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Lane Report Archives
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| The Lane Report December 2008 |
| Monday, December 1, 2008 |
Mayor Daley's war on climate change worth the fight Mayor Richard M. Daley, the greenest of America's mayors, bested his peers once again when he recently unveiled a "Climate Action Plan," the first of its kind in the nation, to cut Chicago's greenhouse gases to 75% of 1990 levels between now and 2020. |
| The Lane Report November 2008 |
| Saturday, November 1, 2008 |
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| The Lane Report October 2008 |
| Wednesday, October 1, 2008 |
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| The Lane Report September 2008 |
| Monday, September 1, 2008 |
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| The Lane Report August 2008 |
| Friday, August 1, 2008 |
The new Form 990 is coming, and it will be here sooner than you may realize. |
| The Lane Report July 2008 |
| Tuesday, July 1, 2008 |
| The University of Chicago’s policy is principled, but it is not moral. It is indirectly condoning Sudan’s unspeakable crimes against humanity |
| The Lane Report June 2008 |
| Sunday, June 1, 2008 |
| Coca-Cola brought a federal lawsuit in 2006 against a former employee for trying to sell trade secrets to PepsiCo. The convictions of the two individuals that received an 8 year and 5 year sentence for trade secret theft were affirmed on appeal this month. According to surveys conducted for the ASIS International and Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, U.S. |
| The Lane Report May 2008 |
| Thursday, May 1, 2008 |
| The Democratic presidential candidates are one-upping each other in their promises to bring "change" to Washington. But the debate shouldn't stop there. Illinois' government is badly broken, and the power to mend it is within reach of the state's discontented voters. The Illinois House, reflecting widespread disdain for Gov. Rod |
| The Lane Report April 2008 |
| Tuesday, April 1, 2008 |
| Federal judges in New York and Washington, D.C., will soon decide just how far intellectual property owners' rights stretch. A judicial misstep could threaten innovation both in Chicago's emerging tech sector and at its flagging media businesses. This month, New York Federal District Judge Robert Patterson has schedulewd for tiral a shaky case filed |
| The Lane Report March 2008 |
| Saturday, March 1, 2008 |
| With real estate prices falling and the economy pulling back, Congress wisely decided to pass legislation estimated to return $152 billion to individual and business taxpayers in the form of rebates and other tax incentives. With over 130 million Americans expected to benefit, please read on to see if you might qualify. TAX REBATES Sound familiar? |
| The Lane Report February 2008 |
| Friday, February 1, 2008 |
| James LaRue's nest egg is at risk not only because his retirement plan's administrator was apparently careless, but also because two courts strained the plain meaning of the federal law protecting plan participants to bar him from asserting a claim for restitution. Along with tens of millions of private-sector employees, Mr. LaRue made regular |
| The Lane Report January 2008 |
| Tuesday, January 1, 2008 |
| Stoneridge v. Scientific-Atlanta is the most explosive securities case to hit the U.S. Supreme Court in the last 10 years. The appeal will test the reach of federal securities laws and force the sharply divided court to decide whether corporate shareholders can sue lawyers, accountants, banks and vendors that dealt with companies alleged to have |
| The Lane Report December 2007 |
| Saturday, December 1, 2007 |
| Without a doubt, the major financial story since this past summer has been the meltdown in the sub-prime lending market and the subsequent drop-off in housing sales and the impact on home builders and related industries. Standard & Poor's and Moody's fed the fears of a broader market sell-off by dropping the ratings of approximately $17 billion of |
| The Lane Report November 2007 |
| Thursday, November 1, 2007 |
| The evidence is mounting that environmentally responsible companies are more profitable and deliver better investment returns. Yet most U.S. companies have been slow to adopt responsible environmental practices, yielding ground to Europe and Japan, where investor demand, competitive pressure and regulatory mandates have spurred companies to improve |
| The Lane Report October 2007 |
| Monday, October 1, 2007 |
| For no good reason, the Securities and Exchange Commission is mulling over a misguided change in regulatory policy that would hobble shareholders' right to file non-binding proposals on corporate governance, social and environmental issues with the companies they own. Commissioner Paul Atkins is leading the charge against shareholders' advisory |
