Legal Updates & Commentary for Tax & Estate Planning
The experienced or well-informed investor recognizes that there is an element of risk in every business venture. They understand that the cash or other property they have contributed to the venture may be lost for any number of reasons – an economic downturn, a very competitive industry, the incompetence of officers, an adverse…
Ask any shareholder of a closely held corporation whether they may be held liable for the tax obligations of the corporation, and they will likely respond “of course not, that’s why we established the corporation – to benefit from the limited liability protection it provides.”
Some of these shareholders will be surprised…
A post earlier this year considered the basis-limitation that restricts the ability of S corporation shareholders to deduct their pro rata share of the corporation’s losses. It was observed that, over the years, shareholders have employed many different approaches and arguments to increase the basis for their shares of stock or for the corporation’s indebtedness,…
It is a basic precept of the tax law that the substance of a transaction, rather than its form, should determine its tax consequences when the form of the transaction does not coincide with its economic reality. This substance-over-form argument is a powerful tool in the hands of a taxing authority.
According…
Nothing Ventured…?
Ask any tax practitioner, “Have you ever advised a client not to do something, only to discover later that they did it anyway?” Or, have you ever reminded a client of the old adage, “if something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t?” The likely responses would be “Oh yeah.”
How…
Partnership Allocations
The allocation of a partnership’s items of income, gain, deduction and loss among its partners must have substantial economic effect if it is to be respected by the IRS. The determination of whether an allocation has substantial economic effect for tax purposes involves a two-part analysis: first, the allocation must have economic effect…
It Happens All The Time
A business owner dedicates every waking moment to the growth and well-being of the business. Invariably, the owner is motivated, in no small part, by the desire to provide for his or her family. After years of effort, and maybe some luck, the business succeeds. The owner and his or…
In today’s cautionary tale, we hear about a doctor, his self-directed simplified employee pension (“SEP”) individual retirement account (“IRA”), the investment of IRA funds in a business, and the consequences of crossing over the perilous line between “direction” and “control.”
The Facts
Dr. V., an anesthesiologist, ran a medical practice with three partners (the…
Flexible Economic Arrangements
We represent a number of entrepreneurs. The form of business entity that they most often choose to operate is an LLC that is treated as a partnership for income tax purposes. They recognize that the LLC is not a taxable entity, that there are no limitations upon who may invest in an…
Why, Oh Why?
We’ve heard it before: “Why would you choose to operate as an S corporation?”
Underlying this question are a number of other business-related questions, among which are the following:
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