Posted by William Byrnes on November 8, 2013
Check out the new title at http://www.nationalunderwriter.com/tax-facts-on-individuals-small-business.html
Tax Facts on Individuals & Small Business focuses exclusively on what individuals and small businesses need to know to maximize opportunities under today’s often complex tax rules.
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Posted by William Byrnes on November 6, 2013
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandate that will require employers with more than 50 full-time employees to provide health coverage for those employees or pay a penalty that can reach $3,000 per employee has many small business clients scrambling to plan for years ahead. Because independent contractors are not counted toward the 50-employee limit, some small business clients may be tempted to reclassify common law employees as independent contractors to avoid the mandate.
Read Professor William Byrnes and Robert Bloink’s analysis of the issues, challenges, pitfalls and solutions for addressing a business’ future in a world of Obama Care at > Think Advisor <
Posted in Compliance, Tax Policy | Tagged: ACA, Affordable Care Act, Business, independent contractor, Internal Revenue Service, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Small business, United States | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on November 4, 2013
With the U.S. population aging and more boomers turning to reverse mortgages to fund their retirement, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced major changes to its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program.
The changes, most of which became effective on Sept. 30, are designed to prevent borrowers from tapping into the entire value locked into their homes. Specifically, new limits have been placed on the amount that borrowers can take out during the first year.
Read Professor William Byrnes and Robert Bloink’s analysis of this issue by clicking to our Think Advisor’s article > ThinkAdvisor <
Posted in Compliance, Retirement Planning, Wealth Management | Tagged: Business, Federal Housing Administration, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, Mortgage loan, Reverse mortgage, U.S. Department of Housing, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Urban Development | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 31, 2013
Associate Dean William Byrnes recently returned from a week in Moscow (October 21 – 25) wherein he participated in two conferences, a presentation to the tax and transfer pricing partners at Pepeliaev (one of the largest Russian law firms), and meetings with government Ministry officials. Professor Byrnes, a renown international tax academic, was invited and sponsored by the Financial University of the Russian Federation and the University of Amsterdam’s Centre for Tax Law.
A conference organized by the Moscow branch of the International Financial Association, the world’s leading 20,000 member organization for the study of international fiscal policy matters, was held at Morgan Stanley’s Moscow office. William Byrnes joined presenters from the tax law faculty of the University of Amsterdam, including Dr. Dennis Weber, Dr. Stef van Weeghel, and Dr. Hein Vermeulen, as well as Bart Zoetmulder from the law firm Loyens and Loeff, Continental Europe’s largest. Byrnes participation included analyzing the impact of various aspects of the forthcoming United States and Russian intergovernmental agreement for automatic financial information exchange.
Professor Byrnes said: “I think that Dr. Dennis Weber, a powerhouse among European Tax Law professors, took notice of my academic work because I am an actual graduate from the University of Amsterdam wherein I studied international tax law and from there I began my international tax career.”
Byrnes continued: “The Amsterdam Centre for Tax Law Director, Dr. Dennis Weber, sponsored by his university, visited Thomas Jefferson’s campus and presented lectures to our residential students on the often overlooked world of international tax management opportunities. After our engaging discussions in Moscow about overlapping mutual opportunities, I am just now working out the logistics for our sponsorship of his return in March for a deeper engagement with the Tax Society, led by 2nd year student Mark Hackman, the 3rd year law students leveraging my publications programs for their career development, and myself to complete discussions exploring the potential to offer a couple joint programs in a hybrid residential-online format.”
Financial University and the University of Amsterdam hosted a conference on emerging international tax issues in the context of the Russian Federation’s tax administration. William Byrnes joined high level presenters from the Ministry of Finance, from the Tax Administration, and tax professors from Financial University and from the University of Amsterdam.
Dr. Weber stated: “Dean Byrnes made a very inspirational speech during the conference. We already asked him if he wants to teach during our new International Tax Law master program in Amsterdam. Our students will like and learn a lot from the way he combines law, tax policy and economics.”
William Byrnes said: “My contribution to this day-long discussion forum was to shed light on alternative perspectives of US tax policy than normally heard by Russian or Dutch tax officials, a role in which I think I succeeded based upon the interest in my presentation. I’ve been asked by my Dutch colleagues for my macro-economic analysis work of tax-regulatory impact as well as information on effective rates resulting from US international tax policy in that it may be useful for current far-reaching legislative developments in their country.”
Dean William Byrnes continued: “I had the most interesting meeting with the Advisor to the Minister of Justice, Yury Zudov, wherein we discussed Orthodox theology in the context of society, the development of law, and also for university education. Before joining the government, Yury Zudov was responsible for international relations for St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University in Moscow, and still serves on its faculty exploring the area of jurisprudence. Southern California, including San Diego, has a sizeable Orthodox population and the newly established Orthodox St. Katherine college, and thus I foresee future opportunities.”
At the firm of Pepeliaev, Professor William Byrnes and Dr. Dennis Weber presented about leveraging hybrid residential / online education to build and maintain firm knowledge-capacity to its founding partner Sergey Pepelieav, its Head of the Tax Practice Group Leonid Kravchinsky, its transfer pricing partner Valentina Akimova, and its Staff Training and Development Manager Larisa Gerasimova. Tax Partner Andrey Tereshchenko agreed to author the Russian chapter contribution in Professor Byrnes forthcoming Second edition of Lexis’ Guide to FATCA Compliance, and the firm will contribute to other of Professor Byrnes Lexis and Wolters Kluwer publications.
William Byrnes’ concluded: “Our week of presentations and meetings ended coincidentally with the opening day of Moscow Fashion Week, which like Rio’s, is a vibrant environment for creative designers and advisors to explore these growth markets.”
For more information about the Graduate and Distance Education Programs at TJSL, visit http://mastersinlaw.tjsl.edu/lpap/
For more information about University of Amsterdam Centre for Tax Law, visit http://actl.uva.nl/
Posted in Courses | Tagged: Dennis Weber, Financial University, international tax, Moscow, Tax law, University of Amsterdam, William Byrnes | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 29, 2013
On October 29, 2013, the IRS released the long awaited FFI draft agreement and an accompanying notice incorporating updates to certain due diligence, withholding, and other reporting requirements released earlier this year (click the FATCA category on the left for previous coverage). The FFI draft agreement provides the proposed guidance for FFIs to comply with the information reporting and withholding tax provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
The IRS is committed to finalizing the FFI agreement by the end of 2013 because client due diligence and withholding requirements begin July 1, 2014. These due diligence and withholding requirements were this summer pushed back 6 months from January 1, 2014. The first FATCA information reports are due by PFFIs to the IRS in March 2015 via IRS Form 8966, FATCA Report, and includes the FATCA Report XML.
The IRS FATCA registration website for FFIs has been open since August 19, but also cast off to a late start of over a month. Since August 19, FFI have begun testing the registration process and entering information. The IRS expects to issue GIINs (Global Intermediary Identification Numbers) in early 2014. A Model 2 Reporting FFI (RFFI) that registers with the IRS to obtain a global intermediary identification number (GIIN) and complies with the terms of the FFI agreement, as modified by the applicable Model 2 IGA, will be treated as complying with the requirements of, and not subject to FATCA withholding.
The draft FFI agreement released today is for participating FFIs (PFFI) that directly engage in an agreement with the IRS and those RFFIs reporting through a Model 2 intergovernmental agreement (IGA). To date, Treasury has signed nine IGAs of which two are based on Model 2, has reached 16 agreements in substance, and is engaged in related conversations with many more jurisdictions. For an in-depth compliance analysis of the elements of these IGAs, see LexisNexis® Guide to FATCA Compliance. The Model 2 IGA framework allows FFIs to report directly to the IRS to the extent that an account holder consents or that such reporting is otherwise legally permitted. Non-consenting account holders information may be obtained via normal information exchange between the governments.
An FFI may register on Form 8957, FATCA registration, via the FATCA registration website available at http://www.irs.gov/fatca to enter into an FFI agreement on behalf of its branches (including its home office) so that each of such branches may be treated as a participating FFI. A reporting Model 2 FFI may also register on the FATCA registration website, on behalf of one or more of its branches (including its home office), to obtain a GIIN and to agree to comply with the terms of an FFI agreement, as modified by an applicable Model 2 IGA. The PFFI must appoint a responsible officer to establish a FATCA compliance program who then periodically reviews the sufficiency of the FATCA compliance program.
“The Agreement and forthcoming guidance have been designed to minimize administrative burdens and related costs for foreign financial institutions and withholding agents,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs Robert B. Stack is reported to have said with today’s notice release. “Today’s preview demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to ensuring full global cooperation and a smooth implementation.”
Treasury added comments directed at critics of the compliance costs of FATCA: “The regulations were intentionally designed to appropriately balance the scope of entities and accounts subject to FATCA with due diligence requirements, while also phasing in the related obligations over several years. For example, the final regulations exempt all preexisting accounts held by individuals with $50,000 or less from review. For similar accounts with less than $1,000,000, an FFI is only required to search the account information that is electronically available. In many cases, FFIs are permitted to rely on information that they already must collect for local anti-money laundering and know-your-customer rules.”
“Treasury is releasing necessary pieces of this FATCA puzzle very close to the compliance deadlines, given the necessary systems implementation required by PFFIs and RFFIs – albeit the longer than 2 week government shutdown certainly wasn’t on anybody’s radar screen”, said Professor William Byrnes. “Some firms will simply not be FATCA-compliant by next year’s deadlines, and I don’t think there will be another postponement of due diligence deadlines. Moreover, as it stands now, I don’t foresee the FATCA withholding refund procedures working smoothly either. Congress is making too many commitments for Treasury without giving Treasury the necessary resources to meet those commitments, and the shutdown didn’t help.”
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Posted in Compliance, FATCA | Tagged: FFI, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, Foreign function interface, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, LexisNexis, Money Laundering, United States | 1 Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 28, 2013
http://www.slideshare.net/williambyrnes1/regulatory-impact-a-byrnes-2013
Professor William Byrnes’ PowerPoint for the Regulatory Impact Analysis lectures in the Law & Economics course. Study the materials beforehand as class will only be a facilitated discussion of regulatory case studies and policy initiatives
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Posted by William Byrnes on October 24, 2013
LexisNexis released in September 2013 the new and expanded 2nd Edition of its International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide. Thomas Jefferson’s Associate Dean of Graduate & Distance Education William Byrnes is the co-author with Dr. Robert J. Munro, retired law librarian of University of Florida. This is William Byrnes and Robert Munro’s sixth book together.
