Tax Reporting for Grantor Trusts
November 6, 2017
by Jennifer R. Pierce
Typically, a trust must file a separate income tax return for each calendar year. However, for most grantor trusts, filing a separate tax return is optional. The general rule and the alternative methods of reporting are described below. When a trust is a “grantor trust” for income tax purposes…
Investigating Employee Harassment Claims in the Workplace
In the wake of the #MeToo Movement and as again recently seen in media headlines, sexual harassment continues to be a prevalent problem in today’s culture, and no employer is immune from the duty to prevent and resolve harassment claims in the workplace. These claims include not only sexual…
Univ. of Tenn. v. Univ. of Alabama: Allan Gates (Mitchell Williams Law Firm) Asks - Will EPA Ignore a Flagrant Violation of the Clean Water Act?
My law firm colleague, Allan Gates, drafted an October 24th post in the American College of Environmental Lawyers (“ACOEL”) blog titled: Will EPA Ignore a Flagrant Violation of the Clean Water Act? Allan is a Past President of ACOEL. The post addresses activities that occurred at the end of the…
Certain Trust Expenses Still Deductible Until 2026
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), while lowering taxes for most, raised them for a few. One group of those few taxpayers for whom taxes went up under TCJA were certain trusts and estates (generally those with large investment advisory fees or certain other expenses). The issue for these trusts is…
90 Days Until CPRA Enforcement: A Compliance Roadmap
October 3, 2022
by Elizabeth Esparza
All businesses – not just those located in California – should be aware of changes to California’s data privacy law. In 2018, California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), a first-of-its-kind consumer privacy law granting consumers certain rights in their personal information. Two…
Estate Planning Techniques in a Higher Interest Rate Environment
October 5, 2022
by B. Wade Bowen
One can hardly miss the high levels of inflation currently affecting our economy. Even for those who do not pay close attention to the news, where inflation could hardly be more covered, the price of nearly everything for consumers has skyrocketed as we have emerged from the COVID pandemic. To try…
Arkansas Repeals its LLC Laws and Adopts the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act
Arkansas recently became the 20th state to enact the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (the “ULLCA”) as the governing law for the formation and operation of limited liability companies in the state. On April 30, 2021, Governor Hutchinson signed SB601 into law, now known as Act 1041 of 2021…
PFAS Regulatory Update - Past/Present/Future: Blake Whittle, P.G., (Division of Environmental Quality Groundwater Branch Manager) Arkansas Environmental Federation Convention Presentation
Blake Whittle, P.G., undertook a presentation at the October 6th Arkansas Environmental Federation Convention titled: PFAS Regulatory Update - Past, Present, Future (“Presentation”) Mr. Whittle serves as the Office of Land Resources Groundwater Branch Manager for the Arkansas Department of Energy…
Investment Property Exception to $10,000 Cap on Itemized Deduction for State and Local Property Taxes?
November 14, 2019
by Ashley L. Gill
As it relates to individuals, one of the more controversial aspects of the 2017 revenue act (commonly referred to as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act") is the $10,000 cap on itemized deductions for state and local taxes. Historically, the ability to deduct income taxes (or general sales taxes, if elected…
Non-Compete Agreements: What is a Reasonable Duration for a Restriction?
It depends. The first question to ask is when was this non-compete agreement signed? In Arkansas, the watershed date is July 22, 2015, which is when a landmark non-compete statute came into play. For non-competes signed after July 21, 2015, two years is statutorily presumed to be a reasonable…