Business Law Journal

As more and more businesses shut down or scale back due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Federal, State and local governments are quickly realizing that these businesses and their employees are facing devastating financial consequences. 

As the 2020 election draws ever nearer, nonprofit organizations should consider reviewing the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) rules relating to permissible and impermissible political activities such as endorsing specific candidates, general advocacy, and lobbying to influence legislation.  While employees of an organization may wish to “support the cause” by taking political action on behalf of the organization, and/or the organization itself may be inclined to spend funds to oppose or support certain ballot measures, organizations should take note that participation in some types political activities may jeopardize the organization’s tax-exempt status.

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Taxation issues around virtual currencies have abounded since the inception of these so called “digital dollars,” such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Monero.  Though a single Bitcoin may no longer be valued at nearly $20,000 as it was in late 2017, the overall increase in value of many virtual currencies has created an incentive for holders of these virtual currencies to donate amounts of virtual currency to charitable organizations, for the same reasons appreciated property is often donated generally.  However, until recently, there was little to no IRS guidance in place for charitable organizations receiving donations of virtual currency.

On July 12, 2019, the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (“CUIAB”) recently added the latest stick to a growing pile of authority that linguists working for interpretation or translation companies are independent contractors.  This holding clarified that under the Borello standard (which still controls in the context of the Unemployment Insurance Code) interpreters and translators can be, in certain circumstances, properly considered independent contractors.

Worker classification is an ongoing issue for most employers. Unfortunately, misclassification of workers can result in substantial liability for employers, with such liability arising in many different ways.  

Individuals impersonating IRS officials are out there, using their best efforts to intimidate people into paying a fake tax bill.  Scams take many shapes and forms, such as phone calls, letters, and emails.  Some scammers may even threaten to arrest or deport their would-be victim if they don’t pay.  The IRS continually updates its website (www.irs.gov) with information on the most current scams and how to report them.  Here is an overview of how and when the IRS contacts taxpayers.

For a variety of reason, a business may desire to change its form of entity (e.g. convert from a limited liability company to a corporation) or change its state of organization (e.g. converting from a California corporation to a Nevada corporation) or merge with another entity.  In the past, if a nonprofit organization wanted to enact changes similar to these, it often was required to submit a new application for tax exemption with the IRS, which can be burdensome.