Convinced that property values have finally bottomed out in your area, you decide to take the plunge and buy some real estate as an investment. As the saying goes, buy low and (hope to) sell high. In such ventures, one of the earliest and most important decisions concerns which type of ownership entity is best suited for raising capital and securing the financing to fund the acquisition or improvement of the property.
A self-styled “business-to-business media company” that publishes trade magazines and sponsors industry-specific trade shows sent a fax advertising a trade show to a civil engineering and design firm. That simple act prompted a federal lawsuit by the fax recipient. As the court put it, in this case, like most other junk fax cases, the facts were “ not especially juicy.” The same design firm has apparently adopted a combative policy regarding unsolicited communications of this kind. According to the court, it has filed over 100 similar suits under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
The employment law component of the docket during the most recent term of the U.S. Supreme Court was dominated by decisions on arbitration. Some of the cases have the potential to affect large numbers of employers and employees.
After she became dissatisfied with the services of home remodeling contractors that she had obtained through an Internet referral website, Victoria sued the referral business for breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation, and negligence.
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must pay an employee an overtime rate of at least one and one-half times the regular pay rate for any hours in excess of 40 hours a week There are exemptions from this requirement for several types of employees, including employees in executive, administrative, or professional capacities.
Two recent decisions by federal appellate courts illustrate the fine distinctions that are sometimes made between employees who are deemed entitled to overtime and those who are not because they are employed in an “administrative” capacity.
Some 20 years ago, a World War II veteran and prominent sculptor won a government competition to sculpt a memorial to Korean War veterans in Washington, D. C. His creation depicts a platoon of stainless steel, larger-than-life foot soldiers arranged in what has come to be called “The Column.” Five years later, another veteran, an amateur photographer, took photographs of the memorial. One of these photographs eventually was used by the federal government on a widely distributed postage stamp, for which the government paid the photographer $1,500.
An S corporation is a form of business classified for federal income tax purposes as a corporation that has elected to be taxed as a pass-through entity, in a manner similar to a partnership or sole proprietor. Unlike a regular corporation, or C corporation, an S corporation (both names derive from sections of the Internal Revenue Code) generally is not subject to federal income tax. Instead, its income is reported on the tax returns of its shareholders, and they have the responsibility for paying the tax. If there are losses suffered by the corporation, they also pass through and are reported on the shareholders’ income tax returns.
A section of the federal Internal Revenue Code authorizes estate tax deductions for qualifying interests in family-owned businesses. For the deduction to apply, the value of the interest in the business held by a person at the time of his or her death must exceed 50% of the total value of the person’s adjusted gross estate. This is known as the “50% liquidity test.”
Both heart and mind must be working well if the owners of a new small business are to experience success. While it is only human nature, not to mention fun, to indulge one’s imagination about what a new business started from scratch could be like, would-be entrepreneurs need to engage in some cold, hard thinking … Read more
Faced with the reality that identity theft continues to cause billions of dollars in losses for individuals and businesses each year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued “Red Flag Rules” that are intended to fight the problem by requiring businesses to implement procedures designed to detect and respond to identity theft.