Tax season is a stressful time for people and accountants alike.  It is not uncommon for tax payers to get an overwhelming urge to set fire to all their paperwork then move into the woods and live off the land. Most of us can resist that temptation, but we still want to do some purging […]

In a New York personal income tax case involving an individual whose parents lived in a New York apartment building that he owned, the Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court’s judgment and held that, in order for an individual to qualify as a statutory resident, there must be some basis to conclude that the dwelling was used […]

FACT SHEET — Opportunity For All: Rewarding Hard Work Raising the Minimum Wage through Executive Order to $10.10 for Federal Contract Workers & Calling on Congress to Finish the Job for All Workers by Passing the Harkin-Miller Bill Today, continuing to fulfill his promise to make 2014 a year of action, the President will sign […]

Smolin partner Sergio Ruta’s daughter, Juliana Ruta, had the privilege of singing backup for Queen Latifah during Super Bowl XLVIII. Juliana is a member of the New Jersey Youth Chorus, a group comprised of 72 girls in grades seven through twelve. The invitation came as an unexpected surprise to both the girls and artistic director/founder, […]

Capital flow, both equity and debt, continues to find superior returns in the self storage sector. Based on total returns by property sector published by NAREIT, self storage outperforms other core sectors such as apartment, office, retail, industrial and office with five-, 10- and 15- year returns of 18.85 percent, 20.48 percent and 16.54 percent, […]

If your business paid qualified employment opportunity relocation costs to move your employees from an area outside of New York State to New York City, you may be able to reduce or receive a refund from your New York City business taxes by taking advantage of the employment opportunity relocation costs credit. Qualified employment opportunity […]

Valentine’s Day.  A time of giving.  A time of love.  A time to express one’s appreciation for that significant other by advancing the relationship into a whole new tax bracket (there are approximately 6 million marriage proposals on Valentine’s Day). According to CNN.com, below is a guestimate of what Americans spent on Valentine’s Day in […]

It is a little known fact, and hardly discussed, that ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) regulates employer sponsored Healthcare plans. Seems odd given that ERISA is commonly thought to regulate pensions, and the law does not require companies to offer Healthcare plans.  But because ERISA covers benefits generally, it governs health insurance as well. […]