The New York Department of Taxation and Finance has issued a personal income tax advisory opinion involving a nonresident with investments in real estate through partnerships having New York-source passive activity losses in 2010. As a result of the losses, the partner had zero federal adjusted gross income. A federal bonus depreciation deduction tied to the losses was subject to an addback on the partner's New York return. Another New York modification allowed her to subtract a depreciation deduction, based on those same losses but calculated under federal law preceding adoption of the bonus depreciation deduction. As a result, the partner owed New York income tax for 2010. The partner asked whether she could claim an additional passive activity loss equal to the New York adjustments and, further, whether she should be subject to New York income tax on real estate activities conducted through partnerships having significant economic losses exceeding the New York adjustments. According to the advisory opinion, there is no provision under the Tax Law that would allow the partner to claim an additional passive activity loss equal to the New York adjustments. The fact that the partner owed 2010 New York income tax was not changed, even though the partnerships in which she was a partner had significant economic losses exceeding her New York adjustments.

The scariest part of Halloween for most people might be having their car toilet-papered or getting a little egg in the face.  For lawyers, however, All Hallows' Eve presents its own unique legal challenges.

To start, Halloween presents legal cases that simply do not exist at any other time of the year.  For example, in one recent case, a plaintiff alleged that her neighbor's Halloween lawn decorations were defamatory, harassing, and caused emotional distress.  The decorations included an "Insane "Asylum" directional sign pointed towards the plaintiff's house and a homemade Halloween tombstone purporting to reference the plaintiff, which read:

At 48 she had

No mate No date

It's no debate

She looks 88

She met her fate

in a crate and

Now We Celebrate

1961 - 2009

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