The Counselor

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Business Advice and Financial Planning

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2012 Articles

Gift tax annual exclusion concerns when conveying business interests By Hugh F. Drake September 2012 A recent Tax Court decision in Wimmer v. Commissioner holds that limited partnership interests gifted over a period of years qualified for the gift tax annual exclusion due to the receipt of income distributions from the partnership.
IRS proposes new regulations under Code § 2032—Alternate Valuation for Estate Tax Purposes By Hugh F. Drake May 2012 Under the IRS' recent revisions, post-mortem changes will affect the federal estate tax value of assets only if they are attributable to 1) economic or market conditions or 2) uncompensated theft or casualty losses that are not deducted under Code §2054.
A new world order: Harvard Professor John Ruggie’s final guiding principles on business and human rights By Michael G. Congiu April 2012 The final U.N.'s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights pose an enormously significant set of parameters upon corporations and signify a critical departure from the historical obligation of states to protect and promote the human rights. According to the Guiding Principles, companies now have human rights obligations that are commensurate and may even exceed the obligations of sovereign states.
News from the National Labor Relations Board By Alan M. Kaplan April 2012 President Obama recently appointed three new members to the NLRB.
Pancake House’s flippant handling of complaints results in substantial jury verdict By Nancy E. Sasamoto May 2012 A recent opinion handed down by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals serves as a good reminder to employers that having a policy against sexual harassment and training all new hires will not effectively protect the company if managers ignore or mishandle harassment complaints.
Section Council legislative update By James S. Peters September 2012 This article reviews the positions the Council has taken on several recent pieces of legislation.
Time to fix your arbitration agreements By Brian Caster May 2012 Employers with a potentially broad arbitration agreement should have legal counsel review the language to ensure its viability in the wake of the NLRB's recent and potentially far-reaching decision.