A common tax question asked by physicians is whether hypodermic needles and syringes purchased for use in providing patients with medical care are subject to sales and use tax or not. The answer may sting a little. N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8.1c states that sales of supplies “purchased for use in providing medical care for compensation, but not transferred to the purchaser of the service….”are taxable. Hypodermic needles and syringes would fall under that category, so they are taxable.
NJ Cosmetic Tax Phase Out Has Begun
Medical practitioners and dentists in New Jersey offering cosmetic procedures, such as electrolysis or tooth whitening, are required to pay a cosmetic tax. The tax, which began in 2004, is on any cosmetic procedure performed in order to improve the patient’s appearance without significantly serving to prevent or treat illness or to promote proper functioning of the body. Gross receipts from such procedures were taxed at a rate of 6% until this year. [Read more…] about NJ Cosmetic Tax Phase Out Has Begun
Separated Husband’s Will Upheld by Court despite Spouse’s Court Order
In Estate of Jon den Hollander, an interesting question arose regarding a court order restricting a separated spouse from dissipating marital assets. This order is often established to prevent the deprivation of one’s spouse of equitable distribution. What if the separated husband dies before the divorce is finalized with a will directing his assets to those other than his spouse? Would that be considered, “dissipating marital assets” and therefore be in violation of the court order? [Read more…] about Separated Husband’s Will Upheld by Court despite Spouse’s Court Order
Got Unreported Foreign Assets? Get Out of Jail Free
The FBAR: Who Should File? Do you have income overseas you forgot to report? Did Grandpa leave you his foreign bank account when he passed away? If you have foreign bank accounts holding more than $10,000 in the aggregate anytime during the year, you are required to file an FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank Accounts) by June 30th of the following year. It doesn’t matter whether the foreign accounts generate income or not; just owning them, or having signature authority, requires you to file.
What’s the Big Deal? Failure to file can result in serious consequences. The sanctions for not completing the FBAR include numerous severe civil penalties and potential prosecution followed by a term in federal prison. [Read more…] about Got Unreported Foreign Assets? Get Out of Jail Free
NJ Court Rules in Favor of Estate with Madoff Account
An estate’s assets are valued for tax purposes by their fair market value at the time of the decedent’s death. A subsequent decrease in value would generally not affect that tax basis, as has been ruled in several NJ court cases. An interesting issue brought up in Estate of Warshaw v. Dir., Div. of Taxation was whether a subsequent discovery that the funds in an IRA account were worthless on the decedent’s date of death would be taken into consideration by the court. [Read more…] about NJ Court Rules in Favor of Estate with Madoff Account
Unexecuted Will Admitted to Probate by NJ Superior Court
In an interesting ruling by the New Jersey Appellate Division in the Matter of Estate of Richard D. Ehrlich, it was determined that a will that was neither dated nor signed could be admitted to probate. Richard Ehrlich, a trust and estates attorney, passed away on Sept. 21, 2009 leaving Todd and Jonathan Ehrlich, and Pamela Venuto, his niece and nephews, as his only next of kin. After his passing, Jonathan discovered a copy of a purported will in a drawer. It was typed on legal paper and included Richard Ehrlich’s name and law office address on each page, although it wasn’t dated or signed. It did include, in decedent’s own handwriting, a notation “Original mailed to Harry Van Sciver 5/20/2000”. The document named Harry Sciver as Executor of purported will. Van Sciver predeceased the decedent and the original of the document was never returned. The purported will stated that Jonathan was to receive a significantly larger portion of the estate than Todd or Pamela. For a complete copy of the case, click here: Estate of Richard D. Ehrlich [Read more…] about Unexecuted Will Admitted to Probate by NJ Superior Court