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Important IRS Update: Significant Interest Penalty Increase for Tax Underpayments

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently announced a critical change that could significantly impact taxpayers who underpay their taxes. This update is particularly relevant as we approach the next tax filing season. Previously, the IRS charged a 3% interest penalty on estimated tax underpayments. However, this rate has now been increased to a substantial

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Will Inflation Hurt Stock Returns? Not Necessarily

Investors may wonder whether stock returns will suffer if inflation keeps rising. Here’s some good news: Inflation isn’t necessarily bad news for stocks. A look at equity performance in the past three decades does not show any reliable connection between periods of high (or low) inflation and US stock returns. Since 1993, one-year returns on

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Maximize Your Charitable Impact with These Four Strategies

As the year draws to a close, it’s a perfect opportunity to rethink how you give to charity. This is important for managing how much tax you pay and how much help reaches those in need. Here are four effective strategies: Need Guidance? Reach Out to Us! These strategies are just a starting point. There

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Family Business: Steps to a Viable Succession Plan For Your Family Business (Part 2)

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Category: Business Law Business Succession Planning Family Business

There is no doubt that working in a family business can be rewarding, but it might also come with some challenges. With regard to succession planning in particular, here are some of the top tips you need to consider when multiple relatives are coming to the same table on a family business.

Family Business: Steps to a Viable Succession Plan For Your Family Business (Part 2)
(Photo Credit: perthnow.com.au)

  • Make clear goals and objectives. Getting everyone on the same page with where the business “is” and where it’s “headed” is not easy, but you can bring things full circle by thinking about common goals and visions.
  • Create a process for making decisions: Don’t rely on the way you have always done it as a family. You may need more formal structure and written explanations of how decisions are to be made. Don’t forget to factor in your methods for resolving disputes. This can save you time and hassle in the future.
  • Generate a comprehensive succession plan that determines active and non-active roles for family members, establishes successors, and determine if additional support for that successor will be required from other family members. Documenting everyone’s role makes it easier.
  • Have both a business and owner estate plan. Don’t forget one or the other, as they are both important in a family business. Think about minimizing taxes and protecting assets together.
  • Determine the most appropriate avenue for transition. There are numerous options for buyouts or agreements, and this is something you definitely want to discuss with an attorney.

To learn more about how we can help clients with proper succession planning for a family business, call us at 732-521-9455 or send an email to info@lawesq.net.

Steps to a Viable Succession Plan For Your Family Business (Part 1)

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Category: Business Law Business Succession Planning Family Business

Are you planning to keep the Family Business “in the family”? Did you know that family businesses now make up as much as 50 percent of the gross domestic product of the entire country? We’re not just talking about small storefronts or website companies, either. Over one-third of Fortune 500 companies are controlled by families in some sense. It’s critical that as a small business owner, you plan ahead for the future with a succession plan. Here are some of the most common issues facing small business owners with a family connection.

Steps to a Viable Succession Plan For Your Family Business (Part 1)
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  • Align your family interests: As members begin to retire or hand off control to other generations, the interest alignment of these individuals becomes all the more important.
  • Generational transitions: Think about the future, because only one third of all family businesses actually end up passing the business on to the second generation. You might want to have alternative plans.
  • Interfamily disputes have the potential to dominate family-owned businesses especially when perception of needs is not lined up between key players. This becomes even more complicated when there is a death or divorce involved.
  • Retirement income: A buyout agreement doesn’t have to be complex, but it is harder to do with a family business because retiring individuals might be more focused on a balance sheet rather than an earnings capitalization model.
  • Estate and inheritance issues: While individual planning is important, there should also be plans in place that relate to the business.

All of these issues are just a sample of concerns for those involved in a family business. Contact our office today to learn more about our Business Succession Planning practice. Email info@lawesq.net or contact us via phone at 732-521-9455 to get started.

