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Judge adds exemplary damages to verdict delivered by the “Windfall Gals”
The Fall edition of this Legally Speaking column reported on the verdict delivered in the summer of 2023 in favor of an ERA rep given the pseudonym Rigorous Electronics Performers, LLC or REP. A suburban Philadelphia jury found that Manipulating Financial Results, Inc. or MFR (also a pseudonym) owed REP over $600,000 in unpaid commissions.
Our New Legal World — Contactless Delivery of a Lawsuit / “Battle of the Forms” — A Primer (Winter 2024)
Contributors: Andrew Johnson, Caleb Haydon
IRA Distribution Issues for Non-Designated Beneficiaries
Question: My widowed father recently died and failed to designate myself nor any of my siblings as beneficiaries of his IRA. Is there an opportunity to have these funds paid out over a prolonged period of time and avoid the five-year payout period?
Tax Free Income from Short-Term Rentals
Question: I have a lake house which I occasionally rent to my corporation for business use. Am I still allowed to both exclude from tax the rental income I receive and have the corporation deduct the rent paid?
Illinois and Chicago Overhaul Paid Leave Laws in 2024
In 2024, the employment landscape in Illinois, particularly in Chicago, will undergo a significant transformation with the implementation of two pivotal laws governing paid leave for workers. The Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (the “Act”) introduces a comprehensive state-wide standard for paid leave, ensuring a minimum of forty hours annually of paid leave—which can be used for any reason—for all employees.
Putting the “Success” into Succession Planning/The Corporate Transparency Act: What Business Owners Need to Know (Fall 2023)
Contributors: Len Gambino, Marc Pawlus
The Corporate Transparency Act: What Business Owners Need to Know
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was enacted in 2021 to improve transparency in order to prevent bad actors from engaging in money laundering, tax fraud, and other illicit activities from exploiting US companies. Beginning January 1, 2024, the CTA requires “reporting companies” to report information about the individuals who own or control the company to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).
Putting the “Success” into Succession Planning
Finding, grooming, and ultimately selling your business to one or more key employees is a process that typically takes several years. Once you have found the right successors, proper succession planning often involves two additional steps.
Maximizing the Qualified Business Income Tax Deduction For Sole Owner/Sole Employee Businesses
The 2017 Tax Act introduced a new deduction for pass-through entities. Owners of S corporations, sole proprietorships, partnerships and limited liability companies treated as sole proprietorships are entitled to an income tax deduction of up to 20 percent of their qualified business income (“QBI”) on their personal income tax returns.
The ‘Windfall Gals’ Reject Manufacturer’s Contention That Paying the Rep Was a Windfall
Just a few months ago, on the fifth floor of the courthouse in a sleepy Philadelphia suburb, an international manufacturing conglomerate squared off for 3½ days against a local sales rep. The battle was over commissions due under the terms of their contract, plus statutory damages. In a first for this counsel (and the seasoned trial judge), a single-sex jury was selected: eight women who, for reasons explained below, would later form a chat group known as the “Windfall Gals.”