Earlier this year the IRS issued Notice 2020-32 declaring their position that expenses paid with forgiven PPP funds would not be deductible for federal tax purposes. The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has taken the same position for California tax purposes. While this was unwelcome news for taxpayers (and may have been contrary to lawmakers’ intentions), it left some open [...]

On August 31, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 3088. AB 3088 provides a statewide framework for temporarily preventing evictions due to non-payment of rent that comes due between Sept. 1, 2020 and Jan. 31, 2021 for residential tenants who are under financial distress as a result of COVID-19. For rent payments that were due between March through August 20 [...]

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations are experiencing critical interruptions to operations, which in turn has impacted their ability to meet contractual obligations. Due to their inability to perform, businesses are asking if they can avoid a contractual breach by invoking what is known as a “force majeure clause to excuse performance temporarily [...]

After a series of deferrals, the new lease accounting standard is finally on the horizon for privately held companies and nonprofits. As its impact is significant, companies and organizations should become familiar with the new standard in advance. This blog will walk through key concepts and considerations for implementing this new lease accounting standard for lesse [...]

On Sept. 9, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1447, which established the Small Business Hiring Credit. The bill seeks to provide financial relief to certain small businesses impacted by the unprecedented economic disruptions and job losses that have occurred in 2020. The credit is available against personal income and corporate income taxes f [...]

Throughout the various stages of the PPP stimulus package, the SBA has commented that borrowers of PPP funds of $2 million or more would be subject to additional scrutiny regarding their loan and forgiveness eligibility. In early November 2020, SBA circulated a draft questionnaire aimed at those borrowers and invited feedback and comments from the public. The question [...]

As the transactional markets have begun to defrost and M&A activity is picking back up to pre-shutdown pace, it is a good time to consider how deals are being structured in a COVID-19 world. A key structuring term used in the transaction community recently is the “earnout.” According to SRS Acquiom, 22 percent of all other-than-life sciences deals in 2019 had an earno [...]

Tom Barry’s blog series, “OWNING the New Normal: Innovators Creating the Way Forward,” focuses on business leaders exploring the current and evolving business environment. The discussion will revolve around recognizing that leaders must innovate and pivot to “own” the future and move forward. There is no greater opportunity to really be a leader than during a pandem [...]

Originally published in the Los Angeles Business Journal Nonprofits were early advocates for building diversity within their organizations, however there is still work to be done when it comes to board gender diversity. Donella Wilson, Partner and Nonprofit Practice Leader at GHJ and President and Chief Philanthropy Officer for GHJ Foundation, recently discusse [...]

The City of Los Angeles (City) has enacted an Amnesty Program (Program) for a limited period beginning 10/1/2020 and ending 12/17/2020. The Program is an effort to encourage new taxpayers to come forward and to reduce the financial tax burden on the existing City taxpayers. The Program is available to both registered as well as unregistered taxpayers. Who is Subjec [...]