| The Lane Report September 2007 |
| Saturday, September 1, 2007 |
| For the first time in the nation's history, a federal lawsuit has been filed to challenge the fairness of a personal legal action brought by a judge who controls his state's court system. The judge happens to be Illinois' highest judicial officer, and his dogged quest for vindication and recompense raises bigger questions than whether his grievance has |
| The Lane Report August 2007 |
| Wednesday, August 1, 2007 |
| Congress has sometimes been known to include in the laws it writes provisions which are not necessarily related to the main subject of the bill. This is particularly true when the bill is mainly for appropriations - the need to pay for essential government functions can help other, unrelated matters pass into law. That's what happened in the case of |
| The Lane Report July 2007 |
| Sunday, July 1, 2007 |
| Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is under fire for attacking tariffs and quotas. He believes that curbing international trade will blunt our competitive edge in a global market, and he's right on the money. Yet Congress and President George W. Bush, a free-trader, face enormous political pressure to protect American manufacturers and workers from |
| The Lane Report June 2007 |
| Friday, June 1, 2007 |
| Corporate shareholders should soon have the legal right to weigh in on the compensation packages public companies award their top executives. "Say on pay" would tamp down executive greed and force directors to link pay to performance. Although Mercer Human Resource Consulting's annual study of CEO compensation reported the encouraging news |
| The Lane Report May 2007 |
| Tuesday, May 1, 2007 |
| Web site templates and inexpensive domain names have allowed individuals and companies of all sizes to own web sites. The sites serve as creative outlets and advertising tools, and they provide access to an audience of virtually unlimited size. However, along with these benefits come significant legal risks. All web site owners should be aware of these |
| The Lane Report April 2007 |
| Sunday, April 1, 2007 |
| Illinois should lead the nation in entrepreneurship and innovation. But it doesn't, and partisan bickering in Springfield and Washington helps explain why. The state is a great trading center, a master builder of financial markets, the site of federal research labs and a powerhouse of professional talent. Yet Illinois lags 20 states in the Small |
| The Lane Report March 2007 |
| Thursday, March 1, 2007 |
| The pace at which women are invited into the city's boardrooms and executive suites remains sluggish at best. Until that changes, corporate Chicago is denying itself the talent pool it needs to compete effectively, role models who can lure and retain the best employees and the informed judgment that comes only from the airing of diverse perspectives. |
| The Lane Report February 2007 |
| Thursday, February 1, 2007 |
| For over a century, the federal government has been collecting a tax designed to pay the cost of a war that lasted 113 days. However, this year individual and corporate taxpayers will have a one-time opportunity to receive a refund for payment of the federal telephone excise tax. Taxpayers will be able to claim a telephone tax credit on |
| The Lane Report January 2007 |
| Monday, January 1, 2007 |
| In the Bill of Rights, James Madison and his brethren wisely proclaimed religious freedom and tolerance. Congress followed through by exempting religious organizations from federal income tax and delimiting the IRS' authority to audit religious congregations. But today, religious organizations escape tax charges other non-profits |
| The Lane Report December 2006 |
| Friday, December 1, 2006 |
| One of the hottest new trends in asset allocation for retirement planning involves so-called "life cycle" funds. Basically, a life cycle fund is a mutual fund through which an investor plans for retirement by choosing a target retirement date and the asset allocation automatically changes annually based on that date. |
| The Lane Report November 2006 |
| Wednesday, November 1, 2006 |
| Corporate shareholders are poised to reclaim their authority over the boardroom. Within months, they may be able to elect directors who are answerable to them, without bankrolling an expensive proxy contest against management's hand-picked candidates. And the spurious practice of permitting shareholders only to withhold support from |
| The Lane Report October 2006 |
| Sunday, October 1, 2006 |