When asked about how Dr. Munro and he started writing together, William Byrnes replied: “When I met him in 1998, Dr. Robert Munro was Co-Director of the Center for International Financial Crimes Studies at University of Florida’s College of Law, focusing on anti money laundering and anti terrorism financing, whereas I focused on international taxation and multinational behavior. We explored several overlapping areas of interest, approaching each from our very different perspectives. Dr. Munro brings to the table his experience as a national security expert and his research into undocumented marketplaces whereas I bring my experience with multinational organization decision making and risk management.”
“Dr. Munro, after retiring from University of Florida, actively teaches anti money laundering for the Thomas Jefferson graduate program and provides its graduate and juris doctorate students with publication opportunities through the publication course to promote their professional careers. He has been particularly helpful with assisting students seek national security careers.”
Regarding the 2nd edition International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide published this month, Robert Munro added: “The second edition of International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide includes a new binder with new chapter structures of completely rewritten tax information and analysis. The International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide has been expanded to include many new countries to match the robust list of 110 countries of Foreign Tax & Trade Briefs. Moreover, International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide subscribers will receive new chapters of analysis and planning based on the OECD Model DTA articles and major trading country jurisprudence that are most relevant to corporate tax counsel, addressing topics such as capital gains, dividends, interest, rents, leasing income, royalties, and permanent establishment. Corporate counsel may combine the Foreign Tax & Trade Brief publications with Tax Havens of the World to form an international tax planning and risk management library at substantially less cost than competitive product suites.”
William Byrnes explained the history of this Lexis publication: “During the Second World War, Walter H. Diamond, then a banker, was tasked by the federal government to analyze and report on the investment and tax laws of each country and territory of which the Allies held confiscated Axis assets. Walter Diamond ventured though out the continents and Pacific meticulously collecting the local tax and investment laws and regulations applicable to the Allies new assets, and transcribed them into an understandable brief by country for the U.S. Treasury. In 1948, Matthew Bender published his country briefs in the first edition of Foreign Tax & Trade Briefs. Since 1948, the quarterly updated country briefs have been leveraged by thousands of multinational corporate counsel subscribers as part of their foreign tax and investments risk management best practices.”
“In 1974, Matthew Bender added a third binder to Foreign Tax & Trade Briefs, International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide, to specifically address the important role of tax treaties in tax risk management that had developed in the sixties. By 1975, nearly 1,000 tax treaties had been signed between countries based on the OECD’s Model with an additional 200 treaties in force based on the League of Nations Models. There are now more than 3,200 tax related treaties.”
When asked their next project together, Dr. Munro stated: “We are looking at tackling the rewrite of all three binders of Lexis’ Tax Havens of the World, with a new table of contents, new chapters, and a more modern ‘post-OECD reports’ approach.” William Byrnes added, “Yes, this major re-do should keep us creatively busy another couple years.”
Posted in book, Taxation | Tagged: Foreign Tax & Trade Brief, International taxation, LexisNexis, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Robert Munro, Tax treaty, Thomas Jefferson, University of Florida | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 21, 2013
Summit Professional Network’s National Underwriter published two books authored by Associate Dean William Byrnes and Robert Bloink: 2014 Tax Facts on Investments and 2014 Tax Facts on Insurance & Employee Benefits
William Byrnes explained National Underwriter Company’s place in the market: “National Underwriter has been the leading publisher for over 110 years to the insurance industry. Tax Facts was first published over 60 years ago and has become in the words of Michael E. Kitces, Director of Financial Planning of Pinnacle Advisory Group:
“… THE benchmark standard that all other resources are measured by, for financial planners that might need to look up a question about any kind of tax-related issue involving a client. The Tax Facts series sits on a bookshelf right next to my desk for easy and regular access, and only leaves when I replace it with each year’s update!” (source: http://pro.nuco.com/Pages/AboutUs.aspx)
William Byrnes added “Tax Facts has built strong a subscriber base of over 20,000 financial planning professionals. I think financial planning professionals relate to the approach of contextualizing client problems in a Question – Answer format. Clients don’t come with neatly packaged issues, but instead want to tell their stories and ask questions. Thus, Tax Facts takes that approach, by example leveraging case studies and typical client questions in the expanding online version.”
William Byrnes continued “Robert Bloink’s experience as a former IRS Counsel and national insurance markets advisor combines well with my big 4 and publication background.”
When asked “What is new about the 2014 edition?” Robert Bloink replied “We have included a new section on cross border employment and estate tax issues, captive insurance and alternative risk transfer, reverse mortgages, DOMA, Affordable Care Act, and REITs as well as expanding coverage of annuities, structured settlements, retirement planning and deferred compensation.”
Alexis Long worked with Thomas Jefferson joint degree juris doctorate and LLM alumnus, Marcus Threats, on the REIT Q&A section which sprung from his senior writing project. Mr. Threats said that “I obtained a legal education to address challenges that I had experienced in the property investments markets. While the opportunity for a dual degree at Thomas Jefferson attracted me to the law school, the authorship with a renown professional publisher has really made my Thomas Jefferson education stand out.”
William Byrnes interjected: “This Thursday Adjunct Professor Alexis Long begins the next Publications course via the online LLM and interested students should contact her or myself. We are already planning the 2014 year and about to complete our JD and LLM publication teams.”
William Byrnes continued: “By the way, in November Robert and I expect to announce the publication of our third Tax Facts title addressing entrepreneur’s income tax and small business tax issues and hope it gains market traction in line with these two titles.”
Posted in book, Estate Tax, Retirement Planning, Taxation, Wealth Management | Tagged: insurance, national underwriter, tax facts, Thomas Jefferson, William Byrnes | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 17, 2013
Making a gift of a life insurance policy can prove to be anything but simple for clients who may not know what questions to ask in order to ascertain the potential tax consequences of the transaction. Transferring a policy that is subject to a policy loan can prove even more problematic, even if the transferee is a family member and the transfer is intended entirely as a gift.
Though the rule’s name might suggest otherwise, the transfer for value rule can create a serious tax trap for a client who transfers a life insurance policy, even if nothing tangible actually changes hands in the transaction. Want to read more? Open access content at Think Advisor!
Posted in Estate Tax, Insurance, Taxation, Wealth Management | Tagged: Agents and Marketers, Beneficiary, Business, estate tax, Financial services, gift tax, insurance, Life, life insurance, term life insurance, Wealth Management | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 15, 2013
The latest figures from America’s Health Insurance Plans tell the story: Enrollment in Health Savings Accounts has reached nearly 15.5 million, growing by almost 15 percent since last year and more than tripling in the past six years.
HSAs, for the uninitiated, are a central element in the so-called consumer-driven health care realm, designed to give individuals more control where and how their health care dollars are spent.
Six burning questions are answered about HSAs by William Byrnes and Robert Bloink at > Benefits Pro < in an open media format…
Posted in Tax Policy, Wealth Management | Tagged: Consumer-driven health care, Flexible spending account, Health, Health insurance, Health savings account, High-deductible health plan, insurance, United States | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 14, 2013
Last Spring, William Byrnes submitted a presentation proposal to the conference committee on the pedagogical reasons for, and addressing the challenges of, ‘flipping the classroom’, which was inevitably chosen for a forty minute slot. William Byrnes pioneered online legal education in 1995, thereafter creating the first online LL.M. offered by an ABA accredited law school. He is a key founding member of the Work Group for Distance Education in Legal Education that in 2013 published “Distance Learning in Legal Education: A Summary of Delivery Models, Regulatory Issues and Recommended Practices”.
William Byrnes said “I invited Jason Fiske to tag team the presentation wherein we swap back and forth at couple minute intervals to continually refresh audience interest. Listening to one speaker for forty minutes can lead to distraction, fractionating between two complementary styles and perspectives allows the audience to refocus attention.”
William Byrnes and Jason Fiske presented on the topic of flipping the classroom at CaliBUG 2013 held October 11 in San Diego. CaliBug had 280 attendants this year from California higher education institutions, representing administration and faculty of universities and colleges, as well as some So Cal public high schools.
Byrnes added, “I spoke to the pedagogical justification of flipping the classroom while Jason illustrated through examples how we are flipping the classroom. By example, we showed captured screens of videos, study guides, discussion forums, and assessment techniques.”
He continued, “I think it is important to start such distance education discussions by presenting the findings of the US Department of Education Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning –
A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies:
“the meta-analysis of 50 study effects, 43 of which were drawn from research with older learners, found that students in online conditions performed modestly better, on average, than those learning the same material through traditional face-to-face instruction.’
“Also during the presentation I drop in the quote from another article that:
‘Diverse groups of problems solvers – groups of people with diverse tools – consistently outperform groups of the best & the brightest’.”
Jason Fiske chimed in, “the presentation today, and the massive interest in the system we are creating shows how the online Graduate Programs continue to lead as thought innovators and leaders in the continually evolving field of online education.”
Byrnes added, “Several institutions’ faculty approached us afterwards to establish follow up conversations. CaliBUG has presented a very good opportunity for cross-fertilization with public universities in Southern California, like the UCs and Community Colleges, that are now exploring how best to leverage distance education to accomplish their missions of public education, as well as the private universities in attendance like USC, Loyola, and our neighbor USD.”
Posted in Courses, Education Theory | Tagged: Community college, Distance education, Distance Learning, education, eLearning, Meta-Analysis, San Diego, Southern California | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 11, 2013
To purchase LexisNexis® Guide to FATCA Compliance and save 20%, visit the LexisNexis Store. The link for the 20% discount is:
Over 400 pages of compliance analysis !! now available with the 20% discount code link in this flier –> LN Guide to FATCA_flier.
