It is hard to believe it, but 2019 is coming to an end. We have had a truly interesting year in the world of tax law, the primary impetus of which was the aftermath of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”). During the past 12 months, we have explored several aspects of the TCJA as well as other interesting developments in tax law, including:
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- Opportunity Zone Funds – Part I—Overview of the Law
- Opportunity Zone Funds – Part II—Due Diligence Required
- Opportunity Zone Funds – Part III—Lots of Questions But Few Answers
- Opportunity Zone Funds – Part IV—The Second Round of Proposed Regulations
- Oregon’s New Corporate Activity Tax
- Now You See It – Now You Don’t. Like Magic, the City of Portland Disallows Depreciation Deductions Otherwise Allowable as a Result of Code Section 754
- Referendum to Repeal Oregon Corporate Activity Tax Has Wind Taken Out of Its Sails – The New Tax May Be Here to Stay
- The Oregon Department of Revenue Plans to Publish Much Needed Guidance on the Newly Enacted Corporate Activity Tax
- IRS Cleaning House at the Office of Professional Responsibility
- Be Aware – The CAT Is on the Prowl – the Oregon Department of Revenue’s Town Hall Meetings Begin Tonight
- School is Back in Session and the CAT is Among the Most Popular Courses
- The CAT Continues to Be on the Prowl – the Oregon Department of Revenue’s Town Hall Meetings Roadshow Made It to Portland
- The CAT Has Gone Telephonic
- Hold the Phone, but Not Your Questions – Recent Oregon CAT Updates
- The IRS Continues Taking Measures to Enhance Security – the EIN Application Process Changed Earlier This Year
- Continue to Keep Your Eyes Peeled and Your Ears Tuned-In for CAT Developments—They Are Rolling In
2019 was another rewarding year in terms of professional development. Apart from an active law practice and maintaining the blog, I was blessed with the opportunity of making additional contributions to the field, including:
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- Presenting "The Road Between Subchapter C and Subchapter S – It May Be a Well-Traveled Two-Way Thoroughfare, but It Isn’t Free of Potholes and Obstacles," New York University 78th Institute on Federal Taxation in San Francisco, CA (November 14, 2019)
- Presenting "The Road Between Subchapter C and Subchapter S – It May Be a Well-Traveled Two-Way Thoroughfare, but It Isn’t Free of Potholes and Obstacles," Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA) 2019 Northwest Federal Tax Conference in Portland, OR (October 28, 2019)
- Presenting "The Road Between Subchapter C and Subchapter S – It May Be a Well-Traveled Two-Way Thoroughfare, but It Isn’t Free of Potholes and Obstacles," New York University 78th Institute on Federal Taxation in New York, NY (October 24, 2019)
- Presenting "Tax Law Update for Family Law Practitioners," Oregon State Bar - Family Law Section 2019 Annual Conference in Sunriver, OR (October 11, 2019)
- Presenting "The Road Between Subchapter C and Subchapter S – It May Be a Well-Traveled Two-Way Thoroughfare, but It Isn’t Free of Potholes and Obstacles," New York University Tax Conferences in July – Advanced Conference on Subchapter S in New York, NY (July 25, 2019)
- Presenting "Subchapter S After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly," 64th Annual Hawaii Association of Public Accountants State Convention in Las Vegas, NV (June 14, 2019)
- Authoring “Subchapter S After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – The Good, The Bad and the Ugly,” published by NYU School of Professional Studies (Matthew Bender, May 2019))
- Representing the Maayan Torah Day School on a pro-bono basis and assisting it in securing a new campus and schoolhouse
- Professional insight “Why Portland investors need to be careful with Opportunity Zones” (Portland Business Journal, February 11, 2019)
Overall, 2019 was a terrific year. Without the support of my family, friends, clients, law colleagues, the tax bar and the accounting community, it would not have been possible. Thank you for your support.
Best wishes to you and your families for a wonderful holiday season and a terrific 2020. I am looking forward to exploring many more interesting tax law developments with you in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Larry
PrincipalLarry is Chair of the Foster Garvey Tax & Benefits practice group. He is licensed to practice in Oregon and Washington. Larry's practice focuses on assisting public and private companies, partnerships, and high-net-worth ...
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Larry J. Brant
Editor
Larry J. Brant is a Shareholder and the Chair of the Tax & Benefits practice group at Foster Garvey, a law firm based out of the Pacific Northwest, with offices in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Washington, D.C.; New York, New York, Spokane, Washington; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Beijing, China. Mr. Brant is licensed to practice in Oregon and Washington. His practice focuses on tax, tax controversy and transactions. Mr. Brant is a past Chair of the Oregon State Bar Taxation Section. He was the long-term Chair of the Oregon Tax Institute, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Portland Tax Forum. Mr. Brant has served as an adjunct professor, teaching corporate taxation, at Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College. He is an Expert Contributor to Thomson Reuters Checkpoint Catalyst. Mr. Brant is a Fellow in the American College of Tax Counsel. He publishes articles on numerous income tax issues, including Taxation of S Corporations, Reasonable Compensation, Circular 230, Worker Classification, IRC § 1031 Exchanges, Choice of Entity, Entity Tax Classification, and State and Local Taxation. Mr. Brant is a frequent lecturer at local, regional and national tax and business conferences for CPAs and attorneys. He was the 2015 Recipient of the Oregon State Bar Tax Section Award of Merit.
