Recently there has been public outrage over learning that a number of powerful individuals and institutions repeatedly had entered into confidential settlements of sexual harassment and sexual abuse claims (I’ll call both sexual harassment for the remainder of this blog), only to have the perpetrators move on to victimize others – sometimes dozens or even hundreds of others. When reports came out that those “hush-money” settlements were tax deductible, there was a demand for action to stop what was seen as an effective public subsidy these settlements via tax savings.
Read MoreMost of the time, if one musician in an orchestra misses a note, it doesn’t impact the orchestra as a whole. Certainly, if a musician misses a note in one performance, it should not impact a future performance of the orchestra or musicians who join the orchestra in the future. Until now, the same as been true of partnerships, limited liability companies, and other entities taxed as partnerships under federal tax law.
Read MoreFine violins do not have serial numbers, but they do typically have a label inside identifying the maker and frequently the year and location where the violin was made. Many violin makers, or luthiers[i] as they are known, like to copy well-known instruments, sometimes even down to the label inside the instrument, and the most famous violin maker, Antonio Stradivari, is also the most frequently copied.
Read MoreMy parents grew up during the Great Depression. As children they had, by necessity, been trained to save everything that had any possible future use, and that carried into their adult lives. It is no surprise that I carried the idea of savings things which might become useful. When I became a violinist, that extended to used violin strings. When I started playing the violin, there was a logic to saving used strings in that they had already been “stretched out.” Just as I hung onto old strings after their usefulness was over, a company, also, can fall victim to keeping records so long that they interfere with the company’s business.
Read MoreSustainability simply means the ability to be maintained or to continue. Today, we usually think of sustainability in the context of energy or the environment. However, sustainability also is important to every individual and every business, because without a sustainable foundation, the individual or business will “burn out.”
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