The LexisNexis® Guide to FATCA Compliance was designed in consultation, via numerous interviews and meetings, with government officials, NGO staff, large financial institution compliance officers, investment fund compliance officers, and trust companies, in consultation with contributors who are leading industry experts. The contributors hail from several countries and an offshore financial center and include attorneys, accountants, information technology engineers, and risk managers from large, medium and small firms and from large financial institutions. A sample chapter from the 25 is available on LexisNexis: http://www.lexisnexis.com/store/images/samples/9780769853734.pdf
Analysis by FATCA Experts –
Kyria Ali, FCCA is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (“ACCA”) of Baker Tilly (BVI) Limited.
Michael Alliston, Esq. is a solicitor in the London office of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP.
Ariene d’Arc Diniz e Amaral, Adv. is a Brazilian tax attorney of Rolim, Viotti & Leite Campos Advogados.
Maarten de Bruin, Esq. is a partner of Stibbe Simont.
Jean-Paul van den Berg, Esq. is a tax partner of Stibbe Simont.
Amanda Castellano, Esq. spent three years as an auditor with the Internal Revenue Service.
Luzius Cavelti, Esq. is an associate at Tappolet & Partner in Zurich.
Bruno Da Silva, LL.M. works at Loyens & Loeff, European Direct Tax Law team and is a tax treaty adviser for the Macau special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China.
Prof. J. Richard Duke, Esq. is an attorney admitted in Alabama and Florida specializing over forty years in income and estate tax planning and compliance, as well as asset protection, for high net wealth families. He served as Counsel to the Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics 1983-1989.
Dr. Jan Dyckmans, Esq. is a German attorney at Flick Gocke Schaumburg in Frankfurt am Main.
Arne Hansen is a legal trainee of the Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht (Higher Regional Court of Hamburg), Germany.
Mark Heroux, J.D. is a Principal in the Tax Services Group at Baker Tilly who began his career in 1986 with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel.
Rob. H. Holt, Esq. is a practicing attorney of thirty years licensed in New York and Texas representing real estate investment companies.
Richard Kando, CPA (New York) is a Director at Navigant Consulting and served as a Special Agent with the IRS Criminal Investigation Division where he received the U.S. Department of Justice – Tax Division Assistant Attorney General’s Special Contribution Award.
Denis Kleinfeld, Esq., CPA. is a renown tax author over four decades specializing in international tax planning of high net wealth families. He is Of Counsel to Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph, PL, in Miami, Florida and was employed as an attorney with the Internal Revenue Service in the Estate and Gift Tax Division.
Richard L. Knickerbocker, Esq. is the senior partner in the Los Angeles office of the Knickerbocker Law Group and the former City Attorney of the City of Santa Monica.
Saloi Abou-Jaoude’ Knickerbocker Saloi Abou-Jaoude’ Knickerbocker is a Legal Administrator in the Los Angeles office of the Knickerbocker Law Group concentrated on shari’a finance.
Jeffrey Locke, Esq. is Director at Navigant Consulting.
Josh Lom works at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP.
Prof. Stephen Polak is a Tax Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s International Tax & Financial Services Graduate Program where he lectures on Financial Products, Tax Procedure and Financial Crimes. As a U.S. Senior Internal Revenue Agent, Financial Products and Transaction Examiner he examined exotic financial products of large multi-national corporations. Currently, Prof. Polak is assigned to U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s three year National Research Program’s as a Federal State and Local Government Specialist where he examines states, cities, municipalities, and other governmental entities.
Dr. Maji C. Rhee is a professor of Waseda University located in Tokyo.
Jean Richard, Esq. a Canadian attorney, previously worked for the Quebec Tax Department, as a Senior Tax Manager with a large international accounting firm and as a Tax & Estate consultant for a pre-eminent Canadian insurance company. He is currently the Vice President and Sr. Wealth Management Consultant of the BMO Financial Group.
Michael J. Rinaldi, II, CPA. is a renown international tax accountant and author, responsible for the largest independent audit firm in Washington, D.C.
Edgardo Santiago-Torres, Esq., CPA, is also a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant, pursuant to the AICPA and CIMA rules and regulations, admitted by the Puerto Rico Board of Accountancy to practice Public Accounting in Puerto Rico, and an attorney.
Hope M. Shoulders, Esq. is a licensed attorney in the State of New Jersey whom has previously worked for General Motors, National Transportation Safety Board and the Department of Commerce.
Jason Simpson, CAMS is the Director of the Miami office for Global Atlantic Partners, overseeing all operations in Florida, the Caribbean and most of Latin America. He has worked previously as a bank compliance employee at various large and mid-sized financial institutions over the past ten years. He has been a key component in the removal of Cease and Desist Orders as well as other written regulatory agreements within a number of Domestic and International Banks, and designed complete AML units for domestic as well as international banks with over three million clients.
Dr. Alberto Gil Soriano, Esq. worked at the European Commission’s Anti-Fraud Office in Brussels, and most recently at the Legal Department of the International Monetary Fund’s Financial Integrity Group in Washington, D.C. He currently works at the Fiscal Department of Uría Menéndez Abogados, S.L.P in Barcelona (Spain).
Lily L. Tse, CPA. is a partner of Rinaldi & Associates (Washington, D.C.).
Dr. Oliver Untersander, Esq. is partner at Tappolet & Partner in Zurich.
Mauricio Cano del Valle, Esq. is a Mexican attorney who previously worked for the Mexican Ministry of Finance (Secretaría de Hacienda) and Deloitte and Touche Mexico. He was Managing Director of the Amicorp Group Mexico City and San Diego offices, and now has his own law firm.
John Walker, Esq. is an accomplished attorney with a software engineering and architecture background.
Bruce Zagaris, Esq. is a partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, LLP.
Prof. William Byrnes was a Senior Manager then Associate Director at Coopers & Lybrand, before joining academia wherein he became a renowned author of 38 book and compendium volumes, 93 book & treatise chapters and supplements, and 800+ articles. He is Associate Dean of Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s International Taxation & Financial Services Program.
Dr. Robert J. Munro is the author of 35 published books is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of Research for North America of CIDOEC at Jesus College, Cambridge University, and head of the anti money laundering studies of Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s International Taxation & Financial Services Program.
Posted in book, FATCA | Tagged: FATCA, Internal Revenue Service, law, LexisNexis | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 8, 2013
The Director of Siberian Federal University, Irina Shisko and Head of the Comparative Law Department jointly wrote: “We received excellent feedback from the students concerning your course of lectures and three or four of them would like to get your advice to study International Tax Law in the future. “ …
“We thank you kindly for the brilliant presentation in the plenary session of the international conference, which certainly brightened up our forum”, they continued.
Professor William Byrnes recently returned from a week in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia (Russia) wherein he presented an international tax and investments course at the Siberian Federal University Law Institute, and led a two-hour faculty workshop on distance education. In between his lecture schedule, he made three conference appearances.
At the Siberian Comparative Law Department Conference on Constitutionalism, William Byrnes delivered a talk on the topic of “DTAs, TIEA, IGAs and the U.S. Constitution. Exploring the Executive / Senate Treaty authority, House of Representative “Origination” of Tax authority, and Congressional Regulation of Commerce with Foreign Nations authority”. For the opening of the Siberian Tax Conference, William Byrnes addressed the scope and procedures of financial information exchange about tax matters between Russian and the USA in the context of the current negotiation for an intergovernmental agreement to resolve Russian firms’ challenges of compliance with Russian law and that of the US’ new FATCA financial information gathering regime. Finally, William Byrnes sat on a two hour afternoon tax panel discussing appropriate transfer pricing methodologies to apply to complex multinational transactions and value added chains.
William Byrnes said of the events: “All the professors, students, government officials from Siberia and Moscow, and attorneys from the prestigious Russian law firm Pepeliaev that I met were very warm and accommodating. I spent many dining hours in discussions on topics as diverse as learning theory to Eastern Orthodox ethos. I heard many intriguing viewpoints, reminding me that there are often several perspectives of an issue outside of the US norms.”
William Byrnes responded about his approach to teaching: “For the international tax lectures, I provided context and captivated interest by employing case studies of Apple, Google and Starbucks from which to examine a series of issues. Leveraging company reports, videos, Congressional and Parliamentary testimony, articles and selections from my books, students are able to obtain a variety of perspectives of the companies’ activities and a deep understanding of select issues.”
“I was impressed by the high quality of the facilities at Siberian Federal University, including state-of-the-industry smart-boards and multimedia in each classroom, as well as the attentiveness and engagement of the students and the faculty during and after lectures. The university library with more than two million English volumes in print, and its Sciences department equipment has high resolution electron microscope equipment that rivals University of California, San Diego (UCSD).”
William Byrnes concluded: “By invitation of Dr. Dennis Weber, renown European Union tax expert, I am being hosted at the end of October by Moscow Finance University in cooperation with University of Amsterdam’s Tax Center to engage in similar topic matter at a series of workshops. I look forward to building on the discussions that originated at Siberia Federal University in this regard.”
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 8, 2013
As of June 2013, Master Limited Partnerships (“MLPs”) have reached a market capital of $400 billion, with over 100 MLPs traded on major exchanges.[1] Generally established as LLCs with advantageous partnership flow through tax treatment, MLPs present attractive return vehicles to attract long term capital to the energy extraction, energy transportation (“midstream”), and most recent, energy distribution (“downstream”), markets. However, MLPs may result in unfavorable tax treatment for investors as well.
The Mertens Federal Income Taxation August 2013 Highlight by William Byrnes, Robert Bloink and Theron West examines the tax issues for MLP investors pre- and post- the 1986 Code, imposed MLP investment restrictions, and gradual relaxation thereof. The Highlight concludes with an analysis of the April 2013 legislative bi-partisan proposal, the Master Limited Partnership Parity Act, to extend MLP tax treatment to renewable (“green”) energy, and why this proposal is contentious.