Tax and Structure Considerations for Buy-Sell Agreements

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Category: Business Planning

A buy-sell agreement needs to be written properly in order to ensure that it’s effective for invested parties. There are some specific aspects that should be considered in the planning of any buy-sell agreement. Here are some of the basic stipulations:

Tax and Structure Considerations for Buy-Sell Agreements
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  • The commitment of involved parties. The obligations of each party should be outlined clearly, leaving no room for questions
  • The purpose of the arrangement should also be specified
  • A formula explaining the purchase price of the business interest should also be included, like a value for the selling/buying price for the business. Furthermore, how this should be funded is also explained.
  • Any transfer restrictions should also be included, which can prevent the owners from transferring interest in the business while any other parties to the agreement are still alive.

Bear in mind that there are tax considerations for funding a buy-sell agreement with life insurance, such as:

  • Premiums used to fund the agreement are generally not tax deductible
  • There’s no gift tax that happens on the buy-sell agreement execution
  • In a cross purchase agreement, the cash value of the policies that are owned by the decedent can be factored into the decedent’s estate.
  • Death proceeds are paid out income-tax free, no matter who actually owns the policy.

If you’re planning on structuring such an agreement, you might use an entity purchase agreement, a cross purchase agreement, or a hybrid agreement. To learn what will work best in your situation, send us an email at info@lawesq.net or contact us via phone at 732-521-9455.

Risky Business? Manage that Risk: Captive Insurance Companies

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Category: Business Law Business Planning Business Succession Planning Captive Insurance Companies

A captive insurance company is a company created by a business owner to help insure risks of affiliated businesses. When set up appropriately, a captive allows a business to manage risks while allowing the affiliated company to reap benefits, too.

Risky Business Manage that Risk Captive Insurance Companies
(Photo Credit: business2community.com)

A Captive will receive premiums that are then invested as opposed to premiums sent to a traditional unrelated insurer, which are essentially “lost”. Over time, those premiums accumulate. In the event of a risk loss, the premiums are available to be paid for those self-insured losses, thus protecting the business’s bottom line. This crucial benefit is the biggest advantage for business owners.

A Captive can issue casualty or property insurance to protect against a broad array of risks. Where the business owner has the most potential to capitalize on this opportunity is through risk protection for those risks that are typically too expensive to coverage or uninsurable, period. With possible major tax increases coming in the future, the Captive Insurance company remains situated as one of the most effective solutions for business owners. Captive Insurance benefits go beyond tax advantages by providing business owners with opportunities in wealth transfer, estate planning, and asset protection, too.

At Shah and Associates, we work with you individually to determine how a Captive can best suit your business needs. With vast experience in the field, we have helped our clients use Captives to minimize taxes, protect assets, manage risks, and improve cash flow. We understand the peace of mind and confidence that comes from a comprehensive approach to risk management, and that’s why we remain committed to the business community.

The Business Owner’s Parachute: Get Your Exit Plan Ready

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Category: Business Law Business Planning Business Succession Planning

While “now” is always the time you should start getting your exit plan ready for your business, there are some guidelines about specific year marks that you should use to think about what will happen next. Here is the best advice for exit plans.

theretiredaffiliate.com
(Photo Credit: theretiredaffiliate.com)

Starting ten years in advance is the best way to maximize opportunities. This is because at this marker, you can start really considering whether the business is intended as a family legacy. If a family member will be taking over the business, the ten year period is a great planning point for incorporating those family members into training and education. Ultimately, this will make the transition period much smoother. Saving taxes is another primary concern at this stage. If a business owner has recently converted the company from C Corp to S Corp filing status, you should wait a minimum of ten years before selling the company.

Five years out is a good place to review because you are a little closer to the finish line here. Cash flow, tax deduction, and tax leverage should all be explored with your planning specialist at this time. Changes regarding cash flow can allow for a strategy in which cash flow to the owner is a focus rather than company growth.

Finally, even one year out provides planning opportunities. For example, we have implemented strategies which could save the Seller the entire [9% – 13%] tax some states collect upon the sale of a business. If the company will be sold, the owner should identify a business broker or investment banker to actually put the business on the market. This gives enough time for a due diligence review, drafting the sales agreement, and delays related to regulatory issues. No matter what stage you’re at, you need to put some planning tactics in place for your exit plan. Contact us today at 732-521-9455 or email info@lawesq.net to get started with your personalized plan.