Congress finally agreed on a new COVID relief package, passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the "Act") after months of intense negotiations about scope and dollars, and has sent the Act to President Trump for his signature. The President has tweeted objections about some provisions of…
On Friday, December 4th, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3884, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act) by a vote of 228 to 164. If enacted, the MORE Act would end federal prohibition of cannabis, require federal courts to expunge prior cannabis (or…
On November 18, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Ruling 2020-27 and Revenue Procedure 2020-51, which, respectively, provided additional guidance regarding the IRS position on the non-deductibility of expenses funded with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds and a…
On October 30, 2020, the SBA released two additional questionnaires that will need to be submitted by for-profit and non-profit PPP borrowers as part of their loan forgiveness applications. This follows a notice issued by the SBA on October 28 in the Federal Register indicating that the SBA was…
On October 22, 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) approved the Indiana State Hemp Plan (the “Plan”), allowing hemp growers to grow and process hemp commercially in Indiana without obtaining the previously required university research affiliation. Applications for the 2021…
On July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg issued its long-anticipated decision in the case of Data Protection Commission v. Facebook Ireland, Schrems (Schrems II). The decision concludes two years of litigation of a complaint initiated by Austrian privacy…
On October 2, 2020, a Procedural Notice issued by the SBA (the “Notice”) became effective that provides information and procedures addressing requirements for approval of changes of ownership for an entity that has received funds under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The Notice put in…
Background
In early September 2019, the IDOR launched the first of four rollouts of a tax modernization project, Project NextDOR, and is launching Phase 2 this month. Project NextDOR’s new technology includes INTIME, a new online e-services portal which will enable Indiana taxpayers to manage their…
In its monthly payroll industry teleconference held on September 3, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirmed that the payroll tax deferral of the employee portion of the FICA tax described in IRS Notice 2020-65 is not required. Employers may choose to exercise the deferral option but are…
On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted amendments (the “Amendments”) to the private placement definition of “accredited investor” in Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). The SEC’s primary objective of the Amendments is to…
Background
In his “Memorandum for the Secretary of the Treasury,” dated August 8, 2020 (the “Memorandum”), President Trump directed the Secretary to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of the employee portion of the FICA tax (i.e., the 6.2% social security tax) paid during the period of…
On August 4, 2020, the SBA issued guidance in the form of new FAQs regarding loan forgiveness applications for the Paycheck Protection Program. The guidance comes out in anticipation of the SBA accepting loan forgiveness applications beginning August 10, 2020. The FAQs mostly reinforce previously…
