year). These breaks include, for individuals: the option to deduct state and local sales and use taxes instead of state and local income taxes; the above-the-line-deduction for qualified higher education expenses; tax-free IRA distributions for charitable purposes by those age 70-1/2 or older; and the exclusion for up-to-$2 million of mortgage debt forgiveness on a principal residence. For businesses, tax breaks that expired at the end of last year and may be retroactively reinstated and extended include: 50% bonus first year depreciation for most new machinery, equipment, and software; the $500,000 annual expensing limitation; the research tax credit; and the 15-year write-off for qualified leasehold improvement property, qualified restaurant property, and qualified retail improvement property.
  • 9th Circuit, American Bar Association / ABA, Art, Biglaw, Blogging, Gay, Gay Marriage, Gender, Legal Ethics, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Sentencing Law, State Judges, Tax Law

    Morning Docket: 10.08.14

    * How are Nevada and Idaho officials reacting to yesterday’s Ninth Circuit ruling striking down gay marriage bans in those states, and how soon might marriages get underway? [BuzzFeed]

    * In other LGBT legal news, New York City is likely to make it easier for transgender individuals to amend their birth certificates. [New York Times]

    * Good news for Joan Orie Melvin, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice turned convicted felon: her unorthodox sentence has been stayed (again). [How Appealing]

    * Eduardo Leite, who has led Baker & McKenzie since 2010, gets another two years at the helm of Biglaw’s biggest firm. [American Lawyer]

    * Cravath associate Micaela McMurrough scores a victory in tax court for artists. [New York Times]

    * The ABA has issued a new opinion addressing ethical issues raised during the sale of a law practice. [American Bar Association]

    * Why do lawyers blog? Tim Baran of Rocket Matter talks to 23 of us. [Legal Productivity]

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