Tag:Regulation
The Tax Consequences of NFTs
The popularity of NFTs has been rapidly increasing over the past year, but regulations and guidance relating to the tax consequences of buying and selling NFTs has been slow to keep up. Despite also living on the blockchain, NFTs and cryptocurrencies are not created equally in the eyes of the IRS. The IRS has addressed the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies and published guidance for crypto-investors but has not yet published any specific guidance for NFTs. This leaves many investors in a position of uncertainty regarding the tax consequences of their investments.
Is Real ID IDeal?
By May 3, 2023, U.S travelers must be Real ID compliant to board domestic flights, enter nuclear facilities, visit military bases, and gain access to certain federal facilities. The implementation of the Real ID comes eighteen years after Congress passed the Real ID Act and ten years after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an enforcement plan for compliance with Real ID standards. Although U.S travelers have a little more than a year to comply with Real ID requirements, compliance may be difficult in light of the Real ID’s history and complications.
What’s the Tea?
When people hear the phrase “regulatory compliance”, they often think about the finance, banking, or tech industry – not the business of loose and pressed leaves. In fact, the tea industry has been on the rise and is projected to reach almost $69 billion by 2027. Within that market, the green tea segment is the highest growth contributor with an estimated $16 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach almost $26 billion by 2027. This leafy market comes with its own set of compliance issues and a potential for growth this year.
The Ninth Circuit Rules on Net Neutrality, Putting State Regulations of the Internet from Mozilla v. FCC to the Test
Net neutrality (or network neutrality) is the idea that internet service providers (ISPs), such as Verizon or Comcast, should not be able to block or prioritize different sorts of data. The Ninth Circuit, which is comprised of Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, and Washington state, is the largest Court of Appeals in the United States both in population and land mass. Recently, the Ninth Circuit ruled in a case that net neutrality requirements applied to internet service providers in those states. This decision put to test the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s 2019 decision of Mozilla v. FCC, which ruled that states would be able to create regulations regarding net neutrality.
The Supreme Court Is Not Protecting Women’s Rights, so Will the 49th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade Be Its Last?
In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that states could not create onerous requirements that interfered with a patient’s right to an abortion up to the point of viability of the fetus, which was around 24 weeks. Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey established and protected patients’ rights to privacy and healthcare autonomy in reproductive health. However, as I previously explained in Abort Texas’ New Abortion Law, Texas’ new law erodes that decision. On January 20, 2022, the Supreme Court was presented with the opportunity to address this issue. The Court denied Texas abortion clinics’ request to immediately return to litigation over the Court’s acceptance of Texas’ six-week abortion law. However, the threat to reproductive health is not isolated to Texas; other states have enacted similar laws.
Investor Choice Act Approved by House Committee
For several years, broker-dealers and investment advisory firms have typically required harmed investors to dispute matters through arbitration rather than the court system. However, the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee has approved a bill aimed at prohibiting mandatory arbitration commonly imposed by broker-dealers and investment advisory firms. H.R. 2620, known as The Investor Choice Act, restricts investment advisors and broker-dealers from including pre-dispute binding arbitration clauses in their client agreements. The Investor Choice Act addresses “long-standing and deeply unfair practices of forcing customers to resolve their claims through arbitration instead of as part of a class action,” according to Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee.
Expanding Mental Health Services Through Community-Based Care: Crisis Stabilization Centers
Many believe that a hospital emergency department is potentially the worst place for an individual experiencing a mental health crisis. Emergency departments are often loud, bright, and bustling with hospital employees, emergency responders, patients, and visitors. These conditions are stressful and can further trigger additional symptoms for individuals facing a psychiatric crisis. Moreover, many individuals experiencing a mental health crisis do not require inpatient care at a psychiatric hospital. Rather, there is a growing trend to promote community-based care through Crisis Stabilization Center Models. Crisis stabilization centers or units provide an alternative to traditional emergency department and psychiatric hospitalization care by providing continuous care for a short period of time in a safe environment for those with an acute psychiatric crisis.
Failure To Regulate NFTs and Crypto Currencies Will Lead to Catastrophic Environmental Implications
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are emerging digital assets with numerous rights and obligations. However, regulations and laws in the United States are only barely beginning to catch up, and NFTs consume nearly as much energy as a small country. Without NFT regulation, climate change catastrophes are likely to be evident sooner than expected.
Sustainability en vogue — More Than Just a Fleeting Fashion Trend
“Sustainable,” “eco-friendly,” “ethical,” “recycled” — all buzzwords you might see the next time you’re shopping for a new outfit, designed to make you as a consumer feel like you’re making better choices to help reduce your carbon footprint. But what do those buzzwords really mean — is there any traceable impact the company has made to reduce its carbon footprint? In many cases, unfortunately not. The fashion industry has a major impact on climate change. It is estimated to contribute between 4 and 8.6 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, and for the most part is largely unregulated. Any efforts to increase sustainability, such as by reducing pollution or eliminating labor abuses, are predominately voluntary commitments with little to no repercussions for failing to uphold those commitments.
Nurse for Hire Services, the Next Uber?
The pandemic overloaded hospitals with increased patient volume, and after almost two years of battling COVID-19, health care worker burnout is at an all-time high. As a result of burnout, the healthcare industry is suffering from worker shortages, especially among nurses. Nursing shortages are straining hospital profitability, care delivery, and efficiency. Competition for labor will likely continue even after the pandemic. The healthcare labor shortage has attracted significant interest from venture capital. Venture capitalists are pouring millions into new healthcare worker staffing platforms. This week, a proposed measure was filed with the California attorney general’s office that could be on the ballot for the state’s voters this fall. The proposal seeks to classify certain healthcare workers as independent contractors, so that workers can find work online or through apps. The proposal to include health care in the gig economy presents the question of whether nurse staffing platforms will be the next Uber.