What Is Fair Market Value? The IRS v The Taxpayer
James and Julie Kress (the “Taxpayers”) filed a lawsuit in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin [Case...
DOL Proposes New Definition for Fiduciary
Since 1975 and prior to April 2015, the definition of fiduciary as put forth by the Department of Labor included a five-part test. Only if all five...
IRS May Try to Restrict Discounts
At the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Taxation meeting on May 8th, 2015, Catherine Hughes, of the Office of Tax Policy in the U.S....
DOL v PBI Banks, Inc. and The Miller’s Health Systems, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
No case is clear cut, but lessons often can be learned. In the recently filed action, the Department of Labor v PBI Bank, Inc. and The Miller’s...
Estate of Diane Tanenblatt v Commissioner of Internal Revenue
In this recent United States Tax Court case (T.C. Memo. 2013-263) concerning a real estate holding company operating as an LLC, two valuation issues...
Obama’s Estate Tax Proposal December 2013
Americans with complex estate plans have experienced plenty of uncertainty with federal estate tax planning in recent years. The susceptibility of a...
ESOP Fiduciaries 2013
Early in 2013, the Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General to comment on technical questions regarding stock-drop cases and to assess whether...
Sales of Privately Held Businesses Are On the Rise December 2014
The economic recovery has created a surge in sales of small businesses. The number of deals tracked by online marketplace BizBuySell.com rose more...
Farrell v. Farrell, 2013 Ark. App. LEXIS 33 (Jan. 23, 2013)
In this Arkansas Court case, the various attempts to determine values for two related family-owned businesses led to widely divergent results. Even...
How to Select a Business Valuation Expert
The selection of a business valuation expert becomes critical if you or your clients have a need to “know” the value of a business. There are...
How to Review a Valuation Report
Business valuations are prepared for many purposes, including litigation, estate and gift tax, and the purchase or sale of a business.
New Bills Exempt Valuation Specialists from ESOP Fiduciary Status September 2013
Proposed legislation makes it clear that valuation professionals who appraise employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are not fiduciaries under...
Court Discredits Expert’s Use of Going Concern Method for Inactive Business
In this New Hampshire Court case, the CPA’s attempt to determine a value for a struggling business using a going concern approach was...
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Technical Bulletin 2013:04:
Based on the June 26, 2013 Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor, the DOL issued Technical Release 2013-04 to provide guidance to...