Private Equity Funds Reward Right Investor

June 1, 2001

Wealthy investors seeking an alternative to the performance and volatility of the public equity markets are turning to private equity investments. Portfolio diversification and hoped-for average annual returns approaching 20%, coupled with lower minimum investments, have led to the private equity stampede. Private equity refers to any ownership stake in a non-publicly traded corporation. Among the most well known private companies today are Mars and Levi Strauss & Co. Investors …

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Why The Pulitzer Jury Got It Wrong

June 1, 2001

What should a major newspaper do about a reporter whose coverage of taxes is typically one-sided and sometimes inaccurate, and who has become an advocate for the Internal Revenue Service? If you are The New York Times, you celebrate when he wins the Pulitzer Prize. David Cay Johnston of The Times this year was awarded the $7,500 prize for beat reporting (he was a runner-up in 2000) “for his penetrating …

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David Cay Johnston’s Response

June 1, 2001

Mr. Elkin, There is an old newsroom proverb that goes like this: Doctors bury their mistakes, lawyers see theirs off to jail, only reporters sign theirs for all the world to see. I think we need a vigorous debate about tax policy and tax administration, one driven by sound insights instead of sound bites. I invite vigorous examination of my own work, which is signed for everyone to read and …

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More Winners Than Losers From New IRA Regs

June 1, 2001

I take back all those terrible things I’ve said about the Internal Revenue Service. Well, maybe not everything, but the IRS has built some good will with me (and I’m sure they sleep more soundly as a result) by issuing new rules for distributions from retirement plans and Individual Retirement Accounts. Everyone wins under the new regulations that the IRS proposed Jan. 11. The IRS will find it much easier …

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IRS Bares Teeth At Equity Split-Dollar Plan

June 1, 2001

What happens when you keep putting your head in a crocodile’s mouth? Sooner or later he’s going to slam his jaws shut. Proponents of split-dollar life insurance arrangements have advocated these plans for many years despite clear signs that the Internal Revenue Service was getting hungry, or at least ornery. Now the Service has snapped at split dollar, and it looks like an even bigger bite is still to come. …

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Tips On How To Respond To Notice 2001-10

June 1, 2001

Notice 2001-10 applies to existing split dollar arrangements and should not be disregarded merely because it provides "interim" guidance on the taxation of such plans. It is not a matter of "if" the IRS will provide final guidance in the future, it’s just a matter of when. Existing plans should be evaluated to determine the tax effect of the notice to the insured, and to decide whether to leave the …

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