Tax Planning
In many respects, taxes are simply a cost of transacting business. Business owners and investors are experts in calculating costs and making informed decisions. If the cost of a particular transaction is too high, the transaction may not be consummated. If the cost is low or moderate, the transaction is more likely to be consummated.
Contrary to popular belief, the primary job of the tax planning attorney is not to structure deals so as to avoid taxes in their entirety. Rather, the primary job of the tax planning attorney is to advise the client of the potential tax consequences of the transaction so that you, the business owner or investor, can make an informed decision concerning the true costs of
the transaction. With an Internal Revenue Code over 3,000 pages and Federal Tax Regulations that are over 13,000 pages, identifying how a transaction could affect your tax liability is no simple task. However, we pride ourselves on being able to identify these issues from the outset. In addition, we also pride ourselves on being able to listen to the client and to understand the extent to which tax considerations are (or are not) driving the transaction.
After identifying the issues and consequences of a proposed transaction, the tax planning attorney’s secondary job (albeit a very important one) is to structure the transaction in a manner which will either avoid or mitigate the potential adverse tax consequences while simultaneously preserving the business objectives of the client. It is our belief that tax considerations, while significant, should generally not be the “tail wagging the dog.” A transaction should be judged on its substantive merits with the cost of taxes being just one factor in that analysis. Our goal is to preserve the business objectives of the client in a transactional structure that keeps tax costs at a predictable and acceptable amount.
Contrary to popular belief, the primary job of the tax planning attorney is not to structure deals so as to avoid taxes in their entirety. Rather, the primary job of the tax planning attorney is to advise the client of the potential tax consequences of the transaction so that you, the business owner or investor, can make an informed decision concerning the true costs of
the transaction. With an Internal Revenue Code over 3,000 pages and Federal Tax Regulations that are over 13,000 pages, identifying how a transaction could affect your tax liability is no simple task. However, we pride ourselves on being able to identify these issues from the outset. In addition, we also pride ourselves on being able to listen to the client and to understand the extent to which tax considerations are (or are not) driving the transaction.
After identifying the issues and consequences of a proposed transaction, the tax planning attorney’s secondary job (albeit a very important one) is to structure the transaction in a manner which will either avoid or mitigate the potential adverse tax consequences while simultaneously preserving the business objectives of the client. It is our belief that tax considerations, while significant, should generally not be the “tail wagging the dog.” A transaction should be judged on its substantive merits with the cost of taxes being just one factor in that analysis. Our goal is to preserve the business objectives of the client in a transactional structure that keeps tax costs at a predictable and acceptable amount.