Effective April 1, 2016 the New York State "applicable exclusion amount" (the amount of one's taxable estate tax can pass free of NYS estate tax) increased to $4,187,500 – an increase of $1,062,500 from the previous amount.

New York State's Minimum Wage Increase and Paid Leave Act Approved

By: Richard D. Boyle

 

While many of us have been focused on the presidential election, on April 4, 2016 Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law two pieces of legislation that employers, as well as employees, need to be aware of: (1) A statewide incremental increase in the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour; and (2) Mandated paid family leave ("Paid Leave Act").

 

To read the full article, please click here [NYS Minimum Wage and Paid Leave Act]

 

In the last several weeks, we have received and reviewed a flurry of solar leases and solar options to lease for numerous property owners. It appears that multiple solar companies are aggressively scouting and romancing property owners throughout the state with their promises to lease a few dozen acres and up to hundreds of acres of land with high rental rates per acre. The initial reaction is that this is a great opportunity for landowners to utilize their land and receive rental income that is significantly higher than agricultural market value rents particularly if the land is marginal farm land to begin with.