With the stock market hitting record levels and interest rates at historic lows, some investors are moving away from low-risk securities like bonds and money-market funds and investing in precious metal such as gold, silver or platinum. If you’re considering doing the same within your IRA, you should consider some of these tax related issues.  Continue Reading »

Diesel Barbershop, LLC v. State Farm Lloyds COVID-19-related damages cases are making their way through state and federal courts. Plaintiffs typically are businesses that have suffered economic losses because of various mandatory shutdowns. They file claims with their insurance agency, which frequently denies coverage for business interruption losses. However, more often than not, courts have  Continue Reading »

With the year ending and tax season on the horizon, it can be helpful to get clarity on various tax credits. With COVID impacting the economy and quite possibly your business, you should ensure you can save every dollar you can. Congress enacted three tax credits that can provide some relief to eligible employers at  Continue Reading »

Lund v. Lund A Minnesota district court ended (at least for now) a minority owner’s long struggle to sell her interest in a well-known Minneapolis family business. The case featured prominent valuators and a judge well versed in valuation jurisprudence, and it adds another jurisdiction’s view on the use of the marketability discount in fair  Continue Reading »

As COVID cases spike to record-setting levels here in Maine and across the country, mass immunization likely months away and talks of financial relief still a work-in-progress at the federal level, many businesses in the state may be facing challenging times and difficult choices — including laying off employees. If your business finds itself in  Continue Reading »

Scalia v. Farmers National Bank of Danville & Weddle Bros. Const. Co. The Department of Labor recently settled ESOP litigation with the trustee Farmers National Bank of Danville (FNB). The settlement incorporates a process agreement that contains noteworthy directives instructing the trustee on handling controlling interest acquisitions and indemnification matters. This is the sixth such  Continue Reading »

In this past election, voters in California approved legislation that allowed companies in the so-called “gig economy” to continue classifying their workers as independent contractors, opposed to employees. This issue isn’t exclusive to California, however, as the topic of classifying workers as independent contractors or employees has gained national attention, especially with the rise of  Continue Reading »

Horne-Ballard v. Ballard About two years ago, in Rohling v. Rohling, an Alabama appeals court upheld a trial court’s decision to admit into evidence a qualified expert’s estimate about the value of the owner spouse’s business based on a calculation engagement. Recently, the admissibility of calculations of value became an issue in another divorce case,  Continue Reading »

Maine’s relatively low number of COVID-19 cases may have saved some business in Portland and throughout the state. But as cases look to be surging across the country and winter fast approaching, many businesses could be in for a challenging time. Small businesses across the country have already lost billions of dollars during the pandemic.  Continue Reading »

Robinson v. Langenbach Context is “crucial,” the Supreme Court of Missouri recently said in upholding the use of discounts in the court-ordered buyout of a minority owner’s shares in a family business. At the same time, the court acknowledged that, “usually,” the rationale for discounts in a mandated sale to a majority stockholder “would have  Continue Reading »