Category: Tax Planning

Companies are always looking for relatively inexpensive ways to increase the odds of getting the best workforce to join them. In the Technology sector, these ‘inexpensive’ incentives often translate into offering employees stock awards. By offering workers this interesting ‘carrot,’ they offer ownership in the company in return for their tenure and a job well [...]

Let me tell you how it will be There’s one for you, nineteen for me ‘Cause I’m the taxman Yeah, I’m the taxman – George Harrison, The Beatles Last spring, colleague Vince Lee outlined various non-cash-intensive ways companies leverage stocks in many benefits packages, in lieu of larger salaries. These restricted stock units (RSUs) and/or [...]

Update as of 12.19.21 With the end of the year rapidly approaching, the Build Back Better Act still faces significant disagreements in the Senate that appear likely to stretch into 2022. It remains to be seen what effect this delay will ultimately have on the tax changes included in the bill, but the longer that [...]

Update as of: January 27, 2022 On January 27th, Governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1732 which delays implementation of the long-term care payroll tax in Washington State for 18 months.  Employers will not be required to collect the .58% payroll tax until July 1, 2023. In addition, the law was updated so individuals born [...]

KEY INSIGHTS Residents of Portland, Oregon, and the surrounding area (within Multnomah County) have two new income taxes effective January 1st, 2021: The Metro Tax is a 1% personal income tax on income over $125K for single filers and $200K for joint filers. The Multnomah County Tax is 1.5% on income over $125K for single [...]

SUMMARY President Joe Biden has proposed substantial changes to the tax code, mainly focused on individual income and investment taxes, and at least some of them stand to have a significant impact on high-net-worth investors.  The proposed changes create challenges, but also planning opportunities. This blog post focuses on what potential changes are ahead, who [...]

Update as of 12.12.2022 Read the latest update here. Update as of 03.03.22 When the Washington State Capital Gains tax officially went into effect at the beginning of 2022, it did so while still facing significant legal scrutiny. A ruling has now been reached by a Douglas County Superior Court Judge in which the tax [...]

May 12, 2021 Now that we’ve discussed the different types of stock option plans available to employees, it’s time to take a dive into how to leverage those options, striving to preserve wealth as best as possible.  As per my last post, there are three main categories of stock options: Restricted Stock Units (RSU), Non-qualified [...]

May 7, 2021 Companies are always looking for relatively inexpensive ways to increase the odds of getting the best workforce to join them. In the Technology sector, these ‘inexpensive’ ways often translate into offering employees stock options as incentives that don’t hit their cash reserves but offer workers an interesting ‘carrot’ – ownership in the [...]