As part of the GHJ 2015 Food and Beverage Conference at the end of last year, a panel of industry experts discussed the role of women in the industry. I had the privilege of moderating a discussion with three top industry players: Ramona Cappello (founder of Sun Harvest Salt LLC), Ellen Chen (co-founder of Mendocino Farms) and Bill Shen (director of Encore Consumer Ca [...]

For the last four years, I have been involved with the voting tabulation process for the Ovation Awards. Organized by L.A. Stage Alliance, the Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They differ from other theatre awards by being 100 percent peer judged by active, local theatre professionals. Each year the Ovation [...]

In the middle of this unusually seasonable California winter, a little heat might be welcome. But we would probably prefer that it come from somewhere besides the California Attorney General. As of Jan. 1, 2016, the AG’s Office finalized amendments to regulations that clarify the specific actions they can undertake in enforcing the state’s charitable regulations. The [...]

On Dec.18, 2015, Congress passed and the President signed into law the PATH Act of 2015, which provides certain provisions with either permanent or temporary extensions. The domestic provisions of the PATH Act of 2015 were described in our last Tax Alert released on Dec. 18, 2015. This Tax Alert details two extensions that specifically [...]

The holiday season is upon us, and what better way to celebrate the end of another great year than to toast each other to good health with a great craft beer? I have been brewing the stuff for a year or so now, transforming grains into glorious amber-colored ales. Craft brewing is not only a great personal activity it seems to be making great waves in business as well [...]

On Nov. 12, GHJ held its annual Entertainment and Media Forum. As part of the event, I had the privilege of leading a panel discussion entitled “The Shake Up of New Media: A Seismic Shift in Content Consumption.” Panelists included: Lindsay Conner, a Partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, where he is co-chair of the Entertainment & Media Practice and leader of [...]

Congress is set to pass a bill containing extensions of many significant tax provisions, and the President is widely expected to sign PATH into law. Over the last several years, Congress had waited until year end or the beginning of the following year to extend many major provisions that had expired. This had often led to confusion and poor p [...]

By: Karen Baker (Chief Service Officer, State of California and CaliforniaVolunteers) Volunteers are a great resource of additional people that can help a nonprofit fulfill its mission — they represent time, talent, and treasure. When I recently spoke at the GHJ 2015 Nonprofit Conference, I described five “secrets” I’ve identified over my career in the nonprofit ar [...]

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, a taxpayer that does not have an Applicable Financial Statement (“AFS”) can deduct the cost to acquire or produce a unit of property, up to $2,500 per invoice (or per item as substantiated by the invoice), rather than capitalizing the cost. The previous deduction limit was $500 per item. The IRS increased the limit due [...]

The Internal Revenue Service recently released a Revenue Procedure that could have significant benefits to businesses that operate retail establishments or restaurants. It can also benefit taxpayers who lease property to certain businesses. This benefit is in the form of a “safe harbor” method that allows qualified taxpayers to immediately de [...]