Given the continuing Congressional gridlock over deficit reduction and heightened sensitivity of energy industry tax breaks in light of this, even with bipartisan support, renewable energy lobbyists will probably not realize passage this year. According to J.P. Morgan, “MLP distribution yields have generated 6-7%, and over the past twenty years, capital growth has totaled approximately 8% annually.[2] Regardless of whether MLPs eventually are expanded to encourage renewable energy investments, for the time being they present an alternative asset class that has the potential to produce high-yield returns, and therefore high investor interest.[3]
See Mertens Highlights at > WestLaw <
Posted in Tax Policy, Wealth Management | Tagged: Business, Energy, Houston, Investing, Master limited partnership, MLP, New York Stock Exchange, Renewable energy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 4, 2013
Clients who think they have seen all that whole life insurance has to offer need to take a closer look. Insurance carriers have taken steps to bring whole life products back to relevance in today’s competitive environment. In order to compete in a crowded marketplace for insurance products, carriers have developed options to allow clients to transform a traditional whole life policy into a flexible long-term investment product that can provide built-in protection against illness or disability. Take a look at this entire article on Life Health Pro
If looking for planning tips and client acquisition strategies, feel free to explore National Underwriter Advanced Markets Journal and Main Library
Posted in Insurance, Wealth Management | Tagged: Agents and Marketers, Business, Financial services, insurance, Life, life insurance, Wealth Management, Whole life insurance | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 2, 2013
Your small business clients know that the health insurance exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are coming—and soon—but they may not realize that they create significant benefits for employers in the form of dramatic cost savings above and beyond the current rules governing deductibility of premiums and eligibility for certain tax credits.
Beginning Nov. 1, small business clients will be eligible to sign up online for a specially created Small Business Health Options Program (the SHOP exchange), but clients are unlikely to have realized that the rules of the game have changed with the advent of SHOP.
Read William Byrnes and Robert Bloink’s analysis at Think Advisor
Posted in Compliance, Insurance | Tagged: Affordable Care Act, Business, Health insurance exchange, insurance, Obama Care, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Small business, Tax credit | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on September 24, 2013
When it comes to lifetime income planning, clients are always looking for the latest and greatest strategy to ensure that their income needs will be met during retirement.
Deferred income annuities are finally experiencing a dramatic growth spurt in the market, which has motivated insurance carriers to design products with features that allow each product to be tailored to meet the individual client’s needs. As the number of carriers offering deferred income annuities expands, a corresponding boost in client demand is expected — especially when clients discover that they can find the income features they have come to expect from an annuity product, but with a level of flexibility in required contributions and income options unique to the deferred income annuity market.
Read William Byrnes and Robert Bloink’s full analysis of this boom in the sales of deferred income annuities at LifeHealthPro: http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2013/09/11/the-benefits-to-clients-from-the-deferred-income-a
Posted in Pensions, Retirement Planning, Uncategorized, Wealth Management | Tagged: annuities, Annuity, Business, Deferred income, Financial services, insurance, Life annuity, Retirement | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on September 19, 2013
Small business clients who have seen their businesses return to profitability following the economic crisis of the past few years may have secured their continued viability, but many have done so at the expense of personal retirement security. As a result, a vast portion of the baby boomer population is now struggling to play catch up. Unfortunately, traditional retirement savings vehicles, with their strict contribution limits, often are not enough to replace years’ worth of lost savings.
For many baby boomer clients who own small businesses, a new strategy that combines a defined benefit plan with elements of a voluntary 401(k) plan can allow the client to save more than 10 times as fast as a traditional plan, with dramatic tax savings that your clients will have to see to believe.
Read William Byrnes’ full analysis at > Think Advisor <
Posted in Retirement Planning | Tagged: Business, Defined benefit pension plan, financial planning, Pension, Retirement, Small business | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on September 17, 2013
This document > IRS Link Here < contains the IRS’ corrections to the FATCA final regulations (TD 9610), which were published in the Federal Register on Monday, January 28, 2013 (78 FR 5874). The FATCA regulations relate to information reporting by foreign financial institutions (FFIs) with respect to U.S. accounts and withholding on certain payments to FFIs and other foreign entities.
The final regulations contained a number of items that needed to be corrected or clarified. Several citations and cross references are thus corrected by this IRS Technical Correction.
The correcting amendments also include the addition, deletion, or modification of regulatory language to clarify the relevant provisions to meet their intended purposes. Additions, deletions, and modifications are also made to ensure that the rules in the final regulations are coordinated with other rules contained in other relevant regulations.
For example in §1.1471-3(c)(3)(iii)(B)(2), the definition of an FFI withholding statement was modified to add an applicable cross reference to the reporting on the statement that is required under chapter 61 (in addition to the reporting required under chapters 3 and 4); to delete an incorrect reference to a pool of payees exempt from chapter 4 withholding; and to add the modified requirements of an FFI withholding statement provided by a Qualified Intermediary that should have been referenced in this paragraph.nd modifications are also made to ensure that the rules in the final regulations are coordinated with other rules contained in other relevant regulations.
Posted in book, Compliance, FATCA | Tagged: FATCA, Federal Register, Financial institution, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, Foreign function interface, Internal Revenue Service, United State, Withholding tax | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on September 12, 2013
Advisors who think they know all there is to know about term life insurance might be surprised to learn that these policies are finally being brought up to speed.
Increasing demand for already popular term life policies has insurance companies jumping to differentiate their products in a crowded market. The result is a new generation of term life products that can be customized to meet the needs of an extremely diverse section of the market.
Whether your clients are concerned about covering education costs or providing enhanced benefits in the case of specific accidents, modern term life insurance might be the solution. … Read this full analysis by William Byrnes at > LifeHealthPro <
Posted in Insurance, Retirement Planning | Tagged: Agents and Marketers, Business, financial planning, Financial services, insurance, Life, life insurance, term life insurance | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on September 10, 2013
A basic problem for clients looking for long-term care insurance today is that they simply may not be able to find it. Major carriers have pulled out of the market in the last year, and the policies that remain can be prohibitively expensive and contain strict qualification requirements.
Fortunately, the product market is evolving so that a relatively new method of securing tax-preferred long-term care benefits has emerged. Hybrid annuity products that combine the estate and income planning features of an annuity with the protection of long-term care insurance are becoming increasingly popular among clients looking for replacement insurance.
Read William Byrnes’ analysis of building your own solution to long-term care insurance at > The Law Professor Column of Think Advisor <
Posted in Insurance, Retirement Planning | Tagged: Agents and Marketers, Business, financial planning, Financial services, Health, insurance, long term care insurance, Long-term care, Retirement planning | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on September 6, 2013
Annuity products are one area in which trends in contract features are constantly changing as insurance companies endeavor to more effectively meet the needs of annuity investors and with the attendant problem that beneficiaries of inherited annuities could end up with antiquated investment products.
This constant evolution of investment trends may have your clients wondering what type of value their annuities will offer beneficiaries after their death. The IRS has just blessed a solution to this planning dilemma by allowing a beneficiary to exchange inherited annuities for another annuity product that more accurately reflects the beneficiary’s investment goals.
Read the complete analysis by William Byrnes and Robert Bloink at > Think Advisor <
Posted in Insurance, Taxation, Wealth Management | Tagged: Beneficiary, Business, Financial services, insurance, Internal Revenue Service, Life annuity, Pension, Swiss Annuity | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on September 4, 2013
The tax break provided for net unrealized appreciation (NUA) on 401(k) account distributions once provided a powerful tax savings strategy for clients with large 401(k) balances — allowing some clients to reduce their taxes on these retirement funds by as much as 20 percent.
Today, as high-net-worth clients are increasingly seeking strategies to help minimize their tax burdens in light of higher 2013 tax rates, the NUA strategy may have become more complicated than ever. Read the full analysis of William Byrnes & Robert Bloink at > Life Health Pro <
Posted in Retirement Planning, Taxation | Tagged: 401(k), accounting, net unrealized appreciation, Obama Care tax, tax, Tax break, Tax deduction, Tax rate, Taxation | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on September 2, 2013
Download the 60 page article at > http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2314731 <
This article traces Roman charity from its incipient meager beginnings during Rome’s infancy to the mature legal formula it assumed after intersecting with the Roman emperors and Christianity. During this evolution, charity went from being a haphazard and often accidental private event, to a broad undertaking of public, religious, and legal commitment. Charitable giving within ancient Rome was quite extensive and longstanding, with some obvious differences from the modern definition and practice of the activity.
The main differences can be broken into four key aspects. First, as regards the republican period, Roman charity was invariably given with either political or ego-driven motives, connected to ambitions for friendship, political power or lasting reputation. Second, charity was almost never earmarked for the most needy. Third, Roman largesse was not religiously derived, but rather drawn from personal, or civic impetus. Last, Roman charity tended to avoid any set doctrine, but was hit and miss in application. It was not till the imperium’s grain dole, or cura annonae, and the support of select Italian children, or alimenta were established in the later Empire that the approach became more or less fixed in some basic areas. It was also in the later Empire that Christianity made an enormous impact, helping motivate Constantine – who made Christianity the state religion – and Justinian to develop legal doctrines of charity.
This study of Roman charitable activities will concern itself with several streams of enquiry, one side being the historical, societal, and religious, versus the legal. From another angle, it will follow the pagan versus Christian developments. The first part is a reckoning of Roman largesse in its many expressions, with explanations of what appeared to motivate Roman benefactors. This will be buttressed by a description of the Roman view of society and how charity fit within it. The second part will deal with the specific legal expressions of euegertism (or ‘private munificence for public benefit’ ) that typify and reveal the particular genius that Romans had for casting their activities in a legal framework. This is important because Rome is the starting point of much of charity as we understand the term, both legally and institutionally in the modern world. So studying Roman giving brings into highlight and contrast the beginnings of Charity itself — arguably one of the most important developments of the civilized world, and the linchpin of the Liberal ethos.
Download the 60 page article at > http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2314731 <
Posted in Tax Exempt Orgs, Wealth Management | Tagged: Catholic, charitable, charity, Christianity, Constantine, Empire, Jurisprudence, Justinian I, law, Roman, Roman emperor, Roman Empire, Rome | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 29, 2013
The full article may be downloaded at > William Byrnes’ academic SSRN page <
The origin of the company limited by guarantee is nearly impossible to pinpoint. While some experts believe that this type of business form sprang into being overnight, it is more likely that the company limited by guarantee slowly developed over centuries of time. The origins of the company limited by guarantee have a fuzzy existence, which is likely attributable to the notion that this business form is comprised of bits and pieces of other business forms that existed in early English history.
