May 11, 2020 | • By executive order, the secretary of energy is now authorized to review and block any acquisition, importation, transfer or installation of any bulk-power system electric equipment in which a foreign country or foreign person has an interest. • A list of prohibited suppliers of electric equipment may be forthcoming. • In addition, a Section 232 investigation has been initiated into transformers and certain components, which may result in increased tariffs on these items. Two recent federal government actions...

Read more

May 8, 2020 | • The IRS and U.S. Department of the Treasury have issued proposed regulations providing guidance on how a tax-exempt organization with unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) determines whether it has more than one unrelated trade or business, and, if so, how the exempt organization should calculate unrelated business taxable income under the "siloing" rules. • The proposed regulations establish the use of only the first two digits of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, describing...

Read more

May 2020 | This article illustrates key considerations on whether a tenant may successfully argue for a reduction or deferral in the rent payable under a lease agreement. A commercial lease agreement may contain specific force majeure clause which would entitle either party to suspend the performance of the contract and, in the event of prolonged impossibility beyond a certain term, terminate the agreement. Alike, the parties may have included a “hardship clause” providing that, in the event of defined hardship,...

Read more

April 16, 2020 | The fight against COVID-19 is all consuming, but opportunities are clear for those with thoughtful and agile Government Relations strategies Yes, no one planned for this in their 2020 strategy. Yes, it is unprecedented. Yes, disruption to business and economies as we once knew them will be profound. The reality is that the economic damage from COVID-19 is already inevitable. What is to come will need to be endured by us all. In many instances we will not...

Read more

May 7, 2020 | One of the most enticing reasons to obtain a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is the potential for the loan’s forgiveness.1 The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act authorized the U.S. Department of the Treasury to create the PPP through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 7(a) lending program.2 The loan forgiveness aspect allows employers to obtain business-saving funds without simply “kicking the can down the road” to face debt obligations in a financially...

Read more