Kristine L. Prati successfully defended an appeal brought by the employee to the Full Commission requesting reinstatement of indemnity benefits. In the Opinion and Award filed on August 15, 2016, the Full Commission agreed with the prior ruling of the Deputy Commissioner and refused to award ongoing temporary total disability benefits as the employee failed to prove that he was disabled.
Kristine Prati Successfully Defends Two Matters Before The Full Commission
Kristine L. Prati of Wilson Ratledge has successfully defended two matters before the Full Commission. In the first matter, the plaintiff appealed the deputy commissioner’s denial of indemnity benefits and compensability of a newly diagnosed occupational disease to the Full Commission. In an Opinion and Award filed on April 22, 2016, the Full Commission upheld the Deputy Commissioner’s determination. Of significance, the Full Commission concluded that the Parsons and Perez presumptions were not applicable to the case, as a prior Consent Opinion and Award with one of the three defendants only accepted compensability of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, and not the newly diagnosed occupational disease of flexor carpi radialis tendonitis. Instead, the Full Commission concluded that it was Plaintiff’s burden of proving that the newly diagnosed occupational disease was compensable.
Upon review of the evidence, the Full Commission determined: (1) the plaintiff failed to prove that her employment with any of the named employers placed her at an increased risk of contracting the newly diagnosed occupational disease; (2) the plaintiff failed to prove that her employment with any of the named defendants caused her newly diagnosed occupational disease; and (3) the plaintiff was not entitled to indemnity benefits, as her newly diagnosed occupational disease was the cause of her inability to work, not her compensable carpal tunnel syndrome condition.
In the second matter, the plaintiff appealed the Deputy Commissioner’s full denial of the claim to the Full Commission. In an Opinion and Award filed on May 2, 2016, the Full Commission upheld the Deputy Commissioner’s determination, agreeing that Plaintiff was engaged in her normal work routine at the time of the alleged accident and failed to describe an unlooked for, untoward, or unexpected event that occurred on the alleged date of injury.
Kristine Prati Successfully Defends Two Cases Before The Industrial Commission
Kristine L. Prati of Wilson Ratledge has successfully defended two cases before the Industrial Commission. The primary issue in the first case was whether the plaintiff was entitled to a reinstatement of temporary total disability benefits. On January 25, 2016, the Deputy Commissioner denied Plaintiff’s request for a reinstatement of TTD benefits, holding that Plaintiff failed to prove an impairment in his earning capacity. The Deputy Commissioner also denied Plaintiff’s request that he be provided with vocational assistance. The primary issue in the second case was whether Plaintiff was entitled to a myoelectric prosthesis. On February 11, 2016, the Deputy Commissioner denied Plaintiff’s request for the myoelectric prosthesis, holding that it was not medically or reasonably necessary.
Kristine L. Prati Recertified As Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law
On February 12, 2016, Kristine L. Prati was recertified by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization as a Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law.
IRS Raises Tangible Property Expensing Threshold to $2,500 For Small Businesses
The Internal Revenue Service today simplified the paperwork and recordkeeping requirements for small businesses by raising the safe harbor threshold from $500 to $2,500 for deducting certain capital items.
The change affects businesses that do not maintain an applicable financial statement (audited financial statement). It applies to amounts spent to acquire, produce or improve tangible property that would normally qualify as a capital item.
The new $2,500 threshold applies to any such item substantiated by an invoice. As a result, small businesses will be able to immediately deduct many expenditures that would otherwise need to be spread over a period of years through annual depreciation deductions.
“We received many thoughtful comments from taxpayers, their representatives and the professional tax community”, said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “This important step simplifies taxes for small businesses, easing the recordkeeping and paperwork burden on small business owners and their tax preparers.”
Responding to a February comment request, the IRS received more than 150 letters from businesses and their representatives suggesting an increase in the threshold. Commenters noted that the existing $500 threshold was too low to effectively reduce administrative burden on small business. Moreover, the cost of many commonly expensed items such as tablet-style personal computers, smart phones, and machinery and equipment parts typically surpass the $500 threshold.
As before, businesses can still claim otherwise deductible repair and maintenance costs, even if they exceed the $2,500 threshold.
The new $2,500 threshold takes effect starting with tax year 2016. In addition, the IRS will provide audit protection to eligible businesses by not challenging use of the new $2,500 threshold in tax years prior to 2016.
For taxpayers with an applicable financial statement, the de minimis or small-dollar threshold remains $5,000. Further details on this change can be found in Notice 2015-82, posted today on IRS.gov.
For any questions about your specific tax situation, call one of our tax planning experts at 919-787-7711 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.
IRS Urges Public to Stay Alert for Scam Phone Calls
The IRS continues to warn consumers to guard against scam phone calls from thieves intent on stealing their money or their identity. Criminals pose as the IRS to trick victims out of their money or personal information. Here are several tips to help you avoid being a victim of these scams:
- Scammers make unsolicited calls. Thieves call taxpayers claiming to be IRS officials. They demand that the victim pay a bogus tax bill. They con the victim into sending cash, usually through a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. They may also leave “urgent” callback requests through phone “robo-calls,” or via phishing email.
- Callers try to scare their victims. Many phone scams use threats to intimidate and bully a victim into paying. They may even threaten to arrest, deport or revoke the license of their victim if they don’t get the money.
- Scams use caller ID spoofing. Scammers often alter caller ID to make it look like the IRS or another agency is calling. The callers use IRS titles and fake badge numbers to appear legitimate. They may use the victim’s name, address and other personal information to make the call sound official.
- Cons try new tricks all the time. Some schemes provide an actual IRS address where they tell the victim to mail a receipt for the payment they make. Others use emails that contain a fake IRS document with a phone number or an email address for a reply. These scams often use official IRS letterhead in emails or regular mail that they send to their victims. They try these ploys to make the ruse look official.
- Scams cost victims over $23 million. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, or TIGTA, has received reports of about 736,000 scam contacts since October 2013. Nearly 4,550 victims have collectively paid over $23 million as a result of the scam.
The IRS will not:
- Call you to demand immediate payment. The IRS will not call you if you owe taxes without first sending you a bill in the mail.
- Demand that you pay taxes and not allow you to question or appeal the amount you owe.
- Require that you pay your taxes a certain way. For instance, require that you pay with a prepaid debit card.
- Ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
- Threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying.
If you don’t owe taxes, or have no reason to think that you do:
- Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.
- Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page. You can also call 800-366-4484.
- Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
If you know you owe, or think you may owe tax:
- Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you.
Phone scams first tried to sting older people, new immigrants to the U.S. and those who speak English as a second language. Now the crooks try to swindle just about anyone. And they’ve ripped-off people in every state in the nation.
Stay alert to scams that use the IRS as a lure. Tax scams can happen any time of year, not just at tax time. For more, visit “Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts” on IRS.gov.
Each and every taxpayer has a set of fundamental rights they should be aware of when dealing with the IRS. These are your Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Explore your rights and our obligations to protect them on IRS.gov.
If you need to get in touch with one of our tax experts to discuss your specific situation, call us today at 919-787-7711 or fill out our online contact form.