by Joseph J. Calvanico, MAI, FRICS * Many people have said that real estate valuation is an “art,” not a “science.” It is reasonable to believe that five appraisers would offer five different opinions of value. That is most... Read More

A succession of tweaks and changes to the House Republicans' tax reform bill since it was first released have resulted thus far in a bill with a cost exceeding Congress's $ 1.5 trillion limit and would require significant changes if it's to... Read More

Officials on June 6 appeared willing to clarify provisions in controversial proposed regulations that would redefine the meaning of political subdivision in issuing tax-exempt bonds. At a hearing at IRS headquarters in Washington, Spence Hanemann, branch... Read More

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady, R-Texas, indicated that he plans to offer a manager amendment to House Republicans' tax reform bill November 9 - the second revision to the bill in as many days - but it is unclear what changes will... Read More

A move to roll back a major anti-base-erosion mechanism in the House tax reform plan has sparked criticism that the bill would dramatically increase the offshoring of corporate profits, but some tax professionals argue that the provision was unnecessarily... Read More

Three-quarters of U.S. taxpayers would receive a cut in their federal income tax liability under the House Republican tax reform bill, according to a distributional analysis released November 8 by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC). However,... Read More

All non-taxwriting Senate Republicans are scheduled to learn the details of the Finance Committee's tax reform proposal November 9, according to Republican Whip John Cornyn of Texas. When asked if the Senate Finance Committee would delay the release... Read More

The release of the Paradise Papers and their illustration of the extent to which wealthy individuals and corporations go to avoid tax should give Congress pause and beg for a slowdown in the legislative process of reform, House Ways and Means Committee... Read More

The Internal Revenue Code contains various tax incentives for taxpayers willing to invest in low-income communities. IRC Section 45D provides once such incentive for taxpayers who make qualified equity investments in a selected community development entity... Read More

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of hearing Tribal Judge Abby Abinanti speak at an event for women lawyers. Judge Abinanti, a former Commissioner for the California Superior Court, is currently chief judge for the Yurok Tribal Court in Klamath, California... Read More

Back in August, when the debt ceiling legislation was finally passed after considerable debate, one tax provision that had been considered as part of that legislation, and seemed to have bipartisan support, was left out. (In fact, no tax provisions were... Read More

In the Supreme Court's decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 132 S. Ct. 2566 (June 28, 2012) , the Court determined the constitutionality of the most controversial provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health... Read More

The IRS recently issued final regulations regarding the distribution of stock of a controlled corporation acquired in a transaction under IRC Section 355(a)(3)(B) . TD 9548, 76 FR 65110 . The final regulations adopt the substantive rules of the temporary... Read More

Legend has it that Willie Sutton, bank robber extraordinaire, when asked by the FBI why he robbed banks, stated that it was "because that's where the money is." To a certain extent, this reasoning-to look to where the money is--might provide... Read More

Update on "Obamacare" and the Individual Health Insurance Mandates Judicial challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act of 2010, P.L. 111-148 have been plentiful pretty much since its enactment and I discussed this... Read More