	Second Extension Granted to Government by the Supreme Court to File Certiorari Petition in “Quality Stores” - May 2013 The United States Supreme Court granted the government another extension from May 3 to May 31 to file a petition for certiorari in United States v. Quality Stores Inc., 693 F.3d 605 (6th Cir. 2012). The original deadline of [...] Read More
	Supreme Court Grants Government Extension of Time to File Certiorari Petition in “Quality Stores” - April 2013 The United States Supreme Court granted the government a one-month extension to file a petition for certiorari in United States v. Quality Stores Inc., 693 F.3d 605 (6th Cir. 2012). The original deadline of April 4 is now extended [...] Read More
	Recent Employee Benefit Plan Developments - March 2013 The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) held its Employee Benefit Plans (EBP) Accounting, Auditing and Regulatory Update conference (AICPA Conference) in Washington, D.C. this past [...] Read More
	Ruling Exempting Severance Paid by Quality Stores from FICA Taxes Affirmed in 6th Circuit - January 2013 The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has denied the government’s petition for rehearing the Quality Stores case and affirms the findings in favor of the taxpayer. The court had previously held that supplemental [...] Read More
	2013 Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Qualified Retirement Plans - November 2012 The Internal Revenue Service announced cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for pension plans and other items for tax year 2013. In general, since the cost-of-living index met the statutory thresholds, many of the [...] Read More
	Severance Payments Not Subject to FICA According to Sixth Circuit Ruling - September 2012 In United States v. Quality Stores, Inc., No. 10-1563 (6^th Cir. Sept. 7, 2012), the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a decision made by a lower court which held that certain severance payments are not subject [...] Read More
	Recent Employee Benefit Plan Developments - September 2012 In this Alert, we discuss considerations to keep in mind as plan administrators are preparing for the upcoming 404(a)(5) disclosures to participants. As the definition of a plan fiduciary continues to evolve, we provide a status update on [...] Read More
	Distributions to S Corp Shareholder Recharacterized as Wages Subject to Payroll Taxes - August 2012 Unreasonably low salaries paid by S corporations to shareholder-employees invite IRS audits, FICA tax assessments, interest and penalties. A recent decision by the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit adds to the overwhelming [...] Read More
	Supreme Court Rules on Affordable Care Act - August 2012 On June 28, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on the constitutionality of key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). For American businesses in general, and the [...] Read More
	SEC Adopts Rule Requiring Listing Standards for Compensation Committees and Advisors - July 2012 On June 20, 2012, the SEC voted to adopt a new rule for compensation committees mandated by Section 952 of The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Act). The new Rule 10C-1 implements [...] Read More
	Proposed Regulations Clarify “Substantial Risk of Forfeiture” Under Section 83 - June 2012 The Internal Revenue Service recently issued proposed regulations to provide more guidance on the determination of whether or not a taxpayer’s rights to property received in connection with the performance of [...] Read More
	Impact of Dodd-Frank Act on Executive Compensation In 2012 - April 2012 In 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) became law. Among several other purposes, the Dodd-Frank Act required public companies to comply with a number of disclosure [...] Read More
	Final Fee Disclosure Regulation Issued for Employee Benefit Plans - March 2012 With the final regulations under ERISA §408(b)(2) disclosure rules just released by the Department of Labor (DOL), we wanted to alert you to the key features of the final regulations (as well as changes from the earlier, interim final version). [...] Read More
	Recent Employee Benefit Plan Developments - December 2011 Truly understanding who a fiduciary is with respect to your plan, the fiduciary’s responsibilities and associated personal liabilities from serving in that capacity, not to mention the new disclosure requirements [...] Read More
	2012 Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Qualified Retirement Plans - November 2011 The Internal Revenue Service announced cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for pension plans and other items for tax year 2012. In general, since the cost-of-living index met the statutory [...] Read More
	Now is the Time to Revisit Roth Conversions - October 2011 Many taxpayers who were willing to pay income taxes on their retirement funds at 2010 rates (or under the special installment rules allowed) in exchange for tax-free future earnings converted their [...] Read More
	FDIC Votes to Finalize Rule on Clawbacks of Executive Pay - August 2011 A new rule adopted by the FDIC allows regulators to take back up to two years of pay from former and current top executives and directors whose financial institutions were liquidated by the government. [...] Read More
	Proposed Regulations Would Clarify Exceptions to $1 Million Tax Deduction Limit on Top Officers' Pay - July 2011 Recently proposed Treasury regulations would clarify the Section 162(m) $1 million annual limitation on tax deductions for compensation paid to top [...] Read More
	Global Equity Alert: New French Tax Ruling Resolves Plan Term Issue for Qualified Options in Favor of United States Issuers - July 2011 French tax authorities issued a ruling on May 25, 2011, reversing a ruling issued on July 6, 2010, which had had potentially negative consequences for [...] Read More
	IRS Provides Guidance on Form W-2 Reporting of Employer-Provided Health Care Costs - April 2011 The Internal Revenue Service recently issued Notice 2011-28 in order to provide interim guidance on Form W-2 reporting of the cost of [...] Read More
	Internal Revenue Service Announces Plan to Examine 401(k) Plans that Failed to Submit Questionnaire - March 2011 In May 2010, the Service sent out letters and instructions to a random sample of 1,200 employers that sponsor 401(k) plans, asking them to complete a “401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire.” [...] Read More
	2011 Cost of Living Adjustments for Qualified Retirement Plans - November 2010 The Internal Revenue Service announced cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for pension plans and other items for tax year 2011, all of which are identical to the comparable amounts for 2010. Read More
	One More Chance - Certain Section 409A Corrections Can Be Made Without Penalty Through December 31, 2010 - November 2010 Although the general transition relief for compliance with Section 409A ended December 31, 2008, employers have one last chance to make penalty-free [...] Read More
	IRS 401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire Project - June 2010 The Internal Revenue Service has announced that its Employee Plans Compliance Unit (“EPCU”) will be mailing out a letter and instructions to a random sample of 1,200 employers that filed a Form 5500, Annual [...] Read More
	Protective FICA Claim For Severance Payments - April 2010 The application of FICA tax to severance pay in connection with certain events such as a reduction in force or plant closing has been hotly contested in the courts for a number of years. With the recent [...] Read More
	Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Document Correction Program for IRC §409A - February 2010 In Notice 2010-6, the Internal Revenue Service announced a new document correction program for deferred compensation plans that violate Section 409A. This Tax Alert will briefly describe the issue [...] Read More
	Changes to Form 5500 Filing Methods Required by DOL - February 2010 All Form 5500s (Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan), except 2008 plan year filings, are now required to be submitted by the plan sponsor via the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new electronic filing [...] Read More
	DOL Issues Transitional Relief for 403(b) Plan Form 5500 Annual Reporting Requirements - September 2009 On July 20, the United States Department of Labor released Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2009-02 (“FAB”). The bulletin provides benefit plans subject to section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (“403(b) plans”) [...] Read More
	IRS Issues Notice on Taxation of Employer Provided Cell Phones - July 2009 Recently the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2009‐46, Substantiating Business Use of Employer‐Provided Cell Phones, regarding the taxation of employer provided cell phones and proposals consisting [...] Read More