KeaNotes - Unclaimed Property News, Laws and Trends

This quarterly compliance newsletter provides an in-depth view and analysis of unclaimed property regulations and how they impact mutual funds and corporations. Editorial coverage of ongoing legislation changes, legislative summaries of passed and proposed law, guest columnists from state and industry professionals, Q&A sessions, continuous interpretation and recommendations to effectively comply with unclaimed property laws while increasing your company’s bottom line.  

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“An Ounce of Prevention May Be the Cure; a State Tax Consultant’s Perspective”

By: Catherine Shaw Stanton, CPA

Unclaimed property may not be a tax, but from an audit perspective I have found there are strong similarities. From the time I began my career as a tax consultant 23 years ago, I’ve been using the same line: “The states are getting more aggressive in finding noncompliant taxpayers.” In fact, I’ve become so tired of this saying that it actually feels like a sleazy pick up line intended to attract new clients. But unfortunately, it’s true. The states have, in fact, become increasingly more aggressive in all tax arenas, including the area of unclaimed property (even though it is technically not a tax).

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Treasure Hunting – Comply Before You Claim

By: Laura Lane, Keane’s UPSD Vice President

Given the condition of the economy, it is no surprise that more businesses are considering or actually taking steps to recover their assets held by states and federal government agencies, courts and other jurisdictions. Easy access to databases like www.missingmoney.com and the individual state websites makes such treasure hunting seem simple. And it’s not just unclaimed property that is recoverable; other agencies and courts manage money that may be due to your business (e.g. taxes, class action and other litigation proceeds, licensing registrations, etc.). As anyone who has attempted to recover assets will tell you, however, identification of the items is the easy part. Some states have been burned by false owner claims made in the name of others. Such fraud led to the stringent documentation requirements that exist today.

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2009 STA Unclaimed Property Panel Summary

By: Debbie L. Zumoff, Keane’s Chief Compliance Officer

In beautiful, scenic Amelia Island, Florida, the Securities Transfer Association held its 2009 98th Annual Meeting and Conference Program with a “Challenges for the New Economy” theme. After three full days of conference presentations and networking activities, the last day consisted of a DTC Update, Cost Basis Reporting session, STA Committee Updates, Small Agent’s Training as well as a panel on Unclaimed Property issues. Moderated by Paul Griffith of Computershare, the Unclaimed Property issues panel consisted of Jennifer Borden of Holland & Knight, Bob Irvine of UPRR and me, Debbie Zumoff of Keane. What follows is a high level summary of the information presented during the session.

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