Occasionally in business one must deal with a disgruntled vendor, customer, current or former employee. Sometimes that person’s reasons for being disgruntled may be legitimate, sometimes they may be unjustified. As business people, we sometimes make a decision to resolve a matter by paying a disgruntled individual with monies, goods or services. In such a circumstance, careful consideration should be…
Many business transactions justify the preparation of a written contract signed by both parties. However other smaller transactions, such as a software company doing a new small project for an existing large client, may not justify going through the formal process of a signed contract including comments from the large customer’s in-house counsel. For those transactions, it would be prudent…
The United States Supreme Court on June 18, 2009, in a 5/4 split decision, in the case of Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., addressed the burden of proof of an employee in a federal age discrimination claim. In trial, who has the burden of proof is important in that a judge or jury deciding a case will consider the…
On May 20, 2009, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-GA., introduced legislation designed to stimulate residential real estate sales by expanding the first-time homebuyer tax credit which was passed by Congress earlier this year (discussed in earlier articles at this site). The legislation seeks to increase the maximum amount of the tax credit from $8,000 to $15,000. More importantly, it would…
President Obama recently signed into law the $787 billion economic-recovery package which included a tax credit for first-time home buyers. That tax credit was scaled back from the proposed $15,000 to $8,000 in order to get sufficient support for the stimulus bill’s approval. While this is significantly less than what Obama had proposed, it is $500 more than the current…
Recent changes in the tax law have modified the tax benefits of selling a personal residence. For several years, taxpayers have been able to exclude up to $250,000 ($500,000 for married couples filing jointly) of capital gains from income taxation. However, provisions in the Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008 have changed the rules. In the past, tax professionals advised…
Under New Hampshire and Massachusetts law, employment non-compete agreements are narrowly construed to protect only the legitimate business interests of the employer. If an employee who has signed a non-compete agreement leaves his job and goes to work for a competitor, the former employer may choose to sue. The employer can seek either strictly damages caused by the alleged violation…
I have received several calls over the years by employees with the misapprehension that if they quit their job because they were not being paid they will not be able to collect unemployment compensation. This is incorrect. If you have been an employee of a company and quit because the employer states they can no longer afford to pay or…
Divorcing couples are often faced with the issue of having a large portion of their respective net worths in 401(k) Retirement Plans. These assets consist of tax-deferred investments which are taxable upon withdrawal and which often carry a 10% Tax Penalty if withdrawn prior to age 59 ½. With proper planning, exceptions in the Tax Code allow a divorcing couple…
As reported here in an earlier article, there is a bill pending before Congress which will keep permanent the current Estate Tax exclusion of $3,500,000. In recent days two more bills have been proposed, one by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and the other by Rep. Travis Childers (D-MS). Rep. Jim McDermott, a senior Member of the House Ways and Means…