On May 1, 2024, the Treasury Department (Treasury) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2024-24 (Revenue Procedure), which sets out substantially revised guidelines for private letter ruling (PLR)...more
On May 3, 2023, the U.S. Tax Court upheld a taxpayer’s reliance on Revenue Procedure 93-27 to characterize as a profits interest a partnership interest granted in exchange for services that were provided indirectly for the...more
In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law, allocating approximately $80 billion to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the next decade to improve the way it serves the public....more
Recent guidance from the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) and a proposed bill in the U.S. Senate portend more regulatory and legislative activity to clarify the status of and requirements for stablecoin...more
In recent years, innovation in the blockchain or “Web3” space has been impacted by uncertainty on the regulatory front. Undoubtedly, the greatest area of uncertainty has involved the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and...more
This year, we expect to see new disclosure requirements; rule changes at the Securities and Exchange Commission that will affect directors; activists adopting new tactics; changes to shareholder voting processes; tax and...more
Takeaways -
The technical architecture of various cryptocurrencies makes it difficult to bring them within existing tax rules, even those designed to deal more generally with the digital marketplace.
The U.S., U.K. and...more
Background on NFTs -
With the market for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) exploding, NFTs attached to art, music, video clips, tweets and other digital collectibles have sold for significant sums: An NFT of an animated flying...more
Recent and significant regulatory and legislative events in the digital asset space demonstrate the evolving and expanding approach by U.S. and international regulators to the burgeoning digital asset markets. These...more
10/31/2020
/ Banks ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent Order ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Global Market ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OCC ,
OECD ,
Offshore Listings ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restricted Transactions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Tokens ,
Smart Contracts ,
Stablecoins ,
Summary Judgment ,
Taxation ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
Despite political and economic uncertainties, markets and deal activity were resilient in 2019, and strong fundamentals remain in place heading into 2020. Companies continue to face a challenging litigation and enforcement...more
1/30/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney General ,
Backstop Agreements ,
BEPS ,
BitLicense ,
Blockchain ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
CFIUS ,
CFTC ,
Chapter 11 ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Common Stock ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Subpoenas ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Covenant Lite Deals ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
DACA ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Debt Financing ,
Debtors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Disgorgement ,
Disparate Impact ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Down Rounds ,
Drug Pricing ,
EBITDA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ,
Enterprise Act 2002 ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Issuers ,
FRCP 23 ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
General Elections ,
GILTI tax ,
High-Yield Markets ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Individual Accountability ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intercreditor Agreements ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
IRS ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Japan ,
Joint Venture ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Life Sciences ,
Listing Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Make-Whole Premium ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
PCAOB ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Political Parties ,
Preferred Shares ,
Private Offerings ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Refinancing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Separation of Powers ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Litigation ,
Technology Sector ,
Third-Party Release Agrements ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Valuation ,
White Collar Crimes
Two years after the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the most significant tax reform enacted in a generation, taxpayers continue to encounter substantial uncertainty arising from interpretations of new statutory...more
1/27/2020
/ Buyers ,
Controlled Foreign Corporations ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
GILTI tax ,
International Tax Issues ,
Joint Venture ,
Multinationals ,
Repeal ,
Sellers ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Sale Agreements ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform
On October 9, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued long-awaited guidance relating to transactions involving virtual currencies, such as cryptocurrencies. Aligned with the agency’s continuing efforts to enforce tax...more
10/18/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Capital Gains ,
Capital Losses ,
Charitable Donations ,
Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVCs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Fair Market Value ,
Gifts ,
Information Reports ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Revenue Rulings ,
Self-Employment Tax ,
Taxable Income ,
Virtual Currency
In this issue of The Distributed Ledger, we discuss the IRS' warning letters for over 10,000 cryptocurrency holders, the SEC's settlement with a blockchain company regarding unregistered ICO transactions, and a European...more
9/23/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Controller ,
Data Processors ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Ethereum ,
FinHub ,
Gaming ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
IRS ,
No-Action Letters ,
Personal Information ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Startups ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Warning Letters
In this issue, we examine the release of the much-anticipated Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) guidance for analyzing how U.S. federal securities laws apply to initial coin offerings, the...more
4/16/2019
/ Advertising ,
Blockchain ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CNIL ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Default ,
Digital Assets ,
Discovery ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Division of Corporate Finance ,
Ethereum ,
EU ,
FinHub ,
France ,
Frozen Assets ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Contract ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
No-Action Letters ,
NYDFS ,
Offerings ,
Payment Tokens ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Plea Agreements ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Profits ,
Public Comment ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Tokens ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
Smart Contracts ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
This is the second edition of The Distributed Ledger, a periodic publication covering the latest trends and developments in blockchain technology, digital assets and smart contracts. In this issue, we examine the SEC’s new...more
11/8/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
CNIL ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Data Controller ,
Data Processors ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
FATF ,
FinHub ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Startups ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Virtual Currency
This is the inaugural issue of The Distributed Ledger, a periodic publication covering the latest trends and developments in blockchain technology, digital assets and smart contracts. In this edition, we examine a federal...more
10/16/2018
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Fraud ,
Misappropriation ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Research and Development ,
Smart Contracts ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Legislatures ,
Trade Market Abuse ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency ,
Young Lawyers
On July 15, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a new revenue procedure, Rev. Proc. 2016-40, providing safe harbors for transactions in which a corporation (Distributing) obtains the requisite control of a...more
7/26/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Capital Structures ,
Controlled Transactions ,
IRS ,
Recapitalization ,
Safe Harbors ,
Shareholder Distributions ,
Stocks ,
Subsidiaries ,
Tax-Free Spin-Offs
On July 14, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department proposed new Treasury regulations that, if finalized, would generally become effective for distributions under Section 355 of the Internal Revenue...more
On April 4, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department proposed new Treasury regulations that, if finalized, would become retroactively effective to April 4, 2016, and dramatically alter the tax...more
On March 24, 2014, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a discussion draft report on the tax challenges facing the digital economy (the DE Report). This draft report is issued in...more