Description
Ensuring a business legacy can be a complicated undertaking. Family owners often focus on operational matters while ignoring succession planning. At other times, succession planning may be mired in family strife to the detriment of operational success. In fact, inadequate business and succession planning is one of the leading causes of family business failures.
Taxes add yet another level of complexity for family businesses. Compensating owners for services, rent of owners' property, and various other arrangements can trip up business owners. Business succession plans can affect estate tax values. Deferred or uncertain estate tax liability can cause a family business to lose its line of credit, accelerate a long-term loan, or negatively affect a surety bond.
This highly rated program addresses these issues and offers practical tips for counseling clients on business succession and tax challenges. Attended by sophisticated legal practitioners and industry professionals nationwide, this annual program is a go-to resource for family businesses seeking prosperity beyond current owners or business-savvy exit solutions.
Topic includes:
- Lessons For Every Family Business from the Biltmore
The long-awaited Tax Court opinion in Cecil v. Commissioner carries the most important lessons about the greatest threats to every family business. Most important, this family developed covenants that inspire the next generation to be productive humans, rather than worthless. And secondly, this case illustrates how to protect the business against forced tax liquidation or deep erosion by recognizing the financial realities of tax-affecting and certain appraisal standards (USPAP 9-3).
- Operational Tax Issues for Family Businesses
The IRS has been attacking family businesses regarding reasonable compensation, constructive dividends, self-employment tax, accumulated earnings tax (the rules of which are also relevant for IRC § 6166 estate tax deferral), the 3.8% net investment income tax, and the passive loss rules. A tax litigator and a planner explain not only the rules but also how to coach clients regarding substantiating the reasonableness of arrangements, documenting arrangements, and proving participation in the business.