Insights

Washington – January 10, 2022: Crowell & Moring represented the founders of Aerial Armor in the sale of the company to Dedrone Holdings Inc., a leader in smart airport security.

On Monday, September 8, 2024, the United States Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services (collectively, the “Tri-Agencies”) issued a final rule (“the Final Rule”) implementing new regulations applicable to nonquantitative treatment limitations (“NQTLs”) under the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“MHPAEA”). The Final Rule codifies many of the requirements set forth in the (the “Proposed Rule”), while pulling back on some of the Tri-Agencies’ more controversial proposals. 

The IRS has delayed the implementation of § 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act (“Act”), which requires certain highly paid plan participants to make Roth (rather than pre-tax) catch-up contributions beginning in 2024.  In short, the IRS has provided an “administrative transition period” during 2024 and 2025 whereby individuals who made more than $145,000 in FICA wages during the prior year can continue to make pre-tax catch-up contributions.  This is great news for employers and those taxpayers who would have been forced into Roth catch-up contributions.

On Friday, March 10, 2023, regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) and seized its deposits, resulting in the second largest U.S. banking failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Specifically, SVB was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) was named receiver. Since the FDIC insures deposits of up to $250,000, that amount was immediately available; however, the fact that deposits above and beyond the $250,000 limit were not immediately available alarmed many. After a weekend of chaos as many businesses scrambled for a solution to the illiquid funds, on Sunday, March 12, 2023, in a joint release among the Department of Treasury, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the FDIC, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen instructed the FDIC to guarantee SVB customers access to all deposits, including the uninsured funds. The release further stated that New York-based Signature Bank was closed by its chartering authority and that its customers would also receive access to all deposits, including the uninsured funds. While this may have provided relief to many, it is important to keep in mind the lesson and best practices in the event of such a liquidity crunch.

Crowell & Moring’s Tax Group invites you to join us for the 37th Annual Managing Tax Audits and Appeals. The seminar will provide an overview of everything you need to know about recent developments and hot topics in tax, from planning through litigation, including perspectives from the IRS.