New York City Taxation of Corporate REMIC Residual Interest Holders by Mireille Zuckerman

I. Introduction In 2007, the New York Division of Tax Appeals ruled in Delta Financial that the starting point for determining New York State corporate entire net income includes Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC) excess inclusion.[1] The effect of Delta Financial is that even if a corporation has net losses for a taxable year, REMIC residual interest income remains subject to New York State tax.  This mimics the federal treatment of residual interest income.  Although New York City has not litigated this issue, the reasoning behind Delta Financial also applies to New York City general corporate tax. Although the State published REMIC guidelines in 1988, the 2007 case was the first on this issue.  This is probably because the REMIC excess inclusion provisions have an impact on State and City tax assessment only in years in which a corporation reports a net loss.  After big losses in 2007 and 2008, corporations have been reporting zero taxable income to both the State and the City, even if they have large amounts of REMIC interest income.  New York City should begin pursuing this untaxed income.  This post briefly describes REMICs and the reasoning behind Delta Financial and the City’s decision to [read more]

Ending Gender Discrimination in the Workplace by Sarah Chon

Two recent Supreme Court decisions highlight some obstacles still impeding the goal of achieving of full gender equality in the workforce through the judicial system.  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the workplace but in two recent cases, the Supreme Court narrowed the efficacy of Title VII as a remedial statute.  Congress has already taken action to overturn the first of the two cases but has not overturned the second.  Accordingly, significant barriers remain for female employees bringing Title VII discrimination cases.  Further, the cases establish a troubling precedent implying that pregnancy discrimination does not actually constitute sex discrimination. In the first case, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the Supreme Court held that Lilly Ledbetter could not bring her pay discrimination claim against Goodyear because more than 180 days had passed since the alleged discriminatory act.[1] In 2009, Congress overturned the Ledbetter decision by amending Title VII to say that an unlawful employment practice occurs each time an individual is affected by the application of a discriminatory compensation decision.[2] The second case, AT&T v. Hulteen, involved a group of female employees at AT&T who took pregnancy leaves [read more]