Overview
IRS Issues Guidance on Application of Obergefell to Qualified Retirement Plans and Health and Welfare Plans: Today, the IRS issued Notice 2015-86, which provides guidance on the application of the Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, to retirement plans qualified under section 401(a) and to health and welfare plans, including cafeteria plans under section 125. The Notice addresses issues plan sponsors may face in altering aspects of their employee benefit plans or how their plans are administered in response to Obergefell, as well as clarifying the application of Obergefell to certain changes to employee benefit plans, such as a discretionary expansion of benefits that is not required under the federal tax rules.
Yahoo Abandons Spin-Off Plan: Yahoo announced today that it has decided to suspend work on the pending plan to spin off Alibaba due to the market’s perception of the tax risk. The company will now focus on a reverse spin-off plan in which Yahoo's assets and liabilities other than the Alibaba stake would be transferred to a newly formed company, leaving only the Alibaba stake in the original Yahoo company.