Ledgers and Law: Start With an Ending in Mind When Building a New Business
THE ACCIDENTAL ENTREPRENEUR
Investment Management Update – Exit Strategies
Lawyers on Tap: Tap Tips for Entity Formation and Taxation
Last week, Sen. Warren reintroduced her “Ultra-Millionaires” wealth tax proposal to the Senate. Query her timing. The measure has the proverbial snowball’s chance in Hell of being enacted by this Congress.Perhaps the Senator...more
Earlier this year several Warner attorneys attended the annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, the country’s most well-respected educational event for professionals working in the trusts and estates area. The...more
Many of us have encountered variations of the following scenario: a parent owns and operates a business; one or more of their children are employed in the business; as the children mature and become more experienced and...more
Faulty Framework? The question posed above is not intended to be rhetorical. Rather, it is one that the owners of a closely held business should consider thoroughly before transferring or committing any business assets to...more
What Was Intended? Transactions between commonly controlled, closely held businesses are often conducted in an informal manner. This is unfortunate because, in the absence of documentation, it is sometimes difficult to...more
Have you ever wondered whether you were barking up the wrong tree? That the solution to a problem may be found, not in the approach to which you were already committed and invested, but in an altogether different direction?...more
The Key Person- The closely held corporation is often a fragile creature. Too often, its continued success and well-being are overly dependent upon the continued involvement of one individual – namely, the founder and...more
“Show Me the Money”- Much has been written in recent months about how well the investment portfolios of private foundations have performed over the last several years. For example, a study conducted by the Council on...more
Constructive Transfers- It is axiomatic that the tax treatment of interactions between a closely held business and its owners will generally be subject to heightened scrutiny by the IRS, and that the labels attached to such...more
Once you have a business idea, creating a business entity may seem daunting from a legal standpoint. However, setting up your business with thoughtful consideration and guidance will pay off over time, as you can...more
“Would I ever leave this company? Look, I’m all about loyalty. In fact, I feel like part of what I’m being paid for here is my loyalty. But if there were somewhere else that valued loyalty more highly, I’m going wherever they...more
Timing- I had planned to post this piece during the third week of December, a day or so after the exchange between Senator Manchin and the White House sealed the fate of the Build Back Better plan, at least in its current...more
Haste Makes Waste? How many of you are suffering from Build Back Better Fatigue? Seriously, it’s a thing. Sure, the House passed its version of the President’s tax and spending bill on November 19, and the Senate...more
The House Ways and Means Committee recently released legislative proposals as part of the “Build Back Better” reconciliation legislation that the committee is currently developing (the Proposed Legislation). The Proposed...more
I Read the News Today- Much of today’s news is dominated by the future of the Administration’s broadly defined infrastructure plan. Discussions among “those in the know” inevitably turn into debates over the wisdom of...more
What A Ride- No one anticipated that the Administration’s proposed tax increases would fly through Congress easily – at least no one residing in a state in which the recreational use of marijuana has not been legalized....more
Recap- Last week, we considered several of the revenue proposals included in the Biden Administration’s 2022 Budget that are probably of interest – or should we say, “of concern”? – to the owners of closely held...more
Tax Gap- In a report released last week, the U.S. Treasury Department explained that the so-called “tax gap” – i.e., the difference between the amount of federal income taxes owed by taxpayers for a taxable year and the...more
Let's discuss some less-dramatic exit options for business owners (when they want to step away). You may not run a global media conglomerate, but even closely held business owners (and perhaps especially closely held...more
There is no one-size-fits-all answer for closely held corporations when choosing to be taxed as an S-Corp or a C-Corp. Certainly, one of the factors driving the choice between classification as an S-Corp or C-Corp is that...more
After Me, Who Cares? In the context of a family-owned business, managerial succession and the transfer of ownership – not necessarily the same thing – can turn into quite an adventure when they are not well-planned....more
Often, a closely-held company comprises a large portion of a person’s wealth. In some instances, the company initially generated much of the person’s wealth. And in others, the company is formed as a vehicle to pass wealth...more
While the Internal Revenue Code ("Code"), Subchapter C Corporation ("C Corp") will be the proper choice of entity for some closely held businesses (particularly in light of the federal tax reform package that became effective...more
It is said that repetition is the mother of all learning. It is also said that insanity is repeating the same mistake and expecting a different result. It is my hope that the result of the former will overwhelm the source of...more
I had a call a couple of weeks ago from the owner of a business. His brother, who owned half of the business, owed some money to someone in connection with a venture that was unrelated to the business. The brother didn’t have...more