Message from the Firm

By Brad Cohen and Mike Foster

Our business and tax attorneys frequently assist entertainment industry advisors and their clients on complex transactional and tax planning matters. This special edition of our newsletter focuses on some of the unique issues faced by sports and entertainment clients.

Abandonment of copyrights remains a complicated matter. David Schwartz's article sheds light on the new IRS rules and the lack of sufficient guidance on how to abandon creative properties. Planning to achieve the deduction for the asset loss may end up being more creative than the asset itself.

Rich Luftman's article highlights a portion of the 2004 Jobs Creation Act that provides incentives for low budget film and television producers. Under the new law, producers can now amortize production costs up front. There is a short window in which to take advantage of this powerful deduction, since the new law sunsets in three to four years.

Kalyani Chirra addresses recent tax law changes that limit the initial deduction for charitable patent and copyright contributions. However, donors can now benefit from post-contribution deductions over the next 12 years for patents and copyrights that are exploited by the charity.

Lastly, James Chapman’s article discusses how the new federal tax rules will substantially restrict the amount that a business can deduct for the use, acquisition or charter of private aircraft for employees.

If you have a question about an article, please contact the author or one of us.

Reprinted with permission, © 2005 Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen. All rights reserved. The Entertainment Tax Advisor Report is published as a general informational source. Articles are general in nature and are not intended to constitute legal advice in any particular matter. Transmission of this report does not create an attorney-client relationship. Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen does not warrant and is not responsible for errors or omissions in the content of this report.

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