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Appellate Law

Estate And Gift Tax Considerations Post-Windsor

Editor: Please tell us about your background. Fiore: I am an attorney by training, having received my LLM in estate planning from the University of Miami. I focus in the trust and estate area, and my involvement in planning for same-sex couples began with wealth transfers between same-sex...

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Diversity & Inclusion

Tax Traps And Opportunities: Planning For Same-Sex Marriage

On November 6, 2012, Maine, Maryland and Washington State joined New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia in recognizing same-sex marriage. In extending these legal rights to same-sex couples, some unique and challenging tax planning issues...

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Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)

Tax Independence – Not Just For Public Companies

The tenth anniversary of the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Sarbanes-Oxley) reminds us of the many changes that have occurred during the last 10 years in the accounting industry. The scandals of Enron, WorldCom, and others helped lead to Sarbanes-Oxley, and also helped the...

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Tax

Hidden Tax And Legal Tribulations In Fair Value Measurements For Acquisition Accounting

The organizational structures around M&A activity vary widely; acquisitions are often contemplated and executed by a small team of business-development specialists with limited input from the rest of the organization. Even though tax and legal specialists are frequently involved in the...

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Tax

The Birth Of A Major Player In The Tax Arena

Editor: WTAS is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Please tell our readers about the birth of WTAS on July 9, 2002. Who were some of the original ex-Arthur Andersen founders? What disciplines did they bring with them? From its early founding of only a few professionals, what is the size of the...

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Compensation

Voluntary Corrections To Section 409A Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans

It has been almost eight years since the enactment of Section 409A setting forth the complex rules governing the timing, form and tax treatment of nonqualified deferred compensation payments. The final regulations under Section 409A were effective January 1, 2009, at which time non-grandfathered...

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Finance

Business Valuation And Exit Strategies In Volatile Markets

Since 1990, the VIX (the Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Volatility Index) has averaged approximately 20 percent but has skyrocketed in recent years, rising to nearly 90 percent in October 2008 and fluctuating as high as 48 percent in August 2011. How can an owner of a privately held...

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