The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), P.L. 112-240, left corporate tax rates unchanged but increased the top individual tax rates. In 2013 the rate was 39.6% (up from 35%) for earned amounts in excess of $450,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly and surviving spouses, $425,000 for heads of households, $400,000 for singles, and $225,000 for married taxpayers filing separately. Under ATRA, threshold income …
more
On August 15, 2014, Governor Brown signed into law a new real estate broker agency bill. Senate Bill 1171, which is effective January 1, 2015, expands the disclosure law that previously applied only to one-to-four unit residential sales and leases. It requires commercial brokers to disclose, in a written statement and at the earliest possible opportunity, their agency relationship with the participants in a commercial …
more
Under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), P.L. 112-240, the maximum individual income tax rate was increased to 39.6%. It made permanent a 15% rate on qualified dividends for taxpayers in the 25% to 35% income tax brackets, and a 20% rate on qualified dividends for taxpayers in the top income tax bracket of 39.6%. Higher-income individuals also pay an additional 3.8% tax …
more
The Documentary Transfer Tax Act (Revenue and Taxation Code §§11901, et. seq), as originally enacted, allows the amount of documentary transfer tax on a conveyance of commercial real estate to be shown on a separate declaration to prevent the purchase price from being readily ascertainable. It permits a county recorder to attach the declaration to the deed after the permanent record is made and before …
more
Partners in a partnership (or members in a LLC taxed as a partnership) sometimes have differing views on how to take proceeds from the sale of investment property. Some partners want to cash-out while others want to remain in the partnership and buy new replacement property (i.e., defer taxable gain by having the partnership complete a Section 1031 exchange). If the partnership takes some cash …
more
California defines “doing business” as “actively engaging in any transaction for the purpose of financial or pecuniary gain or profit” (Revenue &Taxation Code § 23101(a)). For tax years that begin on or after January 1, 2011, an entity is also considered to be doing business in California if it meets any of the following criteria: It is actively engaging in any transaction for the purpose …
more