Estate Tax Repeal: Taylor English’s Vivian Hoard Quoted in Daily Report

By Meredith Hobbs

Plenty of attorneys have aging parents or represent clients who do. For those handling the estate of someone who has died this year—or who might—the repeal of the estate tax for 2010 presents a number of headaches.

Tax litigator Vivian D. Hoard of Taylor English Duma addressed their concerns at a Continuing Legal Education program Thursday called “The Sandwich Generation: Legal Issues Affecting the Family Caregiver.”

Paying no estate tax sounds great, but Hoard cautioned that Congress could pass a retroactive estate tax after the end of the year—and that the executor of the estate could be personally liable for both the estate tax and income tax on the estate.

“The problem is that we don’t know if there’s going to be a tax,” she said.

Hoard advised executors to delay distributing an estate until next year, after it’s clear how Congress will handle the 2010 estate tax.

“If you distribute the estate based on there being no tax and then we get a retroactive tax, there could be big problems,” she said, adding that by law the executor is responsible for paying the tax. Heirs may also be liable.

Hoard added that even if the probate court relieves the executor of liability for the decedent’s taxes, he or she is not necessarily off the hook. “The IRS is not bound by what the probate court says.”

“Save everything in the estate until you know there is no tax,” she said. “You don’t want to be the test case litigating that issue.”

Ankai Automobile Tours Atlanta and Chattanooga

Trevor Williams
Urban sprawl and a spotty transit system usually aren’t listed among a city’s competitive advantages.
But with droves of suburban commuters and long stretches of freeway, Atlanta is a prime location for a bus that would run on electric power in the city and switch to diesel on major highways, according to officials from China Ankai Automobile Co. Ltd.

The state-owned Chinese vehicle maker from Anhui province is developing a plug-in hybrid electric bus for the U.S. market. While many companies, especially in China, have introduced cars using the technology, only a few firms have applied it to mass-transit vehicles.

Ankai, which already makes all-electric buses, isn’t deterred. China’s third-largest bus manufacturer is working with a California company, Efficient Drivetrains Inc., to develop the plug-in hybrid’s drive train. EDI was founded by Andy Frank, a mechanical engineering professor at University of California Davis whose research laid the initial groundwork for plug-in hybrids. Ankai aims to have a test model ready for the U.S. by the end of this year, said Linda Wang of Ankai’s international business department.

The basic difference between plug-in and conventional hybrids is that which their names suggest. Both use a combination of electric and diesel or gas power for propulsion, but plug-ins can be charged using a charging station, while conventional hybrids rely on gas-powered engines to replenish their batteries. Plug-ins generally have longer all-electric ranges but retain the ability to switch to gas for greater speeds or longer hauls.

“One of the big problems with all electric vehicles is what happens when you get on the highway. This addresses that problem, and that’s the niche,” said  Richard Kaye, an attorney for Atlanta law firm Taylor English Duma LLP, who has worked with Ankai since last year.

Mr. Kaye helped organize a visit to Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn., for a delegation of Ankai officials and Anhui government leaders last month. They learned about local transportation systems and heard expert briefings on the market trends and regulations in the U.S.

They met with mayors and economic development leaders in both cities and left convinced that the Southeast would be a favorable beachhead for U.S. sales operations as well as a potential factory, Mr. Kaye said.

Read the full story in Global Atlanta

Webinar: State Financial Incentives for Renewable Energy Projects

Taylor English Renewable Energy Finance attorney Jonathan Wilson, will moderate a webinar panel for Electric Utility Consultants on July 8, 2010 from 12:00 to 1:30 pm eastern time.

The panel will analyze the many methods that state governments have designed to spur the growth of new renewable energy projects. It will compare renewable portfolio standards, feed-in tariffs and other state-level incentives.

Panel members include Michael C. Barnas, Senior Counsel for Renewables, GE Energy, and Daniel J. Boyle, Managing Director, Heuristic Strategies, LLC.

The webinar will examine the policy rationales and impacts behind these types of incentive programs, identifying the competing interest groups who play a role in policy adoption and offering thoughts on the effectiveness of different state programs.

Registration is available online.