January 2014
Articles
We regularly post to our website articles analyzing current, critical developments impacting agricultural law and taxation. To access a searchable database of these articles, visit our website. You can also subscribe to an RSS Feed of our Articles, which provides you with a daily update of any new articles. This month we posted the following 10 articles to our website:
Top Ten Agricultural Law and Taxation Developments of 2013 - January 5, 2014
Elder Law Update for 2014 - January 3, 2014
Changes to the 1040 Schedule D Will Make the 2014 Filing Season a Bit Easier for Tax Filers - January 2, 2014
Iowa Supreme Court Extends Intended Beneficiary Duty Rule to Financial Advisors - January 2, 2014
Iowa Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Proof for Undue Influence Cases - January 2, 2014
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 Restricts Access to Death Master File - January 2, 2014
California Court Finds No Private Right of Action For Mislabeled Organic Products -December 31, 2013
“Liquid Gold” Manure Not a “Pollutant” Subject to Insurance Coverage Exclusion - December 31, 2013
Kansas Court Water Czar Doesn’t Have Continuing Jurisdiction Over Permits - December 23, 2013
Significant Developments
Expired Tax Provisions
Well, 2013 expired without tax legislation that would extend expiring provisions and without a Farm Bill. As for the expiring tax provisions, here’s a list of some of the more prominent provisions that are currently not allowed for 2014:
- Above-the-line deduction for certain expenses of schoolteachers
- Above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses
- The ability to treat mortgage insurance premiums as deductible qualified interest expenses
- The ability to exclude from gross income the discharge of principal residence indebtedness
- The deduction for state and local sales tax
- The credit for certain health insurance costs
- First-year 50 percent bonus depreciation (expense method depreciation is cut to $25,000 with no adjustment for inflation, and the investment threshold is cut to $200,000, and the real property categories are no longer eligible)
- The Work Opportunity Tax Credit
- The reduced built-in-gain recognition period for the BIG tax (it’s now 10 years)
- The ability to elect to accelerate alternative minimum tax credits in lieu of first-year bonus depreciation
- Tax free distributions (up to $100,000 for qualified account holders) from an IRA to a charity
I get asked a lot about the depreciation provisions. Do I think that there actually won’t be first-year bonus deprecation for 2014 and only $25,000 worth of expense method depreciation?No, I don’t think so.But, who knows when the legislation will be passed and enacted that restores the provisions?I think it will occur at some time.But, it will be difficult if not impossible to plan without knowing exactly what the rules will be.
Economic Issues
Keep your eye on the economy and your clients’ financial health during 2014.Not only are commodity prices down, but land values appear to have topped-out for many landowners. Plus, a bumper U.S. crop in 2013 could depress commodity prices further and make profit margins in farming even thinner. John Deere has already forecast lower farm equipment sales for 2014.
In addition, the December 2013 jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is dismal and shows that the economy is not recovering. During December the economy added only 74,000 jobs (that number needs to exceed 250,000 monthly for another three years to return the economy to the level of employment that existed before 2009). Average monthly gains for 2013 were 182,000 – still far below the 250,000 necessary to restore the economy to the pre-2009 level.Also, the labor participation rate was only 62.8 percent, the lowest level since 1978.That explains why the unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent. It’s not because the economy is getting better, it’s because the labor force continues to shrink.That’s not a good sign going into 2014.
In addition, the health care law and the Dodd Frank regulations will put additional strains on the general economy in 2014. Under Dodd-Frank, effective January 10, 2014, practically all home financing will be subject to the control of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.Lenders will now have to make sure that borrowers can repay a mortgage, and consumers will have the legal right to sue their lenders for “miscalculating” the borrower’s fitness to repay a loan.That will most likely tighten credit. Perhaps in anticipation of these forthcoming rules, housing construction jobs declined by 16,000 in December of 2013, and average weekly hours worked also declined.Perhaps some of that is attributable to weather, but the numbers still indicate a softening in the housing market.
New Year, New Website
We are very excited to have transitioned to a new website on December 31, 2013. We hope this new forum provides better access to the information critical to your business needs. In addition to providing fully searchable database access to all CALT articles and annotations, the website now features RSS Feeds, allowing subscribers to receive legal updates on a daily basis. We are also now regularly posting important legal updates through Facebook and Twitter. To receive these updates as they unfold, follow us on social media here.
Other new features are around the corner. Tiffany Kayser, our program manager, worked very hard to make this transition possible. Thank you, Tiffany!
