In a recent article by The Hill, Sam Baker discusses the push by Republicans and economists for the Supreme Court to not separate the healthcare reform into individual mandates. Should the Supreme Court find that the law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional, these groups are asking that it strike down the entire law.

What does this mean for you? The healthcare reform law will affect everyone in the United States. The American Action Forum filed a brief stating their belief that if the Supreme Court finds the individual mandate unconstitutional, but deems that the remaining provisions can still function properly without it, premiums would increase and costs would skyrocket.

The article by Sam Baker illustrates just one of many views on a very complex issue. Click here to read the full article for yourself.

The National Business Institute will be hosting a live seminar on December 16, 2011 for attorneys, paralegals, trust officers, accountants and those of the like. We are excited to announce that our own Attorney Bridget Erwin will be a featured speaker at this Drafting Effect Wills and Trusts Seminar! She will be speaking about basic tax considerations and what you need to know in order to choose the appropriate plan. Click here to read all about Bridget and the other featured speakers.

The NBI Drafting Effective Wills and Trusts Seminar is designed to provide an insight into the fundamentals of preparing estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, and ancillary documents. Attendees will discover the pros and cons of using various types of documents, as well as the tax ramifications involved. It will provide information on how to choose the best planning documents, provide protection for beneficiaries, use revocable living trusts, pour-over wills and durable powers of attorney, reduce your client’s estate tax, use a living will or durable power of attorney for health case and handle ethical issues that can arise in estate planning. Click here to read all about Bridget and the other featured speakers. Click here to read the full overview of the Seminar.

Even though the Wal-Mart case was decided back in June, it’s still making headlines. (Click here if you missed our last post on the Wal-Mart discrimination decision.) On September 16th the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s decision granting class certification to employees of Costco Wholesale Corp, who alleged discrimination against women. The initial district court’s decision was made in 2007, years before the Wal-Mart class action suit would become an issue. This time, however, the circuit court of appeals ruled that the employees could not file a class action, citing the recent Supreme Court decision on more than one instance. With the precedent set, it will be interesting to see how many more cases are overturned.

Click here to read the full story by Judy Greenwald.

IRS Targets Gifts of Real Estate: Wisconsin One of 15 States Being Targeted for Review

A recent article by Schenck (click here to read the entire article) warns us that the IRS has sought and received the cooperation of the State of Wisconsin in identifying land transfers via gifts. The IRS is targeting Wisconsin tax payers to make sure they file gift tax returns and, if necessary, pay the appropriate gift tax.

We always consult our client’s CPA when assisting with real estate transactions and, in particular, when gifting is involved. Many times we utilize a Limited Liability Company to transfer interests in real estate, thus eliminating a transfer tax fee. This would not eliminate the gift tax issue, but would not draw attention to the gift of the membership units under this IRS initiative.

Another issue that has become important to consider is that in the last couple of years reliance on the real estate tax bill’s stated fair market value may not be advantageous in gift tax reporting. We are finding more and more pockets of municipalities or townships that have aggressively assessed properties so that the stated fair market value is much greater than the “willing buyer-willing seller” fair market value. We recently had an overstatement of a residence by $225,000 when comparing the tax bill assessed fair market value versus the actual sale price.

Depending on the total value of your gifts and the future threshold for gift tax exemptions this will be an important issue to address.

An update to an earlier Facebook post (Find the original article here)…. the U.S. Supreme Court this week found that the class action lawsuit potentially affecting 1.5 million female Wal-Mart employees had been improperly certified. Specifically, “Justice Antonin Scalia said the women who brought the case, alleging bias in pay and promotions, failed to point to companywide policies that had a common effect on all women covered by the class action”. While this is a significant blow to the plaintiffs’ case, many insist the fight isn’t over, and they’re not going away. Stay tuned for more….

Click here to read the full story by USA Today’s Joan Biskupic.

Hawkins, Ash, Baptie & Company, LLP recently published an article on “Best Practices for the Construction Industry” that apply to contractors, big and small.  It’s a short article that helps remind one of some common sense rules and ideas for bidding and profitability.  Check it out for yourself by clicking on the article title above.