Taxation
The attorneys of Stites & Harbison’s Tax Group assist a variety of clients (corporations, estates, exempt organizations, individuals, limited liability companies, partnerships, trusts and universities) with tax planning and litigation on the federal, state and local levels. The attorneys include a former United States Tax Court law clerk and a former attorney for the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Chief Counsel (Tax Court). Many of the attorneys have master-of-law degrees in taxation.
The attorneys of Stites & Harbison’s Tax Group routinely serve clients in a range of matters that include:
- Aircraft Acquisition and Leasing
- Aircraft Fractional Interests
- Alternative and Renewable Energy Tax Planning
- Business Acquisitions
- Business Contracts
- Business Formations
- Business Liquidations
- Business Mergers
- Business Planning
- Business Restructurings
- Cafeteria Plans
- Captive Insurance Companies
- Charitable Contributions
- Corporate Spin-Offs, Split-Offs and Split-Ups
- Corporate Tax
- Divorce Tax Planning
- Elder Law
- Employee Benefits
- Employee Plans Voluntary Compliance Program
- Employee v. Independent Contractor
- ERISA (fiduciary, prohibited transactions, etc.)
- ESOPs
- Estate & Gift Planning
- Estate & Gift Tax (including tax return preparation)
- Executive Compensation
- Federal Excise Taxes
- Fiduciary Income Tax Returns (preparation and planning)
- FIRPTA (foreign investment in US real property)
- Georgia Income Tax
- Georgia Sales & Use Tax
- Georgia Tax Litigation
- Incentive Stock Options
- Income Tax Planning
- Individual Tax
- Interest Rate Swaps
- International Tax Planning (Inbound and Outbound)
- Investment Fund Formation (Structuring, LP or LLC Agreements, PPMs)
- IRS Appeals
- IRS Audits
- IRS Ruling Requests
- Kentucky Income Tax
- Kentucky Inheritance Tax
- Kentucky Retirement System
- Kentucky Sales & Use Tax
- Kentucky Tax Litigation
- LLC Operating Agreements
- Local Taxes
- Low-Income Housing Credit
- Medicaid Planning
- Multistate Tax
- New Markets Tax Credits
- Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
- Nonqualified Stock Options
- Partnership Tax
- Penalty Abatement
- Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements
- Private Foundations
- Probate (including litigation)
- Purchase & Sale of Assets
- Qualified Opportunity Zones
- Qualified Retirement Plans (401(k) and defined benefit)
- Regulated Futures Contracts
- REITs and RICs
- REMIC Defeasance Tax Opinions
- Restricted Stock Plans
- S Corporations
- Shareholders’ Buy-Sell Agreements
- State Tax Incentives (including PILOT incentives)
- Stock Purchase Agreements
- Stock Redemption Agreements
- Tax Court Litigation
- Tax Exempt Organizations (Formation, Exemption Applications, Intermediate Sanctions, and IRS Audits)
- Taxfree Exchanges (Code Section 1031)
- Tax Opinions
- Tax Return Review and Analysis
- Tax Settlements
- Tax Treaty Analysis and Planning
- Tennessee Business Tax
- Tennessee Franchise and Excise Tax
- Tennessee Indebtedness Tax
- Tennessee Miscellaneous Taxes
- Tennessee Sales & Use Tax
- Tennessee Tax Litigation
- Transfer Pricing
- Trust Administration (including litigation)
- Trust Agreements
- Unrelated Business Income Tax
- Voting Trusts
- Welfare Benefits (health, disability and life insurance)
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"Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one's taxes."
—J. Learned Hand, Helvering v. Gregory, 69 F.2d 809, 810 (2d Cir. 1934), citing United States v. Isham, 84 U.S. (17 Wall.) 496, 506, 21 L.Ed 728 (1873).
Sixth Circuit Wrestles with Meaning of “Weekly Basis” Under the FLSA
On April 1, 2025, in Lynwood Pickens v. Hamilton-Ryker IT Solutions, LLC, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified what it means to pay a salary on a “weekly basis” under federal regulation 29 C.F.R. § 541.602(a) for purposes of classifying an employee as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In a divided opinion, the Sixth Circuit held that to be paid on a “weekly basis” means that an employee is paid for “a regular week’s worth of work.” As a result, the court held that an employer did not pay an employee on a “weekly basis”—and therefore owed the employee overtime—when the weekly guaranteed pay to the employee was only the equivalent of one day’s pay and the employee was paid an hourly rate for every hour worked beyond the first eight hours in the week.