| The U.S. House of Representatives will soon consider looting state government treasuries to enrich national businesses adept at dodging taxes. If the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act is enacted, state and local governments would no longer collect corporate income taxes and other levies tied to sales from out-of-state |
| The Lane Report September 2006 |
| Friday, September 1, 2006 |
| A new Federal law, signed into law with little fanfare last month, has created new opportunities for retirement plan participants, individual retirement account owners, and their beneficiaries, while also having an impact on charitable organizations. The law, known as the Pension Protection Act of 2006, includes a variety of provisions, |
| The Lane Report August 2006 |
| Tuesday, August 1, 2006 |
| As proxy season winds down, the shareholders of some of Chicago's biggest companies remain disenfranchised. Most directors are still retained or elected under an arcane "plurality" vote standard, grudgingly allowing shareholders to withhold their support from incompetent or even crooked directors — but never to oust |
| The Lane Report July 2006 |
| Saturday, July 1, 2006 |
| Trademarks and copyrights are making headlines. Dan Brown defended the copyright in his popular book The Da Vinci Code in United States and London courts. Owners of the small town ice cream shop "Krispy Kream" defended their trademark rights in their company name against donut giant Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. Owners of the |
| The Lane Report June 2006 |
| Thursday, June 1, 2006 |
| The business textbooks say that shareholders control the company they own. Each share gets a vote and together the shareholders select directors who run the company for their benefit. But "one share, one vote" is a myth. In most companies, shareholders can either vote for management's hand-picked slate of directors or |
| The Lane Report May 2006 |
| Monday, May 1, 2006 |
| You have just finished filing your 2005 tax return. And, if you are like most people, you vow to be more prepared next year. The following is a summary of the most important tax developments that have occurred in the past three months of 2006 that may affect you, your family, your investments, and your livelihood. |
| The Lane Report April 2006 |
| Saturday, April 1, 2006 |
| In recent years, professional asset managers have enjoyed a renewed sense of credibility. Gone are the days when individual investors could simply buy any company’s stock with a dot-com suffix and the mere promise of “future” earnings, and expect double - or triple - digit gains. Add to that individual investors’ |
| The Lane Report March 2006 |
| Wednesday, March 1, 2006 |
| Socially responsible individuals and institutions seeking to realize competitive profits on their investments need not sacrifice their core values to do so. And investment advisors who shrug off their fiduciary duty to give voice to their clients' values sell their clients short. Both in the boardroom and in society at large, |
| The Lane Report February 2006 |
| Wednesday, February 1, 2006 |
| The savvy investor doesn’t panic when markets inevitably correct. He’s not euphoric when a hot stock he owns delivers triple-digit returns. And, he’s never frozen with indecision. The successful investor conquers emotions. As the stock market gains momentum, he checks his optimism before it turns to greed. And once |
| The Lane Report January 2006 |
| Sunday, January 1, 2006 |
| Thinking about selling your product online? Don’t forget to collect sales tax from your buyers. Online businesses are just as liable as storefront retailers for collection of local and state sales taxes as long as they have “nexus” in that state. Both storefront and Internet retailers generally have a nexus in states other |
| The Lane Report December 2005 |
| Thursday, December 1, 2005 |
| Individuals with a mind toward making charitable contributions to reduce their tax liability should be aware that Congress has made increased tax deductions available for the rest of the year 2005 only - and, depending on your income and the charitable contributions you are making, your potential tax deductions could be much higher than |
| The Lane Report November 2005 |
| Tuesday, November 1, 2005 |
| How much money will I have in my retirement portfolio when I retire? Will I have enough money to maintain my desired lifestyle? When can I afford to retire? How much money will I get from Social Security? Will I need to work part-time? Can I retire and still send my children to college? How do I budget for unanticipated outlays, such as a |
| The Lane Report October 2005 |
| Saturday, October 1, 2005 |