The most plausible origin of the company limited by guarantee stems from fire insurance, which came into existence after the Great London Fire of 1666. An excerpt from an eyewitness’s diary describes the tragic fire: “I saw a fire as one entire arch of fire above a mile long: it made me weep to see it. The churches, houses are all on fire and flaming at once, and a horrid noise the flames made and the cracking of the houses.”[1] For this type of tragedy to occur at a time when England businesses and communities were beginning to flourish was a great devastation of utmost significance. The Great London Fire may have been the catalyst that drove individuals to find better ways of insuring themselves in the future, should another similar tragedy occur in the future. Individuals had to protect their future economic interests, and the emergence of a company that allowed individuals the ability to conduct business as needed while still providing them with the limited liability necessary to protect against future damages may have been the foundation of the company limited by guarantee.
In order to understand the modern day characteristics of the company limited by guarantee, the characteristics of its members, the relations of its members to the company and the relations to each other, it is necessary to first understand the historical origin of the United Kingdom (“UK”) business organization of the company. This article will begin by studying the history of the company limited by guarantee by analyzing the following types of businesses: (1) partnerships; (2) trusts; (3) charitable trusts; (4) assurance companies; (5) joint stock companies; and (6) investment companies.
The second part of this article focuses on explaining and examining the company limited by guarantee, including the evolution of the English Company from the Chancery partnership and trust, to the joint stock company’s statutory recognition and devolvement from the partnership. This section will also analyze the evolution and statutory recognition of the company limited by guarantee, and generally distinguish its characteristics from the company limited by shares.
The third part of this article includes an in-depth statutory comparison of the modern day (1) company limited by shares; and (2) company limited by guarantee.
Although it is likely that the main foundation of the company limited by guarantee stems from fire insurance, the origin of other historic business types must first be discussed in order to envision the larger picture – including all of the major business forms that existed in early English history – in order to pinpoint the exact origins of the modern day company limited by guarantee.
[1] Samuel Pepys, Diary 390 (George Bell & Sons 1893).
The full article may be downloaded at > William Byrnes’ academic SSRN page <
Posted in Insurance, Tax Exempt Orgs, Wealth Management | Tagged: Great London Fire, insurance, mutual, mutual society, Private company limited by guarantee, Private company limited by shares | 2 Comments »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 27, 2013
This entire article may be downloaded at > William Byrnes’ SSRN academic page <
This article reviews the development of the first Internet delivered LL.M program (i.e. LL.M. of International Tax and Offshore Financial Centers, the ‘Program’) in the United States.
The paper comprises four sections: In Part 1 the economics reasons for, and logistics considerations of, the Internet delivered Program are addressed. Part 2 reviews the pedagogical approach to legal education employed in the United States, criticisms thereof, and finally examines an emerging pedagogical trend in the United Kingdom. Part 3 reviews the teaching tools employed in the Program International Tax and Offshore Financial Centers, and Part 4 reviews the practical aspects of developing the Program, obtaining ABA acquiescence, and reviews the Internet delivered law courses that came before it. Finally, the article concludes with some personal observations.
In Part 1 the economics reasons for, and logistics considerations of, the Internet delivered Program are addressed.
Part 2 reviews the pedagogical approach to legal education employed in the United States, criticisms thereof, and finally examines an emerging pedagogical trend in the United Kingdom. In particular, this part concludes that the grounding of a LL.M (Masters) level legal education program exclusively using the Socratic method (case study) roots of traditional Juris Doctorate (graduate) legal education may neither meet the goals, nor produce the skills sought by this Program. By example, some legal education writers have negatively critiqued the primary use of the Socratic method in even graduate legal education’s pedagogy. The scope of the negative critiques are presented from the perspective of economic efficiency over educational quality, as well as the perspective of professional development, and also from the perspective of a feministic approach. These critiques are followed by a review of suggested alternatives. This part ends with an examination of the emerging United Kingdom literature supporting a pedagogy based upon ‘student-centered learning’.
Part 3 reviews the teaching tools employed in the International Tax Program. Part 4 reviews the practical aspects of developing the Program, obtaining ABA acquiescence, and it reviews the Internet delivered law courses that came before it. Finally, the article concludes with some personal observations.
This entire article may be downloaded at > William Byrnes’ SSRN academic page <
Posted in Education Theory | Tagged: ABA, Distance education, law, Law school, Legal education, LLM, LLM Tax, Master of Laws, online learning, pedagogy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 27, 2013
For the period from the opening of the FATCA registration website through December 31, 2013, a financial institution (FI) will be able to access its online account to modify or add registration information.
FIs can use the remainder of 2013 to become familiar with the FATCA registration website, to input preliminary information, and to refine that information. On or after January 1, 2014, each FI will be expected to finalize its registration information by logging into its online account on the FATCA registration website, making any necessary additional changes, and submitting the information as final.
As registrations are finalized and approved in 2014, registering FIs will receive a notice of registration acceptance and will be issued a global intermediary identification number (GIIN).
The IRS will electronically post the first IRS Foreign Financial Institution (FFI) List by June 2, 2014, and will update the list on a monthly basis thereafter. To ensure inclusion in the June 2014 IRS FFI List, an FI will need to finalize its registration by April 25, 2014.
Below find a link to IRS instructions, user guide and video materials to assist you and your financial institution with FATCA registration:
Posted in FATCA | Tagged: FATCA, FI, Financial institution, Foreign financial institution, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, tax | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 26, 2013
Associate Dean William Byrnes is also pleased to announce the publication of International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide, Second Edition by LexisNexis.
The second edition of International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide, authored by Professor William H. Byrnes and Dr. Robert J. Munro, includes new binders with new chapter structures of completely rewritten tax information and analysis. The second edition of Foreign Tax & Trade Briefs includes a new structure for all 110 country chapters to reflect the evolution of national tax systems since 1948. The International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide has been expanded to include many new countries to match the robust list of Foreign Tax & Trade Briefs, and its footnote numbering has been amended for brevity and modern coherence.
Moreover, International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide subscribers will receive new chapters of analysis and planning based on the OECD Model DTA articles and major trading country jurisprudence that are most relevant to corporate tax counsel, addressing topics such as capital gains, dividends, interest, rents, leasing income, royalties, and permanent establishment, as well as developing topics such as new standards of information exchange. Corporate counsel may combine these publications with the LexisNexis Matthew Bender publication Tax Havens of the World to form a complete international tax planning and risk management library.
Associate Dean William Byrnes said “The Second Edition completes my re-write process of this book to re-structure the citation architecture for a modern approach to tax treaty analysis,” Over the next two years I will author an in-depth, comparative analysis of tax treaty articles, to provide practitioners and arbitrators a go-to treatise for global corporate planning.”
William Byrnes continued “In 1974, Matthew Bender added a third binder to Foreign Tax & Trade Briefs, the International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide, to specifically address the important role of tax treaties in tax risk management that had developed in the sixties. By 1975, nearly one thousand tax treaties had been signed between countries based on the OECD’s Model with an additional 200 treaties in force based on the League of Nations Models. Moreover, many (former) territories had become independent, developing countries with the ability to establish their own tax treaties. There are now more than 3,200 tax treaties, of which 2,900 are signed and in effect with the remaining 300 yet to become effective by official legislative approval.”
Posted in book, Taxation | Tagged: Corporate tax, LexisNexis, OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, tax, Tax treaty, Withholding tax | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 23, 2013
National Underwriters published 2014 editions of Tax Facts books authored by William Byrnes and Robert Bloink of the graduate tax program.
2014 Tax Facts on Insurance & Employee Benefits
“We have included a new section on cross border employment and estate tax issues, captive insurance and alternative risk transfer, reverse mortgages, DOMA, as well as the previously expanding sections on ETFs and on precious metals & collectibles,” William Byrnes said. “Moreover, we hope to soon announce the newest title of Tax Facts addressing entrepreneurs and their small business tax issues.”
“Tax Facts Books and the Tax Facts Online portal have built strong following of many thousand of financial planning professionals. I think financial planning professionals relate to National Underwriter’s approach of contextualizing client problems in a Question – Answer format.”
Both publications are now available as e-books, as an alternative or in combination with print.
Posted in book, Retirement Planning, Taxation, Wealth Management | Tagged: Business, Captive insurance, Corporate tax, estate tax, Graduate tax, income tax, Inheritance tax, insurance, Internal Revenue Service, tax | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 22, 2013
The entire article may be downloaded at > William Byrnes’ SSRN academic page <
This article describes the ancient legal practices, codified in Biblical law and later rabbinical commentary, to protect the needy. The ancient Hebrews were the first civilization to establish a charitable framework for the caretaking of the populace. The Hebrews developed a complex and comprehensive system of charity to protect the needy and vulnerable. These anti-poverty measures – including regulation of agriculture, loans, working conditions, and customs for sharing at feasts – were a significant development in the jurisprudence of charity.
The first half begins with a brief history of ancient civilization, providing context for the development of charity by exploring the living conditions of the poor. The second half concludes with a searching analysis of the rabbinic jurisprudence that established the jurisprudence of charity. This ancient jurisprudence is the root of the American modern philanthropic idea of charitable giving exemplified by modern equivalent provisions in the United States Tax Code. However, the author normatively concludes that American law has in recent times deviated from these practices to the detriment of modern charitable jurisprudence. A return to the wisdom of ancient jurisprudence will improve the effectiveness of modern charity and philanthropy.
The entire article may be downloaded at > William Byrnes’ SSRN academic page <
Posted in Tax Exempt Orgs, Tax Policy | Tagged: Charitable organization, history of law, Jewish law, Jurisprudence, law, Non-profit organization, Philosophy, tax, tax exempt, Tax law | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 21, 2013
Update for subscribers of LexisNexis® Guide to FATCA Compliance[1]
FATCA requires that FFIs, through a responsible officer (a.k.a. “FATCA compliance officer”), make regular certifications to the IRS via the FATCA Portal, as well as annually disclose taxpayer and account information for U.S. persons, unless an intergovernmental agreement allows for indirect reporting to the IRS via a foreign government. On Monday, August 19 the IRS opened its new online FATCA registration system for financial institutions that need to register for compliance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.[2] This critical FATCA milestone was supposed to open July 15; however only on July 12 the IRS issued a postponement, as well as a push back of all corresponding impacted milestones and deadlines.
