Redefining a Sale for California Real Property Transfer Tax
When real property changes hands, California imposes two separate taxes – the annual real property tax and a documentary transfer tax. The annual real property tax is reassessed to fair market value when a property changes ownership. The transfer tax allows a county or city, or both, to charge a tax when real property is sold by the transfer, grant, assignment, or other conveyance of a deed, instrument or writing for more than $100.[1] The key to this definition is that there must be a sale of real property that is recognized by a transfer through a deed, instrument, or [...]
Matal v. Tam: Disparaging Trademarks, Like THE SLANTS, Can Be Registered Trademarks
This case revolves around whether a trademark can be registered before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) even though the mark is disparaging. The Lanham Act prohibits the registration of many kinds of marks, but in this case, preventing the registration of disparaging marks directly challenges the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. During oral arguments, Justice Kagan raised the free speech issue in the Lanham Act as: [I]t precludes disparagement of Democrats and Republicans alike, and so forth and so on, but it makes a very important distinction, which is that you can say good things about some [...]
With the New Year Comes California’s New Laws for Employers
Every January, employers must become familiar with new employment laws that have been passed at the state and local level. Below is a brief summary of some of the most relevant, in my opinion. Should you have questions about any of these new requirements, please contact any member of our Labor and Employment Practice Group for guidance. Good luck in 2017! Minimum Wage: By 2022, California's mandatory minimum hourly wage will be $15 for businesses with more than 25 employees. To get there, starting Jan. 1, 2017, minimum hourly pay rose from $10 to $10.50. There is no state-mandated increase [...]
California Marijuana Legalization: A Goldilocks Moment for the Pot Business?
November 2016 Twenty years ago, California voters were the first to decriminalize the use of medical marijuana. Tuesday, those voters approved Proposition 64, making California the largest single market for “legal” recreational marijuana use in the United States. With certification of that vote by the Secretary of State, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act will become law in California. Nationwide, the passage of Prop 64 and ballot initiatives in other states means that marijuana is now decriminalized at the state level, for either medical or recreational use, for more than one in five Americans. Federal law remains unchanged, however. Marijuana [...]