| Socially responsible investors may salve their consciences by declining to buy tobacco stocks or to fund the war machine, or by steering clear of other businesses they find objectionable. Fearing that screening out whole industries might sabotage their investment returns, however, they may hold their noses and honor the guiding principle of |
| The Lane Report September 2005 |
| Thursday, September 1, 2005 |
| There's an old quip that goes like this: "There's no product or service in this world that someone else can't make a little bit cheaper and at a lot lower quality and those who consider price as the only factor when they buy are this person's legitimate prey." This quote may be one hundred years old yet it is as |
| The Lane Report August 2005 |
| Monday, August 1, 2005 |
| Bond investors have a lot to think about whether they are simply rolling over CDs at a local bank or trying to actively manage a bond portfolio. Inflation rates, the direction of interest rates, credit quality, maturity and its cousin, duration, as well as trading costs are the most obvious concerns. The impact of rising interest |
| The Lane Report July 2005 |
| Friday, July 1, 2005 |
| Despite the benefits of having life insurance, in some circumstances you may find that it would be better to receive a settlement of your insurance policy during your lifetime rather than leave the proceeds of your insurance to your beneficiaries after your death. You should consider receiving a settlement of your life insurance policy if |
| The Lane Report June 2005 |
| Wednesday, June 1, 2005 |
| On April 16, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 8, the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005. This bill would repeal the Federal estate tax permanently, effective in 2010. (Under current law, the estate tax is scheduled to be eliminated for one year only, as to decedents who die in the year 2010, but the tax is scheduled to be |
| The Lane Report May 2005 |
| Sunday, May 1, 2005 |
| Recent Wall Street accounting scandals launched a wave of lawsuits by investors alleging corporate fraud as a result of purchasing stock at "inflated" prices. One appellate court decision significantly lowered the burden for plaintiffs to prove their cases by eliminating the need to show a causal link between the company's |
| The Lane Report April 2005 |
| Friday, April 1, 2005 |
| The Need Is Here, The Time Is Now The recent federal and state court battles concerning the controversial, gut-wrenching case of Terri Schiavo have many people thinking about the need for a living will and other advance directives. Yet some people are still wondering if they really need a power of attorney. Can't they just tell their |
| The Lane Report March 2005 |
| Tuesday, March 1, 2005 |
| Although the United States comprises only about five percent of the world's population, it has been estimated that the U.S. is home to nearly three-quarters of the globe's litigation. Over the years, entrepreneurs have sought ways to protect their personal assets from the risks associated with their business enterprises. |
| The Lane Report February 2005 |
| Tuesday, February 1, 2005 |
| Employer sponsors of defined contribution plans have traditionally created goodwill and improved employee morale by offering profit sharing and retirement savings programs. In the wake of some of the more recent stock market scandals, these plans have also created something more for employers; liability. However, some relief has arrived in |
| The Lane Report January 2005 |
| Saturday, January 1, 2005 |
| Beginning in October, 2004, and extending into 2005, new federal tax laws, regulations and rulings impact a broad variety of taxpayers. |
| The Lane Report December 2004 |
| Wednesday, December 1, 2004 |
| If one thing is certain about estate tax laws, it's that we can expect them to change frequently. We've seen this particularly since Congress passed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (the "2001 Tax Act"). The 2001 Tax Act not only reduced rates of tax imposed on decedents' |
| The Lane Report November 2004 |
| Monday, November 1, 2004 |
| Most high net-worth investors understand the virtues of strategic asset allocation. This process involves setting specific target ranges for general asset classes (stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents). Then, as market movement pushes sector exposure beyond target limits, sector exposure is either trimmed back or increased. Doing |
| The Lane Report October 2004 |
| Friday, October 1, 2004 |
| Many investors are mystified by the difference between the way common stocks and bonds are traded. Most are certainly aware of the two major stock exchanges, the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ over-the-counter market. Orders for stocks are placed on a computer terminal and an execution usually happens within moments. |
