20 May 2025

Close Encounters of the Business Kind: Mastering Succession and Tax Planning for the Small Business

Succession planning is a critical aspect of managing small, closely held businesses, as the unexpected departure of a key leader can significantly disrupt operations and challenge the business's legal continuity. Unlike large, publicly traded companies, these businesses face unique challenges in maintaining ownership and operational stability. Consider our comprehensive planning ideas, which address both tax and business issues, to mitigate these disruptions.

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    • Tax Legislation. Ways and Means Committee advanced its portion of the new tax legislation on May 15, in a 26-19 vote. A debate over the SALT cap remains. The Energy and Commerce and Agriculture Committees also each advanced the bill. One Big Beautiful Bill Act (May 16, 2025); Federal Tax Legislation Tracker (2025).
    • International Taxation. IRS provides the domestic asset/liability percentages and domestic investment yields needed by foreign life insurance companies and foreign property and liability insurance companies to compute their minimum effectively connected net investment income under R.C. § 842(b)for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2023. Rev. Proc. 2025-20.
    • Business Entities. IRS provides various prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes including the applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted federal long-term rate, and the adjusted federal long-term tax-exempt rate as prescribed by I.R.C. § 1274. Rul. 2025-10.
    • Tax Practice, Procedure, and Controversy. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released a report,dated May 2, 2025, on the IRS’ efforts to reduce its workforce through the deferred resignation program (DRP) and probationary employee terminations. As of March 2025, more than 11,000 IRS employees were either approved for the DRP or received termination notices during their probationary employment period. These departures represent 11% of the IRS’s workforce and impact certain business units more than others.
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    Markup of the latest tax bill began in the House Ways and Means Committee’s portion of the budget reconciliation bill the week of May 12. See Joint Committee on Taxation, JCX-18-25.
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