On June 5, 2024, the SEC published a Risk Alert outlining its examination strategy for broker-dealers, following an earlier Risk Alert for investment advisers. The key components of the broker-dealer Risk Alert are: The Risk Alert follows the publication of the SEC’s Examination Priorities, which outlines the areas that SEC examinations tend to consider for […]
Supreme Court Denies Small-Business Succession Planning Tool in Connelly v. US
On June 6, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Connelly v. United States. Connelly concerned the estate tax valuation of a corporation that was the owner and beneficiary of a life-insurance policy on one of its deceased shareholders. The policy proceeds received by the corporation were used to fund the redemption […]
PBGC Releases New Regs for Benefit Valuation Assumptions
Intro On June 6, 2024, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (the “PBGC” or the “Agency”) finalized proposed amendments to its benefits valuation regulations on Allocation of Assets in Single Employer Plans (“benefits valuation regulation”). Located at 29 CFR part 4044, the final regs revise the interest, mortality, and expense assumptions used to determine the present […]
USCIS Releases Selection Numbers for the FY2025 H-1B Cap
Following the April 1, 2024 announcement that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received enough electronic registrations for unique beneficiaries during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap), USCIS has recently published data showing that the agency selected […]
Florida AHCA Announces Intended Rulemaking on Patient Immigration Status Data Reporting, Quality Measures and Patient Safety Information
On May 24, 2024, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) published a Notice of Proposed Rule to amend Rule 59A-3.270, Florida Administrative Code, “Health Information Management.” The proposed rule amendments are intended to incorporate the requirements of section 395.3027, Florida Statutes, related to reporting of patient immigration status data. In addition, AHCA seeks […]
What’s Good for the Goose – The SEC Adopts Cyber Rules for Broker-Dealers and Others
In case you thought that the SEC’s interest in cybersecurity breaches was limited to public companies, think again. On May 16, 2024, the SEC adopted amendments to Regulation S-P, which governs the treatment of nonpublic personal information about customers by certain financial institutions. The amendments apply to broker-dealers (including funding portals), investment companies, registered investment […]
IRS Updates Guidance on the Domestic Content Bonus Credit
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”) created a marketplace for energy credits. Since then, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has begun to promulgate regulations and other announcements concerning the implementation of and conditions for the market and credits. On May 15, 2024, the IRS released new guidance on the Domestic Content Bonus […]
Looming Halving of The Federal Gift and Estate Tax Exemption
The 2024 lifetime federal gift and estate tax exemption is $13,610,000 per person ($27,220,000 for a married couple) (the “Exemption”). The Exemption is indexed annually for inflation and likely will increase to $14,000,000 or more for 2025. Absent congressional intervention, the Exemption roughly will be “cut in half” in 2026. This reduction—often referred to as […]
USCIS Completes FY 2025 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Selection Process
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the agency’s completion of the FY 2025 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Selection Process.[1] The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Each fiscal year commencing October 1st, there is a cap on the […]
FTC Final Rule Bans Non-Competes
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a final rule banning the future use of non-compete agreements on workers throughout the United States on April 23, 2024. What exactly happened? The final rule concludes that non-compete clauses violate Section 5 of the FTC Act, a federal statute first passed back in 1914. The FTC issued a […]
