I am in Denver, Colorado for the 7th Annual (yet my first) BALLE Conference. BALLE is the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. BALLE’s Mission is to build Local Living Economies in North America that foster vibrant communities, a healthy natural environment, and prosperity for all. This is done through: Catalyzing, strengthening, and connecting networks of…

Who would have thought that two museums would be battling out for the right to use THE COLD WAR MUSEUM? Although the Cold War ended in 1991, two museums currently are warring over who gets to use the term COLD WAR MUSEUM as their service mark. The Cold War Museum endeavors to maintain a historically accurate record…

Investors and analysts complain that it is difficult to compare the financial positions of two entities with similar leases because financial statements often do not clearly show the effects of operating leases.  They claim that tenants under operating leases get a source of unrecognized financing. A 2005 Security and Exchange Commission report criticized the accounting…

An LLC can be treated as an S-Corporation for tax purposes if it makes an S-Corporation election as long as the entity meets the IRS criteria to be taxed as an S-Corp, files an S-Corp election and gets approved by the IRS to be taxed as an S-Corporation. Without an S-Corporation election, single member LLCs…

In order to be classified as an S-Corporation, a company must: be domestic, have no more than 100 shareholders, have one class of stock, all shareholders must be individuals, decedents’ estates, bankruptcy estates, trusts or tax-exempt charitable organizations, or wholly owned by another S corporation, and all shareholders must be residents of the United States…

Many small business owners incorporate their businesses not only for legal protection, but also to reduce owners’ payroll taxes through S-Corp tax election with the IRS. One advantage of an S-Corp is that it gives business owners the ability to reduce their self-employment taxes. Any small business owner who has not made an S-Corp election…

Posted on The Internet Law Advisor Blog November 16, 2009 – By William Galkin, Esq. Summary: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued revised Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising(Guides) which will take effect on December 1, 2009. The main purposes of the revisions are (1) to update the application of the Guides to new media…

Dow Jones VentureSource is one of the most popular nationwide venture capital date reports in the United States. VentureSources published its latest data on the development of venture capital investments in the third quarter of 2009. Below are some overviews observed by VentureSource. With 616 venture deals and $5.1 billion invested, Q3 is a 6%…

On September 1, 2009, the Government of the United Kingdom implemented the New Offshore Disclosure Opportunity (“NDO”). The NDO allows those individuals with unpaid UK taxes relating to previously undisclosed income and/or capital gains linked to offshore accounts and/or assets to settle related tax liabilities at a favorable 10% penalty rate.  Ordinarily, penalties are charged…

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a September 10, 2009 ruling, held that an employer can be held liable for discriminatory hiring decisions made by its independent contractors. The case involved an independent contractor acting on behalf of the employer, telling the plaintiff that “they were looking for someone younger”.…