| The Lane Report September 2004 |
| Wednesday, September 1, 2004 |
| Tax Exempt Organizations Come Under The Microscope |
| The Lane Report August 2004 |
| Sunday, August 1, 2004 |
| * * * * * * * The socially responsible (or perhaps more accurately --- "principle-focused" --- since who, after all, decides what is "responsible?") segment of the total U.S. investment pool is very significant: it is estimated that today it constitutes nearly $2 trillion of the entire $19.2 trillion in |
| The Lane Report July 2004 |
| Thursday, July 1, 2004 |
As the first half of the 2004 proxy season comes to an end, investors have noticed a recurring theme --- Corporate Governance. |
| The Lane Report June 2004 |
| Tuesday, June 1, 2004 |
| More than one-third of the states (and now including Illinois) allow pet owners to provide directly for their pets should they become unable to do so, either during the owner's lifetime or after the owner's death. For many pet owners, the legislation enacting "pet trusts" has been long-awaited. According to some estimates, |
| The Lane Report May 2004 |
| Saturday, May 1, 2004 |
| There's an enormous new tax opportunity employers ought to know about. It's called a "Healthcare Reimbursement Arrangement," or an "HRA," and it's an exciting - - and terrifically tax-advantaged - - self-insured medical reimbursement plan. |
| The Lane Report April 2004 |
| Thursday, April 1, 2004 |
| With Federal income tax returns coming due soon, it's a good time to look at what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is doing to enforce the tax laws. |
| The Lane Report March 2004 |
| Monday, March 1, 2004 |
| Last fall, the U.S. Department of Commerce cut a controversial three-year, no-bid deal with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), an oh-so-powerful nonprofit organization answerable to no one, to continue managing the domain name system for Web site addresses including the world's most popular extensions, .com, .net and .org. |
| The Lane Report February 2004 |
| Sunday, February 1, 2004 |
| A line from a favorite old song by Don Henley goes, "We all know that crap is king, gimme dirty laundry." That song, which took direct aim at television news journalism and its personalities more than twenty years ago, could just as readily be applied to the lead performers of the stock market in 2003. The Nasdaq 100, heavily |
| The Lane Report January 2004 |
| Thursday, January 1, 2004 |
| It's the start of a new year and an excellent time to reevaluate your financial objectives and strategy. With the Standard and Poors 500 Index up 28.7% in 2003, investors should take a few moments to tally up their holdings in each of the various asset classes and see where they stand relative to their sector targets and overall |
| The Lane Report December 2003 |
| Monday, December 1, 2003 |
| The August 2003 Lane Report discussed the misdeeds of various players including Wall Street brokerage firms, banks, other corporations, and individuals. It also pointed out some constructive actions being taken to deal with those situations, including punishment of those involved. However, in just the last two months, another |
| The Lane Report November 2003 |
| Saturday, November 1, 2003 |
| Callable Certificates of Deposit are issued with a wide variety of stated final maturities, typically 5-20 years, allowing investors to choose the CD that best fits their investment objectives. |
| The Lane Report October 2003 |
| Wednesday, October 1, 2003 |
| Everyone knows it's prudent to buy insurance to cover foreseeable and significant risks. The Federal estate tax, in some shape and form, is likely here to stay. Estate planning, like insurance, provides peace of mind. |
| The Lane Report September 2003 |
| Monday, September 1, 2003 |
Major changes to the tax laws now allow small business owners to establish 401(k) plans more easily than ever before, and benefit from bigger 401(k) plan deductions than they've ever seen. |
| The Lane Report August 2003 |
| Friday, August 1, 2003 |
| Wall Street, Washington, and Corporate America seek to regain the confidence of investors, at least as far as the concepts of disclosure and fair play are concerned. So what does all of this mean to You, the Investor? |
| The Lane Report July 2003 |
| Tuesday, July 1, 2003 |
| A wellness program that educates employees and makes it easier for them to institute a healthier lifestyle will result in higher productivity, reduced absenteeism, reduced health-care costs, and lower worker compensation costs. |
| The Lane Report June 2003 |
| Sunday, June 1, 2003 |
