Tax Planning for Businesses and Individuals
Taxes pervade every aspect of people’s lives and their business operations. In order to minimize the impact of taxes and, in some cases maximize their potential benefits, tax planning is absolutely critical.
Often, the tax impact of an event in the life of a business or individual is a secondary consideration. A business or individual pays attention to the larger goal, only to let the tax impact remain neglected and unanalyzed. For instance, if a party to litigation is receiving a substantial settlement, their focus is likely (and rightly) on the amount of compensation, ensuring that their position is secure in the event of bankruptcy, non-disclosure agreements, and other substantive parts of the settlement agreement. However, as is always the case when money is changing hands, tax issues loom large. How will the settlement be characterized for tax purposes? Are attorneys’ fees deductible? Would installment payments be more beneficial from a tax perspective? These are important questions that often go overlooked.
The focus of Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph’s tax planning practice is to assist businesses and individual taxpayers in ensuring that significant events are handled in the most tax efficient manner possible, allowing the business or individual to focus on other aspects of the event or transaction.
Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph’s tax planning practice extends to a wide variety of transactions and business and personal legal matters, such as:
- Choosing the proper entity for a new business;
- Applications for non-taxable status afforded to charitable organizations under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3);
- Advising partners on the tax treatment of partnership distributions;
- Assistance in the drafting of litigation and divorce settlement agreements to maximize tax efficiency;
- Advising clients regarding asset protection through the use of various investment vehicles, such as retirement plans, trusts established under protective state laws (like those of South Dakota or Nevada), and Florida homestead investment;
- Assisting debtors in minimizing the effect of cancellation of indebtedness income after reaching settlement agreements with their creditors;
- Assisting debtors to discharge certain income tax liability in bankruptcy;
- Ensuring that charitable contributions meet all formalities and prerequisites necessary to obtain deductible status;
- Structuring employment or independent contractor agreements to ensure worker-status desired by a business and to ensure employee fringe benefits are non-taxable under the guidelines established by Congress, the Treasury Department, and court decisions; and
- Assisting U.S. businesses and individuals operating abroad to navigate the complex rules regarding sourcing of income, controlled foreign corporations an subpart F income, passive foreign investment companies, and the foreign tax credit.
The above list is just a sample of the matters we have successfully handled for past clients. Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph’s experienced team of tax attorneys, working in conjunction with attorneys from the corporate, litigation, and customs and trade practice groups can assist taxpayers in handling even the most daunting tax planning challenges using tried and tested strategies or creatively devising new strategies to handle a unique situation.
For more information, please contact us at contact@fidjlaw.com or call us directly at 305-350-5690.