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How do you spell “relief”? I-R-S (sometimes). A couple of months ago, I wrote an e-blast about the new Tangible Property Regulations (click here to access) that provided an overview of the potentially beneficial, but technically and administratively-difficult-to-comply-with regulations. After receiving many comments complaining about the administrative complexities that the regulations imposed on all taxpayers, even relatively small taxpayers, the IRS provided some relief in a newly-issued revenue procedure (Revenue Procedure 2015-20). Under the new guidance, small business taxpayers can adopt the new rules prospectively (for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2014), and no longer have to […]

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One of the most powerful weapons in the Internal Revenue Service’s arsenal is the substance over form doctrine. That is, the form of a transaction notwithstanding, the IRS has the right to look at the substance of the transaction to determine its tax implications. And the chips are, unfortunately, stacked against us, the taxpayers, in our fight against the IRS in that we generally cannot make the same argument. Taxpayers are usually held to their form. In other words, it is very difficult for a taxpayer to argue that the form of a transaction in which it has entered should […]

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US Industrial Building Construction Trends: 2014 More [+]

Life Insurance and The R.E. Owner More [+]

US Apartment Rental Trends : 2014 More [+]

US Commercial Real Estate Trends: 2014 More [+]

Commercial Building Owners Can Take A Federal Tax Deduction Of Up To $1.80 A Square Foot As enacted in The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (hereinafter “EPAct”), the I.R.C. § 179D Energy Tax Deduction for building envelope efficiency encourages building owners to “Build Green” to not only save money by reducing their utility bills on a carry-forward basis, but to also reduce their tax liability on their tax returns as well. As a synopsis of I.R.C. § 179D, commercial building owners can take a federal-level tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot of the building’s envelope if they […]

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The Tax Court, in its opinion in Foxman case, 41 T.C. 535, 551 (1964), gave its view on the complexity of the taxation of partnerships (which is found in Subchapter K of the Internal Revenue Code). It wrote, “The distressingly complex and confusing nature of the provisions of subchapter K present a formidable obstacle to the comprehension of these provisions without the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of time and effort even by one who is sophisticated in tax matters with many years of experience in the tax field. Its most complex provisions may confidently be dealt with by at […]

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