| On Wednesday, May 28, 2003, President George W. Bush signed the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (the "Act") into law. The purpose of this article is to summarize the Act and examine its effects. |
| The Lane Report May 2003 |
| Thursday, May 1, 2003 |
| The annuity business is a multi-million dollar industry, and investors continue to flock to annuities. But what is the truth behind the bells and whistles? |
| The Lane Report April 2003 |
| Tuesday, April 1, 2003 |
| The law now allows all business owners to borrow from their retirement plans and take advantage of an economic opportunity which in some cases had only been available to rank-and-file employees. |
| The Lane Report March 2003 |
| Tuesday, April 1, 2003 |
With interest rates at or near historic lows, it is very tempting for the investor to go “in search of” greater yields on their fixed income investments. That typically translates into moving out along the yield curve, longer maturities - - and/or down |
| The Lane Report February 2003 |
| Saturday, February 1, 2003 |
| The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-16) added a new category of fringe benefit that is excludable from employees' gross wages. The employer is able to deduct the value of the fringe benefit, assuming that certain |
| The Lane Report January 2003 |
| Wednesday, January 1, 2003 |
| With any sound financial plan, a comprehensive review of your goals and strategies are a significant part of its success. Meeting your financial goals doesn’t have to be cumbersome. |
| The Lane Report December 2002 |
| Sunday, December 1, 2002 |
| The price/earnings ratio is without doubt the most common metric used by investors to evaluate the relative attractiveness of a stock and of the stock market. This article takes a look at the Price/Earnings ratio in the following four contexts: |
| The Lane Report November 2002 |
| Friday, November 1, 2002 |
| A new ruling by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may enable your individual retirement account (IRA) to last longer. |
| The Lane Report October 2002 |
| Tuesday, October 1, 2002 |
| Lowering risk means giving up the potential for future appreciation. Fortunately, there are alternatives, which can provide good returns while minimizing risk. |
| The Lane Report September 2002 |
| Sunday, September 1, 2002 |
| On July 11, 2002, Illinois Governor George Ryan signed into law Public Act 92-0626 (“Act”), making certain amendments to Illinois law that make it more advantageous for Illinois residents to open and contribute to Bright Start®, the Illinois Section 529 t |
| The Lane Report August 2002 |
| Thursday, August 1, 2002 |
| Historically, dividends have accounted for more than 40% of the stock market’s total return. From 1925 through 2001, reinvested dividends accounted for 4.6 percentage points of the 10.7% annualized return on the S&P 500 Index. |
| The Lane Report July 2002 |
| Monday, July 1, 2002 |
| Affluent women and minorities must now become savvy about how to seek the advice of tax attorneys who specialize in helping their clients retain their hard-earned wealth through the strategic use of the tax laws. |
| The Lane Report June 2002 |
| Saturday, June 1, 2002 |
| Here are some facts that you should know in creating and cultivating a retirement savings plan. |
| The Lane Report May 2002 |
| Wednesday, May 1, 2002 |
| The Job Creation Act directs its benefits toward targeted categories of taxpayers. |
| The Lane Report April 2002 |
| Monday, April 1, 2002 |
| What exactly does a professional money manager or registered investment advisor really bring to the table? |
| The Lane Report March 2002 |
| Friday, March 1, 2002 |
| This article will set forth the general rules regarding excess benefit transactions as well as clarification provided by the final regulations. |
| The Lane Report February 2002 |
| Friday, February 1, 2002 |
| The Illinois Supreme Court has expressly held that cohabitation, by itself, does not create an economic interest or other equitable rights in a domestic partner's property. A domestic partnership agreement is a contract entered into between two part |
| The Lane Report January 2002 |
| Tuesday, January 1, 2002 |
| A client who is out to hurt people forfeits his right to secrecy. And a lawyer should have a right to speak out when he thinks his client is about to commit a crime, lest he become an unwilling accomplice. Lawyers are public citizens. And their |
| The Lane Report December 2001 |
| Saturday, December 1, 2001 |
When deciding whether to make your charitable contributions in December 2001 or wait until next year, as a result of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, most taxpayers will find that a deduction for charitable donations is wo |
| The Lane Report November 2001 |