UPDATE: FinCEN and Treasury Department Announce They Will Not Enforce CTA Despite March Deadline
There is yet another update with respect to the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”). Less than two weeks after the U.S. Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) set a new deadline for CTA compliance, both FinCEN and the U.S. Department of Treasury issued separate press releases announcing their intent to not enforce the CTA until new rules are finalized. Stites & Harbison's Corporate Transparency Act Committee takes a look at the update in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
UPDATE: Corporate Transparency Act Back on as Potential Changes Loom
Compliance with the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) is no longer voluntary. Businesses subject to the CTA, which includes the majority of entities formed or registered to do business in the United States, will have until March 21, 2025, to file their beneficial ownership information reports with the U.S. Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).
GaBiz Magazine Honors Bill Joseph as a 2025 Top Lawyer
GaBiz magazine names Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Bill Joseph as a 2025 Top Lawyer in Tax Law. The annual list of Atlanta’s top lawyers is based on a peer-review survey of attorneys within the state of Georgia conducted by Professional Research Services.
Kentucky Super Lawyers Honors 47 Stites & Harbison Attorneys for 2025
The 2025 edition of Kentucky Super Lawyers recently honored 47 Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys in the Covington, Frankfort, Lexington and Louisville, Ky., offices. The publication named 34 attorneys to the Super Lawyers list and 13 attorneys to the Rising Stars list.
Kentucky Tax Incentives for Qualified Data Centers
As Kentucky prepares for the 2025 legislative session, Stites & Harbison will be watching to see whether the General Assembly expands data center tax incentives beyond House Bill 8 (“HB 8”) which was passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2024. Among other provisions, HB 8 creates sales and use tax exemptions on data center equipment for eligible entities engaged in providing qualified data center infrastructure.
Future of the Corporate Transparency Act is Uncertain
With the January 1, 2025, deadline for beneficial ownership information filings pursuant to the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) for entities formed prior to 2024 rapidly approaching, Judge Amos L. Mazzant III of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas preliminarily enjoined the enforcement of the CTA and its related regulations nationwide. Alison Zeitlin takes a look at what is happening in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Ten Stites & Harbison Attorneys Honored by 2024 Mid-South Super Lawyers
The 2024 edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers recently honored 10 Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys. Seven attorneys were named to the Super Lawyers list and three were named to the Rising Stars list.
Stites & Harbison Welcomes Nine Attorneys to Kentucky and Georgia
Stites & Harbison, PLLC announces the addition of nine attorneys to the firm. Four attorneys join the Louisville, Ky., office: Rachel Gumbel, Jackson B. Hurst-Sanders, James E. Myers and April M. J. Sain. Harper B. Anderson, Holly A. Couch and Robert H. Dean join the firm in Lexington, Ky., while Mackenzie Miller and Lauren Towell (Ren) join the Atlanta office.
Stites & Harbison, PLLC Achieves 2023-24 Mansfield Certification
Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that it has achieved 2023-24 Mansfield Certification. Mansfield is a year-long structured certification process designed for law firms to ensure all lawyers have an opportunity to advance into leadership.
FTC Noncompete Rule Struck Down Nationwide
On Tuesday, August 20, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered an order preventing the FTC’s rule on noncompetes from going into effect nationwide. For the time being, employers do not need to comply with the FTC’s rule, which was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. Employment attorneys Shannon Hamilton, Robin McGuffin, and Zac Losey take a look at that decision in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Stites & Harbison, PLLC Lawyers Named to 2025 Best Lawyers® Publications
Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that 97 of its lawyers are included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence according to the publication. Additionally, 12 Stites & Harbison attorneys are named as “Lawyer of the Year” and 30 attorneys are recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, which recognizes attorneys early in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.
Richard Myers named Stites & Harbison's Nashville Office Executive Member
Stites & Harbison, PLLC has named attorney Richard S. Myers, Jr., as its Nashville and Franklin Office Executive Member. He succeeds Gregory D. Smith, who has served in this role for nine years.
Stites & Harbison Ranks in Top 20 on 2024 "Best Place to Work in Kentucky" List
Stites & Harbison, PLLC ranks in the Top 20 “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” for 2024 in the medium company category. The firm has made the list 18 times — 10 of those in the Top 10.
The Cost of Third- Party Data Breaches: How to Avoid a Financial Disaster
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Webinar
Chad McTighe and Sarah Spurlock will be the speakers for The Knowledge Group's Webinar on June 14, 2024 discussing the costs associated with unforeseen security risks.
Nicholas J. Lococo Joins Stites & Harbison’s Louisville Office
Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney Nicholas J. Lococo (Nick) to the firm’s Louisville, Ky., office. He is a Member (Partner) in the Business & Finance Service Group.