The full text of this article is available on the LexisNexis FATCA http://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/tax-law/b/fatcacentral/archive/2013/08/21/the-race-to-register-with-the-irs-online-fatca-system-has-begun.aspx
Posted in Compliance, FATCA, Taxation | Tagged: FATCA, FATCA Registration Portal, FFI, Financial institution, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, tax, Withholding tax | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 20, 2013
“. . . [w]hen the Finance Committee began public hearings on the Tax Reform Act of 1969 I referred to the bill as ‘368 pages of bewildering complexity.’ It is now 585 pages . . . . Much of this complexity stems from the many sophisticated ways wealthy individuals – using the best advice that money can buy – have found ways to shift their income from high tax brackets to low ones, and in many instances to make themselves completely tax free. It takes complicated amendments to end complicated devices.” Senator Russell Long, Chairman, Finance Committee
Download this entire article at > William Byrnes’ full-lenth articles on SSRN <
From the turn of the twentieth century, Congress and the states have uniformly granted tax exemption to charitable foundations, and shortly thereafter tax deductions for charitable donations. But an examination of state and federal debates and corresponding government reports, from the War of Independence to the 1969 private foundation reforms, clearly shows that politically, America has been a house divided on the issue of the charitable foundation tax exemption. By example, in 1863, the Treasury Department issued a ruling that exempted charitable institutions from the federal income tax but the following year, Congress rejected charitable tax exemption legislation. However thirty years later, precisely as feared by its 1864 critics, the 1894 charitable tax exemption’s enactment carried on its coat tails a host of non-charitable associations, such as mutual savings banks, mutual insurance associations, and building and loan associations.
Yet, the political debate regarding tax exemption for the non-charitable associations did not nearly rise to the level expended upon that for philanthropic, private foundations established by industrialists for charitable purposes in the early part of the century. But the twentieth century debate upon the foundation’s charitable exemption little changed from that posited between the 1850s and 1870s by Presidents James Madison and Ulysses Grant, political commentator James Parton and Dr. Charles Eliot, President of Harvard. The private foundation tax exemption evoked a populist fury, leading to numerous, contentious, investigatory foundation reports from that of 1916 Commission of Industrial Relations, 1954 Reece Committee, 1960 Patman reports, and eventually the testimony and committee reports for the 1969 tax reform. These reports uniformly alleged widespread abuse of, and by, private foundations, including tax avoidance, and economic and public policy control of the nation. The private foundation sector sought refuge in the 1952 Cox Committee, 1965 Treasury Report, and 1970 Petersen Commission, which uncovered insignificant abuse, concluded strong public benefit, though recommending modest regulation.
During the charitable exemption debates from 1915 to 1969, Congress initiated and intermittently increased the charitable income tax deduction while scaling back the extent of exemption for both private and public foundations to the nineteenth century norms. At first, the private foundation’s lack of differentiation from general public charities protected their insubstantially regulated exemption. But in 1943, contemplating eliminating the charitable exemption, Congress rather drove a wedge between private and public charities. This wedge allowed the private foundation’s critics to enact a variety of discriminatory rules, such as limiting its charitable deduction from that of public charities, and eventually snowballed to become a significant portion of the 1969 tax reform’s 585 pages.
This article studies this American political debate on the charitable tax exemption from 1864 to 1969, in particular, the debate regarding philanthropic, private foundations. The article’s premise is that the debate’s core has little evolved since that between the 1850s and 1870s. To create perspective, a short brief of the modern economic significance of the foundation sector follows. Thereafter, the article begins with a review of the pre- and post-colonial attitudes toward charitable institutions leading up to the 1800s debates, illustrating the incongruity of American policy regarding whether and to what extent to grant charities tax exemption. The 1800s state debates are referenced and correlated to parts of the 1900s federal debate to show the similarity if not sameness of the arguments against and justifications for exemption. The twentieth century legislative examination primarily focuses upon the regulatory evolution for foundations. Finally, the article concludes with a brief discussion of the 1969 tax reform’s changes to the foundation rules and the significant twentieth century legislation regulating both public and private foundations.
Download this entire article at > William Byrnes’ full-lenth articles on SSRN <
Posted in Tax Exempt Orgs, Tax Policy, Taxation | Tagged: charity, Internal Revenue Service, James Parton, tax, Tax deduction, Tax exemption, Treasury Department, Ulysses Grant, United States | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 19, 2013
The IRS issued this past week the draft of the financial institution FATCA reporting form (Form 8966 – “FATCA Report”). The FATCA Report form, dated August 13, 2013 but released the following day, is for foreign financial institutions and also withholding agents to report financial information about account holders.
The Form has 5 parts:
(1) Identification of Filer,
(2) Account Holder or Recipient Information,
(3) Identifying Information of U.S. Owners that are specified U.S. Persons,
(4) Financial Information, and
(5) Pooled Reporting Type.
The Financial Information part contains 7 reporting fields, being: (1) account number, (2) currency code, (3) account balance, (4) interest, (5) dividends, (6) gross proceeds/redemptions, and (7) other.
The “Pooled” Reporting requires the FFI to indicate firstly which of six buckets the underlying accounts fall into, then secondly, financial information about the bucket.
The 6 buckets are:
(1) Recalcitrant account holders with U.S. Indicia,
(2) Dormant Accounts,
(3) Recalcitrant account holders that are U.S. persons,
(4) Recalcitrant account holders without U.S. Indicia,
(5) Non-participating foreign financial institutions, and
(6) Recalcitrant account holders that are passive NFFEs
The reported financial information includes: (a) number of accounts, (b) aggregate payment amount, (c) aggregate account balance and (d) currency code.
You may link to the new > draft Form 8966 <
Find more information about FATCA, including complimentary chapter download, at Lexis’ Guide to FATCA Compliance
Posted in Compliance, FATCA, Taxation | Tagged: FATCA, FFI, Finance, Financial institution, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, United State | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 16, 2013
When William Byrnes returned to the United States in 1998 to establish the International Finance and Taxation program leveraging online communication technologies, both international tax programs and distance learning programs were in their infancy. Through engaging a renown and talented faculty of industry professionals, and the support of an immensely engaged student body from professional and financial service firms, the international tax program blossomed over the past 15 years to become a cutting edge industry leader that it is today.
Just recently, National Law Journal wrote “Perhaps no one in legal academia has more experience with online master’s degrees than William Byrnes, Associate Dean for Graduate and Distance Education Programs at Thomas Jefferson School of Law.” (May 20, 2013)
His article that reviews the development of the first Internet delivered LL.M program in the United States may be downloaded at > William Byrnes’ SSRN academic page <
The article comprises four sections: In Part 1 the economics reasons for, and logistics considerations of, the Internet delivered Program are addressed. Part 2 reviews the pedagogical approach to legal education employed in the United States, criticisms thereof, and finally examines an emerging pedagogical trend in the United Kingdom. Part 3 reviews the teaching tools employed in the LL.M. Program, and Part 4 reviews the practical aspects of developing the LL.M. Program, obtaining ABA acquiescence, and reviews the Internet delivered law courses that came before it. Finally, the article concludes with some personal observations.
Posted in Courses, Education Theory, Uncategorized | Tagged: Alternatives to Socratic Teaching., C&IT Legal Education, CAL, CBL, Dean (education), education, Internet Delivered, law, Law Courses, Legal education, LL.M Program, National Law Journal, Socratic Teaching Method, Thomas Jefferson, William Byrnes | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 16, 2013
Today’s media coverage of the variable annuity market has focused on company buybacks and modifications to existing clients’ product guarantees—a prospect that has many clients feeling more wary than ever about annuity purchases.
Despite this, insurance companies have used the negative experiences of recent months as motivation to effect positive change in their annuity product offerings by offering clients real flexibility and risk management options.
read William Byrnes and Robert Bloink’s full analysis regarding annuities at > ThinkAdvisor <
Posted in Retirement Planning | Tagged: annuities, Business, Financial services, insurance, Investment, Life annuity, Mutual fund, risk management | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 14, 2013
Provides an overview of private annuities in relation to financial planning. Examines a new concept wealth managers are employing for their clients with regards to private annuities and trusts.
The traditional private annuity is a transaction used by some wealth managers for clients whose circumstances permit. Generally a private annuity transaction occurs where the grantor transfers assets to a third party who pays the grantor an annuity, usually for the life of the grantor.[1]
When a trust is involved with a traditional private annuity, the common transaction may look like this: “The owner of highly appreciated commercial real estate transfers the property to an irrevocable trust in exchange for the trust’s promise to pay an annuity for life. The present value of the annuity equals the fair market value (‘FMV‘) of the property. The trust then sells the property to a third party for a sale price equal to its FMV.” [2] For additional discussion on private annuity contracts see National Underwriter Advanced Markets’ Private Annuity. [3]
The idea behind wealth managers suggesting similar transactions “is that the original transferor can spread his large capital gain over life expectancy by using the irrevocable trust as an intermediary rather than selling directly to the third party (who is presumably unwilling to do a private annuity).” [4]
There are considerations wealth managers must take into account when discussing private annuities with their clients. These may include valuation methods, arms-length transaction consideration, and incidents of ownership. For a detailed discussion of the tax implications of private annuities, please see Tax Facts Q 41. How are payments received under a private annuity Taxed? [5]
It is often the case that a trustee, although not necessarily, will use “the sale proceeds to insure its annuity obligation by purchasing a commercial immediate annuity.” [6]
Planning Concept: Some wealth managers have recently begun to structure private annuities for their clients slightly differently than the traditional method discussed above. Here the idea is a private annuity contract issued from the trust to the grantor who pays valuable consideration for the annuity which carries with it a condition precedent or “contingency”. The condition on the annuity could be the death of the grantor’s spouse. The trustee may “reinsure” the risk with the purchase of life insurance from payment of the annuity in the event the condition takes place.[7] Similar considerations with regards to private annuities should also be considered with private annuities that carry a condition.
In the event the grantor’s spouse does not die in the near future, the premiums paid for the private annuity could generally be considered income to the trust, which may be owned by a second generation. If the spouse does die in the near future, payment of the annuity would create general gain taxation with a tax-free redemption up to basis. [8]
[1] Manning on Estate Planning. PLIREF-ESTPLN s 5:9, 5-30. “§ 5:9 The Private Annuity”.
[2] New York Estate Planning. 33 ESTPLN 13. “Maximizing The Planning Opportunities Of Private Annuities”. 2006.