| Thursday, November 1, 2001 |
| On June 28, 2001, Governor George Ryan signed Public Act 92-33 ("P.A. 92-33"), which became effective July 1, 2001. This law changed many sections of the Illinois Business Corporation Act of 1983 ("BCA") and the Illinois General Not For Profit Corporation |
| The Lane Report October 2001 |
| Monday, October 1, 2001 |
| Some of the news stories about the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, ("2001 Tax Act" or "the Act") have described it as the largest tax cut in the past 20 years. Many tax reductions are, in fact, contained in the Act, but they are |
| The Lane Report September 2001 |
| Saturday, September 1, 2001 |
| The 2001 Tax Act significantly expands opportunities for taxpayers in all tax brackets to defer more of their income to qualified plans or IRAs, thereby allowing such contributions to grow tax-deferred. Larger annual contributions and the ability of these |
| The Lane Report August 2001 |
| Wednesday, August 1, 2001 |
| The recently enacted Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ("EGTRRA" or "the Act") has made substantial changes to Code Section 529, effective next year, that make such plans even more attractive. |
| The Lane Report July 2001 |
| Sunday, July 1, 2001 |
| Gratuitous transfers of property have been subject to tax by the United States government for many years. The federal government first levied a tax on decedents' estates in 1916. It imposed the gift tax in 1932. The Generation-Skipping Transfer ("GST") ta |
| The Lane Report June 2001 |
| Friday, June 1, 2001 |
| It may seem hard to believe, but new regulations proposed by the Internal Revenue Service are already making life simpler for investors and retirees. Beginning in 2001, many participants in retirement plans and owners of individual retirement accounts (IR |
| The Lane Report May 2001 |
| Tuesday, May 1, 2001 |
| DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line technology, a method for providing high-speed remote access to the Internet over ordinary phone lines. Until recently, DSL was described by many as the best value for broadband access to the Internet and many busines |
| The Lane Report April 2001 |
| Sunday, April 1, 2001 |
| Last month, we discussed a valuable weapon in the fight against the rising costs of higher education, the qualified state tuition plan ("QSTP"). This month we discuss the various types of QSTPs and describe the Illinois plans as well as the plans of some |
| The Lane Report March 2001 |
| Thursday, March 1, 2001 |
| The cost of a college education keeps rising. The tuition inflation rate routinely exceeds the general economy's rate of inflation. In recent years, many states have created tuition funding programs to help parents and other family members save to meet th |
| The Lane Report February 2001 |
| Thursday, February 1, 2001 |
| Anna Nicole Smith, the model who at age 26 married an 89-year-old multimillionaire, was once again in the news in recent months when a bankruptcy court in California awarded her a judgment of approximately $450 million, representing what the court found w |
| The Lane Report January 2001 |
| Monday, January 1, 2001 |
| If you ask a lawyer how long you should keep business and financial records, the lawyer will probably tell you, "It depends." Not a lot of help, but unfortunately true. It really does depend on three things — (1) how long you need the record, (2) w |
| The Lane Report December 2000 |
| Friday, December 1, 2000 |
| It's been quite a year, hasn't it? With hindsight we know that, in November of last year, we began the final blow-off stage of the great tech-sector stock market rally. Remember one analysts recommendation that "Qualcomm should see $250 per share next yea |
| The Lane Report November 2000 |
| Wednesday, November 1, 2000 |
| So you think you're ready to move your business online and reap the benefits of E-Commerce. Whether you already have an electronic yellow pages Web site for your established brick and mortar business and want to turn it into a click and mortar business, o |
| The Lane Report October 2000 |
| Sunday, October 1, 2000 |
| In previous Lane Reports, we discussed efficient ways to remove assets from your estate for estate tax purposes, but still maintain control and receive benefits from the removed assets. One popular way, as described in the |
| The Lane Report September 2000 |
| Friday, September 1, 2000 |
| The Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") was signed into law by President Clinton in 1993. FMLA gives eligible employees the right to take up to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period due to one or more of the following: |
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