MBA News

On June 29, the Trade Preference Extension Act of 2015 (TPE) was signed into law. The TPE mainly focuses on foreign competition and retraining domestic workers. But if you read the fine print, you’ll see that it also includes important — but little-noticed — changes to the... Continue Reading

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, making same sex marriage legal in all 50 states. For federal tax purposes, same-sex married couples were already considered married, under the Court’s 2013 decision in United... Continue Reading

If you’ve done some gambling, you may need to know about the applicable federal income tax rules. They can be summarized as follows. You must report 100% of your wagering winnings as taxable income on your Form 1040. The value of complimentary goodies (“comps”) provided by... Continue Reading

The national unemployment rate recently fell to 5.5%, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report for May. That’s a two-point decline since May of 2013. A closer look at the current numbers reveals a 4.5% unemployment rate for all adults at least 25 years of age,... Continue Reading

President Obama signed two trade bills into law on June 29 that include various tax provisions. The focus of the trade bills is mostly foreign competition and domestic jobs, but they contain new rules for claiming higher education tax credits, new fees for failing to file... Continue Reading

In his 2015 State of the Union Address last January, President Obama said employees should get the overtime they’ve earned. He then directed the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to review and amend the overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to make more... Continue Reading

In recent months, several states and localities have passed laws to mandate paid sick leave. Here’s an update: California and Massachusetts each have passed required sick leave laws that kick in on July 1, 2015. They follow Connecticut, which became the first state to... Continue Reading

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated ruling that legalizes same sex marriage nationwide. This landmark case will have significant tax, estate planning, immigration, employee benefits, and other financial and legal implications for individuals and... Continue Reading

With the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 25 decision upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) yet again, employers subject to the act’s information reporting provision can no longer afford to put off planning in the hope that the requirements might go away. Beginning in 2016, large... Continue Reading