COVID-19 has created many urgent questions for business clients, including how to handle commercial contracts. This article outlines the issues involved and provides general information to aid in certain decisions. Under the laws, there are multiple frameworks that might apply to your situation – explicit contract language, the UCC and the common law of contracts. An attorney can help you determine which of those frameworks applies to your circumstance. Each situation is unique and this article does not provide any specific advice. Force Majeure Your commercial contract may contain a force majeure provision. A force majeure provision may excuse or delay certain contractual obligations during… read more »
Opportunity Zones: Investment with Tax Savings
Article by: Frank H. Countess On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) created Qualified Opportunity Zones. There are numerous provisions contained in the TCJA that were discussed and analyzed thoroughly by the news media outlets, such as cuts to the Federal tax rates for corporations and reductions to the Federal personal income tax rates amongst others. One of the provisions contained in the TCJA that failed to attract any attention whatsoever was the provision related to establishing Qualified Opportunity Zones. The Opportunity Zone concept was conceived to spur economic development in low income population census tracts…. read more »
YDR Property Taxes Chat
Read the recap of the live chat about property taxes with CGA Law Firm’s Frank Countess and York Daily Records’ Sean Adkins. 10:00 – Sean Adkins: Hi Frank. How are you?10:02– Frank Countess: Doing very well this sunny Friday morning.10:02– Sean Adkins: This is Sean Adkins. I’m filling in for Lauren this week.10:04– Sean Adkins: Here’s our first question.10:04– Comment From Larry Wolfe: Of all of the appeals handled by CGA, what is the average reduction (as a percentage of the original assessed value) in assessed value for its clients?10:06– Frank Countess: The range of reductions obtained is between 10%… read more »
Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeals
In these challenging economic times, it seems there is no shortage of bad news. Taxes are increasing while the value of your home, at least on paper, is substantially less than what it was a few years ago. In the midst of these challenges there may be a silver lining in that your residential, commercial, or industrial real estate may have significantly dropped in value since the last county-wide assessment was performed for York County in 2005. Accordingly, it might be worthwhile investigating whether your assessment should also be decreased. Additionally, very few people are aware that the assessed… read more »
