- Blog PostIn this clip from "Energy Storage and Distribution: The New Frontier," our panel discusses developments in energy storage systems and what lies ahead.
- Blog PostEnergy storage and distribution: The new frontier
- Blog PostSince its inception in 2006, the investment tax credit for solar energy development has played a critical role in the solar power industry’s meteoric rise. In sixteen short months, though, we enter the phase-down period, wherein the ITC will drop incrementally from its current 30 percent (through 2019) to a permanent 10 percent (after 2022).
- NewsThirty-seven attorneys at McDonald Hopkins have been selected by their peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers 2019. In addition, Cleveland member Dale Vlasek was selected among 2019’s “Lawyers of the Year.” The 24th edition of best lawyers is based on more than 5.5 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.
- PodcastOn episode 18 of MH Business Exchange, host Mike Witzke and McDonald Hopkins business and real estate attorney Todd Baumgartner discuss current trends in long-term care.
- NewsCarla Erskine has joined McDonald Hopkins LLC as an associate working with the Business Law Department in the firm’s West Palm Beach office.
- Blog PostWhen Congress gave a new 20 percent tax deduction to sole proprietors, owners of S Corporations, and partners (including members in limited liability companies), it essentially denied that deduction to people in the business of providing professional services. This means doctors, lawyers, accountants, stock brokers, investment advisers, traders, consultants, athletes, and artists do not get to deduct 20 percent of their business income.
- Blog PostYou have no doubt heard the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 dropped the corporate tax rate to 21 percent. You have probably also heard some (but not all) owners of businesses operating as S corporations, partnerships (including limited liability companies), or sole proprietorships will be able to deduct 20 percent of their business income starting in 2018. So, who does not get to deduct 20 percent of their business income?
- Blog PostSay you own two related businesses that operate as S corporations out of the same facility and share administrative resources, but for business and legal reasons, they are separate entities with separate profit and loss statements. One business, let’s say it’s a window wholesaler, generates $1 million of income and has $100,000 payroll. The second business, a home improvement business, generates $50,000 of income on a $1 million payroll. Assume no depreciable property in used; this is all U.S. income; your taxable income equals or exceeds the income from these businesses; and you file a joint return with your spouse.
- Blog PostThe deduction is available for any taxpayer other than a C corporation, so it is available to individuals who earn their business income as sole proprietors or who receive their business income through pass-through entities such as S corporations, partnerships, or limited liability companies. This is why the Section 199A deduction is sometimes called the “pass-through” business income deduction.
- Blog PostAre you a sole proprietor or the owner of a pass-through business (for example, an S corporation, partnership or limited liability company), and do you hire employees and use buildings and equipment to manufacture, sell and/or distribute your product? If so, you will very likely see a 20 percent drop in the tax you pay on your business income starting this year. That’s thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or the TCJA, which added Section 199A to the tax code. This means a big savings for a lot of business owners, many of them owners of small businesses.
- Blog PostThe Supreme Court of Minnesota recently struck down the State Tax Commissioner’s attempt to impose an income tax on trust income from the sale of shares in a Minnesota corporation. The Court issued its opinion in Fielding v. Commissioner of Revenue on July 18, 2018, finding that the tax violates constitutional due Process protections against extraterritorial taxation.
- Blog PostEarlier this month, the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine addressed whether an individual Maine resident may claim a Maine income tax credit for business taxes imposed by New Hampshire on a limited liability company in which the Maine resident is a member. Siding with the State of Maine, the Court ruled in Goggin v. State Tax Assessor that a Maine resident taxpayer holding an interest in an LLC taxed as a partnership was not entitled to a refund of personal income taxes for business taxes paid to New Hampshire.
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- Blog PostThe Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation recently consolidated three class action cases by employees of two of the world’s largest rail equipment suppliers in federal court in Pennsylvania. All three lawsuits accuse the competitor companies of agreeing not to solicit, recruit, or hire each other’s workers without permission from the hiring company.
- PodcastOn episode 16 of MH Business Exchange, host Mike Witzke and McDonald Hopkins attorney John Heer discuss some of today’s hot issues in environmental law.
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On episode 16 of MH Business Exchange, host Mike Witzke and McDonald Hopkins attorney John Heer discuss some of today’s hot issues in environmental law.
- Blog PostTrade associations continue to be a focus of antitrust enforcers such as the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, the Federal Trade Commission, and states attorneys general. Potential criminal and civil antitrust liability exists for the association and its officers and directors, as well as its members under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, Section 5 of the FTC Act, and various state antitrust laws.
- Blog PostSupreme Court rules that manufacturer's purchases of natural gas do not qualify for sales and use tax exemption
- Blog PostSouth Dakota v. Wayfair Update: Quick congressional action appears unlikely following House Judiciary Committee hearing
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Host Mike Witzke talks with Ilirjan Pipa, the chair of McDonald Hopkins' Securities Practice Group, about the use of representation and warranty insurance in M&A deals.