[3] AUS Main Libraries, Section 2. The Federal Estate Tax, D—Annuities In The Gross Estate.
[4] Id.
[5] Tax Facts Q 41. How are payments received under a private annuity taxed?
[6] Id.
[7] 33 ESTPLN 13
[8] PLIREF-ESTPLN s 5:9, 5-30; 26 U.S.C.A. § 1001.
Posted in Insurance, Taxation, Wealth Management | Tagged: annuities, Business, Financial services, insurance, Life annuity, Pension, Retirement, Swiss Annuity | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 12, 2013
Why is this Topic Important to Wealth Managers? Discusses estate tax considerations in regards to life insurance policies. Also, includes a detailed dialogue of the incidents of ownership concept.
What do most wealth managers try to avoid when planning with life insurance and trusts?
That the Gross Estate for Estate Tax calculations would include the death benefit from the policy in the estate.[1]
What are some common ways to avoid this dilemma when using a trust and life insurance in regards to estate planning?[2]
The insured should never own the policy; “it should be owned from inception” by the trust or third party.
A revisionary interest will give rise to incidence of ownership [3], which could include the insured’s right to; [4]
When discussing incidents of ownership, naturally the 3 year rule should be further expounded.[5] “The 3-year ‘bring-back’ rule” is applicable, “with respect to dispositions of retained interests in property which otherwise would have been includable in the gross estate”.[6] As discussed in AUS Main Libraries Section 8, C—Lifetime Gifts Of Insurance And Annuities-“Gifts Within Three Years Of Death”, essentially, the rule as it applies to life insurance means that any policy transferred out of the estate of the insured within 3 years of his/her death, the policy proceeds are brought back into the gross estate for estate tax calculations.
It is generally accepted that “the trust should be established first, with a transfer of cash from the grantor to be used to pay the initial premium” or a few years of premiums. “The trustee would then submit the formal application, with the trust as the original applicant and owner.” Generally, the insured will “participate only to the extent of executing required health questionnaires and submitting to any required physical examination.” Again the key is that the, “grantor/insured not have possessed at any time anything that might be deemed an incident of ownership with respect to the policy.” [7]
Posted in Estate Tax, Taxation | Tagged: Beneficiary, estate planning, Financial services, Inheritance tax, insurance, life insurance, Ownership, Trust law | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 9, 2013
Why is this Topic Important to Financial Professionals? Many small business owners are faced with issues surrounding Form 1099 and how the rules apply to their businesses.
What are some distinctions of the employees versus independent contractors?
An independent contractor, in general, has a majority of control over the details of his job function and only the end result is dictated by the company or individual who hires. This is what is commonly known as “the degree of behavioral control.” Another category used by the IRS and the courts to determine the status of an individual as either an employee or independent contractor is “financial control”. Financial control involves examining the financial relationship between the parties such as reimbursement, and/or if any materials or space has been provided to accomplish the job. Other relationship factors such as having a contract or agreement between the parties, as well as the terms of any contract, must also be examined in determining the employment status of the individual.
One of the issues that is often overlooked in the area of an employee relationship instead of an independent contractor relationship is that employees have X number of hours to dedicate to employment each week, whether that number is 40, 50, or anything else that an employment agreement might state. Independent contracts are often not required to expend a set number of hours to accomplish a task, but instead enough hours to accomplish the task.
Another relevant issue to be considered in determining which of the two employment relations exist is that of termination. An “At-Will” employee can normally be terminated and generally has no cause for a breach of contract and cannot sue for damages. An independent contractor cannot usually be terminated without a breach of contract.
Tax Distinctions
Taxation of the two dissimilar positions is significantly different. Independent contractors essentially work for themselves, and the business that pays them is, in effect, a client. Generally, and independent contractor will file a tax return as a sole proprietor or closely held corporation, such as a Subchapter S Corporation. An employee is subject to federal income tax withholding and the employer is subject to payroll taxes, included in the general W-2 process.
Independent contractors, like other businesses, recognize revenue and expenses. The independent contractor usually receives a Form 1099 from the source that pays him. The Code and Regulations state that when a trade or business pays an individual for certain “services” over $600 that a Form 1099 is required to be filed with the Secretary of the Treasury.[1] And just as other businesses realize “legislative graces of Congress,” such as Section 162 deductions, the sole proprietor too may have expenses that generally qualify as trade or business expenses.
For a detailed analysis regarding independent contractors, see Tax Facts Q 814. How are business expenses reported for income tax purposes?
[1] Internal Revenue Code Section (IRC) 6041, Treasury Regulations (TR) 1.6041-1(a)(1)(i), TR 1.6041-1(a)(2).
Posted in Taxation, Wealth Management | Tagged: 1099, Business, Corporation, Health care reform, independent contractor, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, IRS tax forms, Treasury Regulations | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 7, 2013
Why is this Topic Important to Financial Professionals? Accounting is like a road map of the company’s financial operations. It is essential to understand the accounting basics and how they relate to small businesses and insurance.
Accrual or Cash Accounting Methods
Now that the business has been incorporated and is operating, what is required to keep the business accounted for? The first determination a company must make is determining if the business will account using an accrual or cash system. An accrual accounting method recognizes revenues and expenses in the period in which they occur whereas a cash accounting method recognizes transactions as they occur.
For example, an accrual taxpayer that performs services will account for income earned when the service is actually provided and not when the actual cash or payment is received. A cash method of accounting is concerned only when cash is paid out and when paid in. Expenses follow the same logic. For example, if a service company that uses the accrual method incurs 500 dollars of phone expenses in December 2010 and the payment is not due until January 2011, the company will still account for the phone expense on its books in 2010 for December’s usage.
Accounting System
Once the business has determined its accounting method, it is ready to keep track of the transactions. Every accounting system should provide a basic financial statement, income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet, and statement of owner equity. Each statement provides a view through a different window into the financial operation of the business.
The income statement is easy to understand. The top item is revenues and beneath that line expense are deducted to determine the net income.
The cash flow statement is essentially a variation of the income statement. However the cash flow statement will show the ability of the business to operate on a periodic basis given the ins and outs of cash payments.
The balance sheet will tell the financial planner what the business is comprised of. Most accountants refer to the balance sheet as a snapshot of the business at any particular moment of time. From it we can see what assets the business holds and how much money it owes others.
Lastly, the statement of owner’s equity shows how the business is owned and financed.
Financial Statements and Insurance
Properly kept financial statement can help ensure easier access to capital as well as give a truer understanding of the business’ financial position. The financial statements are commonly used in the risk management processes including when insurance is purchased on a key man. Small businesses are especially sensitive to this risk and keeping accurate books can help insurance agents and underwriters determine among other factors the insurance needs of the operation.
Key man insurance and buy-sell agreements are generally based on some total dollar amount that represents the value of the business. This figure is usually based on some number that is related to the financial statements and accounting of the business. Whether it’s the total assets, a factor of revenue or income, or some other determination, the need for a basic knowledge of financial accounting for small business is essential.
For a detailed analysis on business valuation and how it relates to buy sell agreements see AUS Main Libraries, Section 11 F—Insurance Needs Revealed In Financial Statements.
Posted in Wealth Management | Tagged: Accrual, Balance sheet, Business, Cash flow statement, Comparison of cash and accrual methods of accounting, Finance, Financial statement, Income statement | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 5, 2013
Why is this Topic Important to Financial Professionals? Look in most local business journals that report on the formation of new business entities and you will see 95% of new businesses are formed as an “L.L.C.” This company structure is the primary one for entrepreneurs, professionals, and small businesses. However, after twenty years of significant usage, many questions about this form of entity are still novel. The financial professional should be able to explain to a client the basics of the Limited Liability Company.
What is an LLC?
Limited Liability Companies (commonly called “LLCs”) are state statute sanctioned legal business entities. The business entity is similar to a limited liability partnership except that it has members and not partners (no need for general partners). Moreover, some states allow for only one member, known as a single-member LLC, an option not available in partnership entities that require at least two partners. The members can be persons but may be other business entities, such that an LLC can be a member of another LLC.
The LLC can be established and managed so as to offer the benefits of a corporation such as limited liability and continuation after a member’s death, but without the impact of corporate taxation.
What is the benefit of an LLC?
The LLC properly managed provides for the protection of personal financially liability in connection with the business liability. Proper management generally includes following the annual requirements of corporation law, such as holding an annual directors and members meeting, and recording corporate minute (this will be discussed in future blogticles).
Additionally, the LLC avoids double taxation because of it can elect to be a “pass-through” entity for federal and state tax purposes – like a partnership or a sole-proprietorship is treated.
Also, most LLCs do not have a restriction on the number of members as S-Corps have (albeit rarely will the number of members or shareholders be an issue for a financial professional’s client). To learn more details and nuances of each business structure see the AUS Main Section 10. Basics Of Business Insurance, A—Forms Of Business Organization. More detail on LLCs specifically is provided in AUS Main Section 14.1, I—The Limited Liability Company (LLC).
What are some limitations of the LLC?
Aside from the fact that LLCs have essentially developed as a hybrid of older forms of business organizations, and are relatively new in the history of corporation law. The LLC is not a corporation in the traditional sense of the word.
Sometimes businesses start as an LLC but expand to a point of eventually considering receiving outside equity with the goal of a public offering such as listing on a stock exchange. The LLC is not suitable for “going public”. Thus at the stage of soliciting equity investment for a business a client may have outgrown the LLC and should convert into a C-Corporation (a topic that will be addressed in a future blogticle).
The Federal Government allows the business owner(s) of the LLC to choose how the LLC will be characterized for tax purposes. The LLC may be taxed as a Corporation (both Subchapter C and S), partnership or sole-proprietorship. This process is generally referred to as “Check the Box”.[1] The IRS Check the Box Form is Number 8832[2] and the business owners literally check one of the included boxes on that form and then file the corresponding tax returns.
What are some other uses of LLCs?
LLCs are used in many transactions by high-net worth client. Sometimes clients use an LLC in place of a trust in the irrevocable life insurance trust (commonly called an “ILIT”) structure. By example, in a situation where a client wants less restriction on the direction of the assets of the vehicle, the LLC is a more popular choice than the ILIT. As a result, the LLC has become a common tool for the financial planner. A detailed discussion of one of these transactions is examined in the AUS Main Section 14.1, I-The Limited Liability Company (LLC). “LLC as an Alternative to a Life Insurance Trust”.
