Because of its magnitude and complexity, U.S. tax law is rife with ‘‘traps for the unwary.’’

Chapters 3-32 and 4-156 of the Municipal Code of Chicago impose taxes on personal property leases and amusement transactions, respectively. These laws were broadly drafted, but significant technological advancements since the effective date of these chapters have further broadened their scopes.

A&M was the lead sponsor at the Bank Structuring and Resolvability Conference in London. The event brought together industry experts from Europe to examine the evolution of bank structures redesigned to meet regulatory requirements, as well as best-practice approaches for deploying resolution plans. The conversation was driven in response to the recent trend of financial regulation requiring that institutions amend internal frameworks to minimize bailout risk.

After several years of evolutionary changes, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced on January 26, 2015, a timeline of moving from volume to value in Medicare payments; i.e., from 30 percent of provider payments in 2016 to 50 percent by 2018.1 Implementation of the Comprehensive Care Joint Replacement initiative signals an intention to mandate, at least for targeted geographic areas, a value-oriented payment system across the entire continuum of care, from surgery and inpatient care to post-acute care recovery and rehabilitation.

Data is the lifeblood of most modern-day organizations. Email, infographics, databases, presentations, payroll systems, audio, video and spreadsheets are just a sampling of the types of data that comprise a business entity. The challenge with data is that it is portable, easily manipulated and relatively effortless to duplicate.

A common provision in many restricted stock unit awards is that vesting will accelerate when a participant becomes eligible to retire, after having reached a certain age and/or completed a minimum number of years of service. One aspect of “retirement vesting” that can be overlooked is the timing of the employment tax obligations.

As shareholders and advisory groups continue to scrutinize executive compensation, the number of executives entitled to excise tax gross-ups and other benefits in the event of a change in control is declining, according to a new Alvarez & Marsal Taxand study.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created by the Dodd-Frank Act, is shifting its focus to the nonbank sector. Institutions such as mortgage companies (originators, brokers, servicers, and provider of loan modification or foreclosure services), payday lenders and private education lenders now fall under the CFPB lens. Further, through the ‘larger participant rule’ in Dodd-Frank, the CFPB is now the first federal regulator to supervise other nonbank markets.

Leading global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), continues to expand its senior team in the Middle East, hiring Dr. Saeeda Jaffar and David Tusa as Managing Directors.

Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) continues to expand its senior team in the Middle East, hiring Dr. Saeeda Jaffar and David Tusa as Managing Directors.

2015 was a record year for private equity fund exits, with firms disposing of a large wave of assets, surpassing expectations. The record rate of funds realizing their investments has led some to suggest we could be reaching the peak in the cycle. Managing Director Adam Bradley makes the case for funds refreshing their focus on the performance of longer-held assets.

Executive compensation continues to be bombarded with scrutiny by shareholders, shareholder advisory firms, politicians and the media. With say-on-pay voting now well established, the voices of shareholders are getting louder, and companies are listening. Many companies have made significant changes to their compensation strategy in recent years to appease stakeholders. In particular, companies have altered their course on benefits provided to executives in connection with a change in control, commonly called "golden parachutes."

Because of costly new drug therapies, demographic changes, government regulations and expanded screening efforts, payers now face a variety of highly complex decisions around how to best manage the growing number of individuals infected with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). This paper intends to explore all of these issues and present an entirely new approach for improving outcomes and reducing costs related to caring for this high-risk population segment.

Congress recently passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the “PATH Act”).

If you haven’t heard, the latest installment of the Star Wars saga arrived in theaters in mid-December. Incredibly, it’s been almost 40 years since the original Star Wars premiered. In that first episode, Luke Skywalker and a plucky group of rebels band together to destroy the Galactic Empire’s Death Star. In the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, the Galactic Empire, led by evil Darth Vader, pursues and captures many of the rebels and severely wounds Luke Skywalker.