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With the rise of distributed ledger technology and the corresponding ability to share and mutually agree on information, developers have begun to expand the scope of applications on and uses of blockchain technology. As a result, blockchain technology developers have moved beyond merely tracking the movement of cryptocurrencies, and newer networks (such as Ethereum and Ripple) permit network users to run stand-alone applications on top of the underlying blockchain.
- Blog PostFour states sued the IRS and Treasury Department on July 17, 2018, alleging a recently-enacted tax reform measure included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is unconstitutional.
- Blog PostThe North Carolina General Assembly has proposed amending the state’s constitution to cap the state income tax rate at 7 percent.
- Blog PostIn a divided 4-2 ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a controversial 1.5% soda tax that the City of Philadelphia levied on beverage distributors for sugary drinks.
- Blog PostUnexpected conditions can become a major problem for contractors. Regardless of whether the project is a design-bid-build process or billed on time and materials, contractors never look forward to telling an owner that the project is going to be more expensive than initially thought.
- Blog PostThe language companies have been using to comply with California’s Proposition 65 may no longer be adequate as of Aug. 30, 2018. That’s the deadline for compliance with updated regulations affecting all companies whose products end up in the Golden State.
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The exclusivity restrictions of the Medicare Shared Savings Program pose challenges for physician practices that employ nurse practitioners, physician assistants or certified nurse specialists and desire to participate in multiple accountable care organizations. Alternatives are available to avoid ACO exclusivity but often require careful planning. This Alert describes ACO exclusivity principles with particular focus on implications and workarounds for group practices that employ nonphysician practitioners.
- Blog PostUnder a consent decree filed on July 12, 2018, the EEOC and Estee Lauder agreed to resolve a lawsuit by providing a $1.1 million settlement for the over 200 new fathers allegedly denied the same leave rights as new mothers.
- Blog PostIllinois physicians will be allowed to collaborate with more physician assistants following Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s July 13, 2018 approval of Public Act 100-0605, which is likely to expand the use of PAs in the state.
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In what appears at first blush to be a ruling contravening the general law mandating arbitration in Doctors Associates, Inc. v. Alemayehu, the Honorable Janet Hall of The United States District Court, District of Connecticut, after detailed analysis found a long-used franchise application lacked mutuality and therefore could not be enforced by the prospective franchisor.
- AlertThe Associated General Contractors of Ohio, its affiliated associations, and the Ohio Contractors Association, represented by Peter D. Welin, Jason R. Harley, and John A. Gambill of McDonald Hopkins’ Construction Law Group, filed a “friend of the court” brief on July 13, 2018 with the Ohio Supreme Court in New Riegel Local Sch. Dist. Bd. of Ed., et al. v. The Buehrer Group Architecture & Eng’g., Inc., et al., Case No. 2018-0213.
- AlertIn an update to our alert, “Texas District Court issues temporary injunction preventing CMS from recouping overpayments,” on June 28, 2018 the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a preliminary injunction preventing CMS from recouping an alleged overpayment pending an Administrative Law Judge decision on the appeal of the alleged overpayment determination.
- Blog PostFederal and state laws make it illegal to harass individuals of other characteristics, including but not limited to marital status, familial status, genetic information, military or veteran status, age, and physical or mental disability. A recent Missouri federal case where an employee was allegedly harassed based on his Christian religious convictions illustrates this point
- NewsJeff Van Winkle has joined the Chicago office of McDonald Hopkins LLC as a member, bringing more than three decades of experience representing businesses, investors and entrepreneurs. He comes to McDonald Hopkins from Clark Hill PLC
- Blog PostThe U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case set aside 50 years of settled law to hold that states may require online and direct mail sellers to collect sales tax from their consumers, whether they have a physical presence in the state or not.
- Blog PostLast week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to a West Virginia law that provides an income tax exemption for retirement benefits of state law enforcement officers, but does not extend the same exemption to federal law enforcement officers.
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- Blog PostWhile the majority of international attention has focused on cryptocurrencies and the associated rise in value of these assets, distributed ledger networks, the technology responsible for and supporting the development of cryptocurrencies, has matured, leading to an influx of new applications across a wide variety of industries
- Blog PostIn a landmark decision on June 27, 2018, the Supreme Court by a 5-4 margin overruled a thirty-year precedent requiring public employees to pay “agency fees” for non-union member individuals. What does this mean for the future? Detroit Free Press writer John Gallagher, who is also a union president for the Newspaper Guild of Detroit, offers the fascinating perspective on “why unions will survive” the court’s decision. Detroit-based McDonald Hopkins attorneys James Boutrous, Miriam Rosen, and David Schelberg have been considering how the decision will impact their clients and other organizations, public and private.
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- Blog PostAn irrevocable trust is a trust with terms and provisions that cannot be changed. However, under certain circumstances, changes to an irrevocable trust can be made and a trust can even be terminated.
