Traditionally, estate planning has focused on more technical objectives, such as minimizing gift and estate taxes and protecting assets against creditors’ claims or lawsuits. These goals are still important, but affluent families are increasingly turning their attention to “softer,” yet equally critical, aspirations, such as educating the younger generation, preparing them to manage wealth responsibly, […]
The world’s largest meat production company was recently sidelined by a ransomware attack. The hack forced the company to temporarily shutter plants in the United States, Canada and Australia, affecting the U.S. meat supply and even hurting commodity prices. If it seems like cybercriminals often target manufacturing (including food processing) and distribution companies, that’s because […]
High-income taxpayers face a 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) that’s imposed in addition to regular income tax. Fortunately, there are some steps you may be able to take to reduce its impact. The NIIT applies to you only if modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) exceeds: $250,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly and surviving spouses, […]
“There are 1,042,027 millionaire households in California – 7.7% of all households – according to Phoenix Marketing International. About 270,000 of those millionaire households are based in L.A. County, more than any other county in the nation.”
“Miller Kaplan has a department dedicated to information security; how specifically do you ensure security from this department? The secret sauce to an Information Security Management Program is threefold…”
Vaccines for COVID-19 have been available for months now. As of this writing, about half of adults in the United States are fully vaccinated, and many more than that have had at least one shot. Yet, in all this time, employers haven’t received much guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding the […]
Internal controls are a system of policies and procedures organizations put in place to protect assets and improve operating efficiency. Effective internal controls are critical to accurate financial reporting. A solid system of controls can help prevent, detect and correct financial misstatements due to errors and fraud. Internal and external risk factors evolve over time. […]
For many business owners, putting together a succession plan may seem like an overwhelming task. It might even seem unnecessary for those who are relatively young and have no intention of giving up ownership anytime soon. But if the past year or so have taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen. Owners who’ve built […]
A health care plan with fewer than 50 participants that’s administered by a sponsoring employer may have fewer compliance hassles. That’s because it’s excluded from the definition of a “group health plan” under administrative simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). These provisions include privacy and security requirements. This can be […]
One benefit of the current federal gift and estate tax exemption amount ($11.7 million in 2021) is that it allows most people to focus their estate planning efforts on asset protection and other wealth preservation strategies, rather than tax minimization. (Although, be aware that President Biden has indicated that he’d like to roll back the […]
Should employers be concerned if their retirement plan participants withdraw money from their accounts for non-retirement purposes? A recent report from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) says yes and explains why. The JCT report, titled “Estimating Leakage from Retirement Savings Accounts,” notes that designated retirement savings accounts generally receive favorable tax treatment under the […]
To generate revenue and foster customer loyalty, many businesses, including retailers, airlines and credit card companies, create loyalty and reward programs. Such programs can help companies attract and retain customers, but they may also be subject to fraud and abuse. ATO risk Loyalty programs are particularly vulnerable to account takeovers (ATOs). In these schemes, a […]