Case and Ruling Annotations
In re Friendship Dairies, No. 12-20405-RLJ-11, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 13 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. Jan. 3, 2014)
In re Brown, No. 12-61023, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 2 (Bankr. E.D. Ky. Jan. 2, 2014)
In re Clark, No. 12-00649-TLM, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 5306 (Bankr. D. Idaho Dec. 17, 2013)
In re Clark, 714 F.3d 559 (7th Cir. 2013), cert. granted, Clark v. Rameker, No. 13-299, 2013 U.S. LEXIS 8421 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Nov. 26, 2013)
Rusty’s Fertilizer, Inc. v. Maloley, No. A-13-089, 2013 Neb. App. LEXIS 235 (Neb. Ct. App. Dec. 31, 2013)
Underwood v. Jensen Farms, No. 6:11-CV-348-JHP, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181580 (E.D. Okla. Dec. 31, 2013)
McVicars v. Christensen, No. 38705, 2013 Ida. LEXIS 371 (Ida. Sup. Ct. Dec. 27, 2013)
City of Lincoln Center v. Farmway Co-op, Inc., No. 105,962, 2013 Kan. LEXIS 1306 (Kan. Sup. Ct. Dec. 20, 2013)
Wold v. Zavanna, LLC , No. 4:12-cv-00043, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181631 (D. N.D. Dec. 31, 2013)
In re Keith’s Tree Farm, No. 13-71316, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 5182 (Bankr. W.D. Va. Dec. 11, 2013)
Family Farm Defenders, Inc. v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, No. 2012AP1882, 2013 Wisc. App. LEXIS 1051 (Wis. Ct. App. Dec. 19, 2013)
Stueve Bros. Farms, LLC v. United States, No. 2013-5021, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 24598 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 11, 2013)
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. United States, 2009-5121, 2010-5029, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 24006 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 3, 2013)
Rollins v. Dignity Health, et al., No. C13-1450 TEH, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174199 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 12, 2013)
Crane Brothers, LLC v. Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Idaho, No. 1:13-CV-00372-BLW, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 175598 (D. Idaho Dec. 12, 2013)
In re Appeal of Miller, No. 231 C.D. 2013, 2013 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 518 (Pa. Commw. Ct. Dec. 9, 2013)
Valley Beau Farms, Inc. v. Schick, No. 2013AP623, 2013 Wisc. App. LEXIS 1010 (Dec. 3, 2013)
Lyman v. Plymouth Empire Props., No. C070973, 2013 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 8679 (Cal. App. 3d Dist. Dec. 2, 2013)
Brann, et al. v. Hulett, 2013 Ark. App. 687 (2013)
Stevenson v. The Great American Dream, Inc., No. 1:12-CV-3359-TWT, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181551 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 31, 2013)
Reilly v. Amy’s Kitchen, Inc., No. 13-21525 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 9, 2013)
Mathis v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2013-294
Sharp v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2013-290
Hart v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2013-289
Puentes v. Comr., T.C. Memo. 2013-277
Donate to CALT
As you know, our work at the Center is dependent on the fees generated by seminar registrations and gifts. If you would like to donate to further the Center's efforts, please contact our Program Administrator, Tiffany Kayser at tlkayser@iastate.edu or (515) 294-5217. You can also give online with a credit card. We thank you for your generous support.
Seminars and Events
Fall 2013 Seminars
We wrapped up our annual Farm and Urban Tax Schools in December. We greatly appreciate your attendance at these annual seminars and enjoy getting to know so many of you through them. Thanks to Paul Neiffer of CliftonLarsonAllen for joining our Day 2 teaching team in four of the tax school locations. We had numerous attendees tell us that the school that they attended was the best one in the past five years! Thank you for your comments. We welcome your feedback or questions regarding these sessions at any time. We are always striving to ensure that they meet your professional needs. If you were unable to attend, but would like to purchase materials, they are available for purchase here at our website.
January 20, 2014, Tax Update Webinar
CALT, in conjunction with the Iowa Bar, is presenting a Tax Update Webinar on January 20, 2014, from 12:00 pm to 1:45 pm. Participants will hear the latest developments of importance to this year’s tax preparation season. Continuing education credit is available for attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, and other tax return preparers. Registration information is available here.
Summer 2014 Seminars
We’d love to have you join us for one of our upcoming summer seminars. We have scheduled a Farm Income Tax, Estate, and Business Planning Seminar, co-sponsored by the Indiana and Kentucky Societies of CPAs, for June 5-6, 2014, at the West Baden Springs, Indiana Hotel (French Lick Resort).
We are also hosting a Farm Income Tax, Estate, and Business Planning Seminar, co-sponsored by the Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Washington Societies of CPAs, June 26-27, 2014, in West Yellowstone, Montana.
Both seminars are designed to provide attendees with a comprehensive and practical understanding of major agricultural tax, estate and business planning issues in a beautiful, relaxed setting. More information for both seminars is available here on our website.
The Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation does not provide legal advice. Any information provided on this website is not intended to be a substitute for legal services from a competent professional. The Center's work is supported by fee-based seminars and generous private gifts. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the material contained on this website do not necessarily reflect the views of Iowa State University.