New Associate Michael Ruffolo Joins Coolidge Wall

In Business Law, Estate Planning, General, News, Tax by Coolidge Wall

Dayton, Ohio – Coolidge Wall Co., L.P.A. is pleased to announce that Michael Ruffolo has joined the firm as an associate in its Corporate & Business, Estate Planning and Probate, and Tax Departments. Within corporate/business, Michael provides services to clients pertaining to mergers and acquisitions, corporate formations, business and operations, general business counsel, and corporate governance. In tax, he assists clients on federal, state, and local tax issues.  Michael’s estate planning practice includes assisting clients in all aspects of the preparation and administration of estates. Michael graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law in 2023 with a certified concentration in …

Coolidge Wall Receives 2024 Best Law Firms First-tier Ranking

In Business Law, Employment Law, Labor, Litigation, News, Real Estate, Tax by Coolidge Wall

Dayton, Ohio – Coolidge Wall Co., L.P.A. has received first-tier metropolitan ranking in 10 practice areas by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers in the 2024 “Best Law Firms” list. Achieving a top tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise among ranked law firms. The 10 areas for which the firm received Tier 1 ranking are Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Employment Law-Management, Labor Law-Management, Litigation-Labor & Employment, Litigation-Real Estate, Real Estate Law, Tax Law, Trusts & Estates Law, and Workers’ Compensation Law-Employers. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm …

Tax Issues for Election 2020

In Tax by Coolidge Wall

With Ohio’s primary election postponed until June 2nd, and with a much narrower field of candidates, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at one of the more important topics of the election, and one that is quite frankly many times overlooked – what is each candidate’s tax plan? While all the candidates promise to do what is best for us, federal tax policy may ultimately be the item that impacts our pocketbooks the most. Everyone knows the old adage “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” That includes you COVID-19! Assuming …

Ohio Proposes Tax Credit for Investments in Opportunity Zones

In Tax by Coolidge Wall

Background In December 2017, Congress’s passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created Qualified Opportunity Zones (“Opportunity Zones”). In general, a taxpayer who invests in an Opportunity Zone can defer capital gain taxes and potentially reduce his capital gain by receiving a 10% to 15% increase in basis, in addition to paying no tax on any appreciation of the investment in the Opportunity Zone. Click here to find a more detailed discussion of Opportunity Zones. Ohio’s House Bill 727 On August 29th, the Ohio General Assembly introduced House Bill 727 (“HB 727”), which seeks to further incentivize investments in …

Deferring Taxes through Qualified Opportunity Funds

In Tax by Coolidge Wall

Background Most taxpayers are aware of the lower tax rates and the new pass-through business deduction implemented by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Tax Act”). However, two less publicized sections, 1400Z-1 and 1400Z-2, added by the Tax Act provide taxpayers an opportunity to defer and even reduce taxes on the sale of property. Under these sections, when a person sells or exchanges property, that person may defer paying taxes on any gain by reinvesting the proceeds in a “qualified opportunity fund” (a “Qualified Fund”). Generally, investing in a Qualified Fund allows a person to defer all …

Real Estate and the Tax Bill

In Tax by Coolidge Wall

On December 22, 2017, President Donald Trump signed into legislation the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Of importance, the bill repealed and/or limited many deductions for individuals, such as implementing a $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes, which includes property tax. This cap, however, does not apply to state and local taxes paid while carrying on a real estate trade or business. The change has led to a spell of homeowners hurrying to prepay their property taxes in order to take the deduction when filing their taxes in April of 2018. Outside of the many changes which …

So You Want to Start a Charity

In Tax by Coolidge Wall

Everyday people want to know if they can to turn an activity they enjoy into a tax-exempt charity. Probably the most common reason people want to create a tax-exempt charity is to receive tax deductible donations. To receive tax deductible donations, the organization would have to be exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). For an organization to be exempt under Section 501(c)(3), the organization has to meet certain basic requirements. First, the organization has to be organized exclusively for a permitted purpose such as a charitable, religious or educational purpose. Being properly organized means the documentation filed, for our …

Tax Treatment of Crowdfunding

In Tax by Coolidge Wall

Crowdfunding has become a popular way for many entrepreneurs to raise necessary capital from online donations. Projects for which crowdfunding has been used varies greatly in size, industry, and what a contributor may expect in return. While some crowdfunding has been on a very small scale, some projects have eclipsed more than $100 million dollars. Generally, contributions to the capital of a business are tax free when made by the owner of that business, or if the contributor receives an ownership interest in exchange for the contribution. But what happens when total strangers make contributions to the business and receive …

New Law Requires 501(c)(4) Organizations to File with the IRS

In Tax by Coolidge Wall

On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (the “Act”). The Act contains a requirement that 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations file a notice with the IRS. Prior to the Act, 501(c)(4) organizations could, but were not required to, submit a Form 1024 requesting tax-exempt status from the IRS. The new notice requirement applies to 501(c)(4) organizations that are created after December 18, 2015 and to certain organizations existing on that date. New organizations are required to file the notice with the IRS no later than 60 days after the organization is created. For other …

Ready to Throw Out Those Old Tax Records?

In Tax by Coolidge Wall

Once again, the tax filing season is behind most Americans, leaving in its wake another batch of paper and electronic records for taxpayers to add to what may already be a large collection of old tax papers and files. So, how long should you keep these files, and what documents should be saved in the archives? Some taxpayers keep everything. Others prefer to only keep records for a minimum required period, like “three years,” “four years,” or “ten years.” Unfortunately, there is no “bright-line” answer on how long to keep tax records or how much to keep. Instead, the answer …