Do you withhold payroll taxes from your farm help’s wages? A recent tax case illustrates the bad things than can happen when a horse business incorrectly calls its farm workers “independent contractors”, and fails to withhold payroll taxes from their wages.
Are your farm workers really independent contractors?
Case Background:
Twin Rivers Farm, Inc., a
By B. Paul Husband
One of the significant holdings in Van Dusen was that indirect supervision of the work by the 501(c)(3) charity can suffice to support deductibility of unreimbursed out of pocket expenses from volunteers. The Court stated: “Nothing in Section 170 or [relevant] regulations suggests that, as a condition to the deductibility of
By B. Paul Husband
In June of 2011, the United States Tax Court decided Van Dusen v. Commissioner, which addresses the rules for deductions of unreimbursed out of pocket expenses incurred in charity work.
In Van Dusen, a cat-loving attorney worked on a volunteer basis in association with a Section 501(c)(3)
Paul Husband, an equine tax attorney based in California, will be contributing a series of guest posts over the next few weeks on the 2011 tax opinion, Van Dusen v. Commissioner. There are many valuable lessons contained in this opinion from which equine charities might benefit. Enjoy!
In the context of deductions claimed by
Currently, anyone in Texas can say they are “ag exempt”, sign a form, and buy agricultural products tax free. But this is about to change. As of January 1, 2012, the Texas Comptroller will require all farmers and ranchers to obtain an Agricultural Sales Tax Exemption Registration Number in order to buy tax-free farm and ranch supplies. This
Forbes.com featured a story this week, entitled “Tax Deductions for Yearling Thoroughbreds”, that may be of interest to many horse businesses. To read the article, click here. Many Thoroughbred racing industry experts are quoted in the article, including Kentucky equine lawyer Joel B. Turner, whose guest post was featured on the Equine Law Blog this
Happy Tuesday! As of August 15, 2011, we now have a reported tax case arising from the infamous ClassicStar debacle. Not surprisingly, the precedent involves "bad facts" and is not helpful for other taxpayers who took part in a ClassicStar deal or similar deal. The following guest post on the opinion, entitled Van Wickler v. Commissioner, is
Hello all! I’m back stateside after a brief business trip to Germany. Unfortunately, the Equine Law Blog went "postless" last week due to a bad internet connection in the Hotel Dorint in Ausgburg, Germany. Hotel management reported to me that the bad connection was unavoidable and due to the fact that the walls of the hotel are about 2 feet
Hey everyone! I hope you like this picture I took today at the "Reiterstadion" in Hannover, Germany. The yellow building (pictured) is a barn within the Hannover city limits that was built at the turn of the century for the Germany cavalry. Now it’s a boarding and training stable surrounded by indoor and outdoor arenas plus a small cross-country course.
For today we
Guten Tag aus Hannover, Germany, dear Equine Law Blog readers!
For the first time since the Equine Law Blog’s inception in early 2008, we are broadcasting "live" from a location outside the United States! Speaking of the United States, this update is to let you know about the good news found in the U.S. Tax