For a detailed analysis of the tax and non-tax Advantages of a Close Corporation see AdvisorFX Main Library Section 14. Close Corporations I—The Limited Liability Company (LLC) http://www.advisorfx.com/articles/f14_1_2_2080.aspx?action=13
Tomorrow’s blogticle will address Accounting for Corporations and Limited Liability Companies and How it Relates to Insurance.
[1] Treasury Regulations Section §301.7701-3.
[2] Internal Revenue Service Form 8832, http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8832.pdf.
Posted in Wealth Management | Tagged: Business, Companies law, Corporation, Internal Revenue Service, Limited Liability Companies, Limited liability company, LLC, Sole proprietorship | 2 Comments »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 2, 2013
The looming deadlines for implementing many key Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provisions have many of your clients wondering how they can cushion the impact of the rising premium costs they fear will accompany them. Some clients have begun to hear rumors of their employers switching to plans with high deductibles — with correspondingly lower premiums for the employer — to avoid the so-called “Cadillac Tax.”
Whether your clients fear direct premium increases or higher annual deductibles, their out-of-pocket costs can be slashed using a tax-preferred vehicle that has been on the market for years: the health savings account (HSA).
Pre-tax contributions, coupled with tax-free earnings and withdrawals, make HSAs a powerful tool for covering the rising costs of your clients’ health coverage. They also have the added bonus of reducing taxable income in the process.
PPACA’s impact
read the full analysis at LifeHealthPro – http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2013/06/10/ppaca-raises-the-stakes-for-hsas
Posted in Compliance, Retirement Planning | Tagged: Deductible, Health savings account, High-deductible health plan, HSA, Out-of-pocket expenses, Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act, PPACA, United States | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on August 1, 2013
William Byrnes has been appointed a primary author for his sixth Lexis title.
Read Professor Byrnes’ comments at http://www.tjsl.edu/news-media/2013/9861
For the 2013 OECD policy initiative regarding multinational’s transfer pricing, see “Addressing Base Erosion and Profit Shifting” available at http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/taxation/addressing-base-erosion-and-profit-shifting_9789264192744-en
and the more recently published “Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting”: http://www.oecd.org/ctp/BEPSActionPlan.pdf
Posted in book, Transfer Pricing | Tagged: lexis, LexisNexis, transfer pricing, William Byrnes | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on July 31, 2013
by Patricie Barricelli, Attorney, São Paulo Bar Association, Brazil *
The Brazilian General World Cup Law was enacted last June with the aim to amend Brazil’s legal regime for sporting events as required to meet International Federation of Association Football (Fédération Internationale de Football Association, hereinafter “FIFA”) hosting country requirements. However, some politicians and scholars have proposed that the host country event requirements imposed by FIFA conflict with some important aspects of Brazilian laws that should be preserved. Brazil’s recent hosting of the FIFA Confederation Cup has re-ignited the debate.
Read Patricie Barricelli’s full analysis of these contentious issues at: LexisNexis® Legal Newsroom International Law
* Please send questions or comments to the Author Patricie Barricelli e-mail: patricie.barricelli@yahoo.com.br. Ms. Barricelli is a legal compliance counsel for a tier 1 Brazilian financial institution, specializing in consumer financial law
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: 2010 FIFA World Cup, Brazil, FIFA, FIFA Confederation Cup, June, Rio de Janeiro, Soccer, Sport | 1 Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on July 31, 2013
For your high net worth and upper middle class clients, Medicare planning has become a critical component of a well-executed retirement income plan.
New rules put into effect under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) can impact these clients’ retirement income planning in ways they might not yet realize by increasing their Medicare premiums proportionally as income increases. The new rules will expand the pool of clients to which these monthly increases will apply.
In today’s environment, it is more important than ever to consider Medicare premiums when planning for retirement expenses.
Medicare Income-Based Premiums … read my analysis at LifeHealthPro – http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2013/05/13/income-based-premiums-triple-medicare-costs-under
Posted in Retirement Planning, Wealth Management | Tagged: Affordable Care Act, Health care, Independent Payment Advisory Board, insurance, Medicare, Medicare Part D coverage gap, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Retirement | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on July 30, 2013
Searching for some good examples of American populist rhetoric to amuse a Law and Economics class, I re-stumbled upon William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech. For my non-U.S. students, the “Cross of Gold” speech is heralded as one of the best rhetorical speeches delivered in the U.S. Congress. My memory of grade school, reading Bryan’s folksy style, quickly refreshed with his opening …
“I would be presumptuous, indeed, to present myself against the distinguished gentlemen to whom you have listened if this were but a measuring of ability; but this is not a contest among persons. The humblest citizen in all the land when clad in the armor of a righteous cause is stronger than all the whole hosts of error that they can bring. “ …
And of course his crescendo against the gold standard:
“Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”[1]
Many years later, William Jennings Bryan made a recording of this famous speech: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/williamjenningsbryan1896dnc.htm
A week past, chatting with Professor Denis Kleinfeld as he was preparing for his course on International (Offshore) Financial Centers), he referred me author Jay Starkman’s book that includes numerous entertaining anecdotes about tax and U.S. history: The Sex of a Hippopotamus: A Unique History of Taxes and Accountancy. http://www.starkman.com/hippo/index.html (I’ve ordered a copy)
What happenstance to be reminded of Bryan’s Congressional speech in favor of the income tax. Besides having rhetorical merit near that of the Cross of Gold speech, Bryan provides a brief summary of income tax levied right ‘round the world (well, at least Europe). This opening certainly beats that of Cross of Gold:
“Mr. Chairman, if this were a mere contest in oratory, no one would be presumptuous enough to dispute the prize with the distinguished gentlemen from New York; but clad in the armor of a righteous cause I dare oppose myself to the shafts of his genius, believing that “pebbles of truth” will be more effective than the “javelin of error,” even when hurled by the giant of the Philistines.”
His income tax speech crescendo in favor of a 2% (aghast!) maximum rate lay prelude to the expatriation regimes of today:
“Of all the mean men I have ever known, I have never known one so mean that I would be willing to say of him that his patriotism was less than 2 per cent deep.”[2]
Now, for my Law & Econ class, I’m quite partial to the rhetoric of Huey P. Long, being that we share that great, sovereign, State of Louisana. Thus, I went with a couple of his quotes instead. For those of you who don’t know the folksy speeches of Huey P. Long, a good one-minuter about the (lack of) difference between Republicans and Democrats – view him here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=avGl7k4OGJY
While most political economic students will know his “Every Man a King” radio address (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/hueyplongking.htm), only students of political rhetoric will have been exposed to his 1928 “Evangeline” campaign speech:
“…It is here under this oak where Evangeline waited for her lover, Gabriel, who never came. This oak is an immortal spot, made so by Longfellow’s poem, but Evangeline is not the only one who has waited here in disappointment.
Where are the schools that you have waited for your children to have, that have never come?
Where are the roads and the highways that you send your money to build, that are no nearer now than ever before?
Where are the institutions to care for the sick and disabled?
Evangeline wept bitter tears in her disappointment, but it lasted only through one lifetime. Your tears in this country, around this oak, have lasted for generations. Give me the chance to dry the eyes of those who still weep here.”
[1] You may read the entire speech compliments of http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5354/
[2] You may read the entire speech compliments of http://www.starkman.com/hippo/history/bryan.shtml
Posted in Courses, Tax Policy | Tagged: Cross of Gold speech, Evangeline, Gold standard, Huey Long, Rhetoric, United States Congress, William Jennings Bryan | 1 Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on July 29, 2013
The debate over the fiduciary standard that will become applicable to many financial professionals may be coming to a head as the looming deadline for comments on SEC proposals has motivated some advisors to express disapproval over a perceived weakening of the potential standard. Because a heightened fiduciary standard could increase advisors’ compliance costs, while simultaneously increasing consumer confidence in the quality of their advice, it is critical that advisors know the rules of the game.
Recent indications that the SEC may deviate from its previously expressed intent to expand the traditional standard applicable to investment advisors, however, represent a curveball for advisors who are not currently subject to a strict fiduciary standard; the outcome once again seems up for grabs.
Today’s bifurcated approach to fiduciary regulation
read the full analysis at LifeHealthPro – http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2013/07/01/sec-comments-muddy-the-waters-in-fiduciary-standar
Posted in Compliance, Wealth Management | Tagged: Business, Fiduciary, Financial adviser, Financial services, Investing, SEC, TurboTax, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on July 26, 2013
Excerpts from the Loyola Lawyer (Fall 2012).
William H. Byrnes, IV is a pioneer in online education. ..
Byrnes has an affinity for the civil law and civilian education. He notes: “The insights I received from New Orleans and the civil law allowed me to see different perspectives. At a regular common law institution, I would have never been able to do this.”
“The problem with common law (case law) is that it implies there is only one way to solve a problem,” he says. “Thus, you seem to be stuck in a pigeonhole when a judge rules on a case. But this is not so in the civil law. The civil law really highlights that there are different types of logic that can be used to approach a problem. …”
Read the article at > Loyola Lawyer Fall 2012 <
Posted in Teaching Opportunities | Tagged: Civil law (common law), Common law, education, law, Legal Information, New Orleans, Precedent, Products, William Byrnes | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on July 25, 2013
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the Tax Court’s position on the use of surrender charges in the valuation equation when a nonqualified employee benefit plan that holds a life insurance policy distributes that policy to a taxpayer upon winding up of the plan.
When these life insurance policies are distributed to the taxpayer-employees under such a plan, the taxpayers are responsible for paying taxes on the value of the policies. According to the IRS, the policy value equals the cash value of the policy without regard to any surrender charges. So what do your clients have to include in income if the actual cash surrender value of their life insurance policy is negative?
The Facts
Read the full analysis at ThinkAdvisor – http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2013/05/28/the-value-of-variable-life-insurance-surrender-cha
Posted in Estate Tax, Taxation, Uncategorized, Wealth Management | Tagged: Business, Cash surrender value, Cash value, Financial services, insurance, Internal Revenue Service, life insurance, term life insurance | Leave a Comment »
William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence 