No Matter How Bad it Gets . . . Pay Your Withholding Taxes?
June 02, 2026 | Louis Vlahos | Business | Federal
State of the Economy? According to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for the twelve-month period ending Dec. 31, 2025, bankruptcy filings by businesses rose 7.1 percent and non-business filings increased by 11.2 percent. Total filings have increased each quarter since June 2022, though they remain…
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Purchasing Residential Property in NYC: Coordinating State Tax and Beneficial Ownership Rules
May 27, 2026 | Louis Vlahos | LLCs | New York State | Real Estate
Acquiring a NYC Residence According to a recent report, Manhattan boasted the most expensive residential real estate market in the country last year. “Manhattan residents spend nearly five times the national average for housing.”[i] That shouldn’t surprise anyone, considering what has been, at least up to this point, Manhattan’s status…
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Tax Considerations for Individuals Targeted by New York’s Assault on Real Property Ownership
May 20, 2026 | Louis Vlahos | New York State | Real Estate
New York’s Assault on Real Property Last month, New York’s governor announced that the State’s FY 2027 budget will include the enactment of an annual surcharge on second homes[i] in New York City that are valued at $5 million or more.[ii] Query how much greater the city’s deficit must be…
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Observations on the Wealthy’s Change in Attitude Toward Taxes
May 12, 2026 | Louis Vlahos | Federal
Perception of Taxes Since I started practicing almost forty years ago, there have always been a relatively few well-to-do individuals for whom the payment of any taxes – whether personal or business – under any circumstances, seemed to be the most odious and excruciating task they were ever required to…
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Tax Planning and The Political Pendulum
April 21, 2026 | Louis Vlahos | Federal
Reality Check? A few days ago, Sen. Wyden, the Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee, introduced a bill to tax carried interests as ordinary income on a current basis.[i] A day earlier, Sen. Van Hollen introduced a bill to reduce the federal estate tax exemption to $3.5 million and…
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Estate Tax Collection: An Illustration of Payment Options, Decisions, and Consequences
April 15, 2026 | Louis Vlahos | Estate
Taxes equal Revenue The Administration just released its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2027.[i] The Budget proposes to streamline IRS operations by reducing the agency’s budget to $9.8 billion – a $1.4 billion cut from current spending levels,[ii] including a reduction of its enforcement workforce by 17 percent – while…
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The “Mandated” New York S Corporation Election – Does Investment Income Include Gain from the Sale of Goodwill?
April 06, 2026 | Louis Vlahos | Business | State Tax Issues
C’mon Already New York has once again missed its April 1 budget deadline, in no small part because the Governor’s party, which controls both the State Senate and Assembly,[i] is once again at odds with the Governor over tax policy. The Legislature is pushing for tax increases on businesses and…
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A Corporation’s Loss of Capacity and the Tax Court’s Jurisdiction
March 25, 2026 | Louis Vlahos | Business
The Struggling Business When things start to go badly in a business, its owners may feel compelled to take certain extraordinary, and usually ill-conceived, measures “to keep the doors open and the lights on.” For instance, when faced with a reduction in positive cashflow,[i] the owner may decide to forgo…
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Unforeseen Tax Consequences Arising From an Elective Change in Entity Classification
March 17, 2026 | Louis Vlahos | Business
The Tax Court has previously held that a partner who contributes his own note to a partnership in exchange for a partnership interest takes no basis in the interest and their capital account is not credited for the value of the contribution.  In the case discussed below, an entity that…
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Determining Whether a “Partnership” Should Be Respected For Tax Purposes
March 10, 2026 | Louis Vlahos | Business | Federal
Abusing Partnerships? I am certain that most of you have encountered at least one unscrupulous “advisor” who tried to convince you or your client to take advantage of what they described as a perfectly legal “loophole” in the Code that could generate significant tax savings.[i]   Over the years, many…
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