As part of the major tax reform signed into law late December 2017, commonly known as Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), certain businesses were required to limit their business interest deduction.
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service provided individuals and their estate planning advisors with a timely gift for the recent holiday season. In what amounts to another “use it or lose it” tax planning consideration, final regulations were recently issued for individuals who wish to avail themselves of the higher gift and estate tax exclusion amounts in effect from 2018 to 2025. The final regulations come as welcome relief to individuals who had concerns about their post 2017 gifts being subject to “clawback” type treatment after 2025.
On Tuesday, the federal bank regulatory agencies finalized a rule that simplifies capital requirements for qualifying community banks by permitting them to adopt a simple leverage ratio in order to measure their capital adequacy.
Financial statement auditing authorities recently issued significant proposed changes to audits of employee benefit plans. The changes result from a collaborative effort by the Department of Labor (DOL) and Auditing Standards Board (ASB), responding to weaknesses found in a number of benefit plan audits.
Recently, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue issued Directive 17-1, advising taxpayers on a newly adopted bright-line rule effecting out-of-state internet vendors.
There is a new year’s resolution recommended by major web browser vendors this year pertaining to encryption. Websites and digital signatures use certificates to encrypt and decrypt data, and presently some are created with either SHA-1 or SHA-2 algorithms.
In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-07, Investments—Equity Method and Joint Ventures, Simplifying the Transition to the Equity Method of Accounting, which seeks to ease the application of the equity method of accounting.