Contributors:Â Jordan Melvin, Danielle Pearlman, Jason Newton
Employee Retention Credit: What Business Owners Need to Know / 2022 Cook County Property Assessments Arrive as Prior-Year Process Continues (Fall 2022)
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Insights
Classifying Service Providers as Employees or Independent Contractors
Question: Â Â Â Â Â Â One of my employees is leaving the company but will continue to render services for our business. Is there a problem if I treat the worker as an independent contractor?
Planning Your Estate Is Important This Week and All Year Round
Welcome to National Estate Planning Awareness Week! It arrives when studies show that nearly 67% of adults lack an up-to-date estate plan. At SFBBG, we are committed to addressing this dire situation.
THE EMPLOYMENT SPOTLIGHT: Hiring, Firing, and Everything in Between
Welcome to Q4 2022! We are wishing all of our SFBBG clients and friends a strong and successful close out to the year. As we look to the start of 2023, we would like to highlight a few significant new laws that take effect in Illinois effective January 1.
Tax Strategies with Incentives Stock Option Plans
Question: Â Â Â Â Â Â I hold incentive stock options which I received from my employer. Since the stock is trading above the option exercise price, should I exercise the options and acquire shares of employer stock or do a cashless exercise?
Avoiding the Tax Trap in Transferring Installment Sale Obligations
Question: I just sold stock in my corporation to a third party and received a cash payment upfront with the balance of the sale proceeds to be paid to me in the future. Since I do not need the additional funds, can I make a gift to my children of the right to the future payments?
Creative Retirement Designs for Small Business Owners
For many small business owners, the key retirement plan decision is not what type of plan to adopt, but where the 401(k) plan funds should be invested. While 401(k) plans are the overwhelmingly popular plan of choice for employers, consider that alternative plan design options are available to maximize benefits for company owners with both 401(k) plans and other types of qualified retirement plans.
Obstacles in Establishing Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans
Question: I want to create a deferred compensation plan for certain highly paid employees of my company to provide additional benefits for them, separate and apart from the company profit sharing and 401(k) plan. Can you advise what obstacles I must be concerned with?
Avoiding Taxable Gain on Mortgage Foreclosure
Question: My daughter is well behind on her home mortgage payments and her house will likely be lost by foreclosure or otherwise. Will she have to pay tax on the unpaid mortgage balance?
General Criticisms and Statements Impugning a Plaintiff’s Personal Traits Do Not Support Claims for Defamation Per Se
Recent cases suggest an uptick in defamation lawsuits seeking damages for statements containing general criticisms of the plaintiff or highlighting certain negative personal traits. The theory is that such statements qualify as defamation per se for they impugn the ability or integrity of the plaintiffs in their occupation or professions. Almost invariably, these lawsuits get dismissed through motion practice.
The day of the deposition arrives and as your witness is testifying, you notice the red blinking light in the upper left corner of the screen designating that the deposition is being recorded.