The influence of the Internet of Things (IoT) will undoubtedly be transformational with a total potential economic impact estimated to be $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion a year by 2025. In the race into the IoT marketplace, there are both known and unknown legal hurdles that will affect those who offer of goods and services during the proliferation of the Internet of Things.

Some of the current and potential legal hurdles related to the IoT are well known, some are not, and some are the result of the intersection between the physical and virtual worlds, and the collision between two intersecting major drivers of innovation in IoT. On one hand, there are the established manufacturers of products and consumer goods whose expertise in developing, testing and manufacturing products puts them in an advantageous position. On the other hand, there are the technology companies who are used to developing software and whose expertise lies in software development, data collection, and data processing.
Continue Reading Hurdles the Internet of Things Must Clear for Manufacturers and Providers

House and White House negotiators have agreed to two provisions of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, which may provide an incentive for business aircraft owners. Under the act, which is expected to pass Congress and be signed by the President, “bonus deprecation” is extended and the “expensing” provisions of the Internal Revenue Code are made permanent.
Continue Reading Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (2015) Includes Changes to Bonus Depreciation and Small Business Expensing

On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed legislation authorizing the federal government to revoke, deny, or limit passports for individuals with a “seriously delinquent tax debt.” The law defines “seriously delinquent tax debt” as owing the IRS more than $50,000 in tax, penalties, and interest. The measure, slipped into the enormous–more than 1,300 pages–highway funding bill [Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (“Fast Act”)], gives the State Department the authority to revoke, deny or limit passports for anyone the IRS certifies as owing more than $50,000 in tax debt. Taxpayers with current installment agreements with the IRS, whereby they have agreed to pay their tax debt over time, are exempted from the law.
Continue Reading “Do Not Pass Go” Unless and Until the IRS Collects $50,000+

On September 8, 2014, the state of Illinois begins accepting applications for medicinal marijuana dispensary and cultivation center permits. Under the state’s Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, passed last year, Illinois will grant one cannabis cultivation permit for each of its 22 state police districts and as many as 60 medicinal marijuana dispensary permits throughout the state.
Continue Reading Aspiring Medicinal Marijuana Business Owners in Illinois Should Understand and Plan for the Potential Tax Pitfalls

In 2014, several payroll tax service providers allegedly embezzled millions of dollars in federal payroll tax payments from their clients. In June, the owner of Checkmaster Payroll Service in Massachusetts was indicted for allegedly stealing client funds that were supposed to have been used to pay clients’ federal employment taxes. The owner allegedly provided clients with “client copy” tax returns indicating that the taxes had been paid to the IRS, when they had not.  The owner also allegedly falsely told his clients that payroll tax delinquency notices that they had received from the IRS were the result of administrative errors by the IRS, not his company’s failure to remit the payroll taxes.
Continue Reading Trust, But Verify – Employers Should Monitor Payroll Tax Service Providers