Without the right information, answers can hard to figure out. In one case, the expert could not figure out why the company he was valuing kept on manufacturing and selling creosoted railroad ties, even though that division of the business had not been profitable for a long time. Also, the company was putting another $700,000  Continue Reading »

On September 29, 2017, a new law was signed by President Trump providing various tax breaks for victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Among them is a valuable tax credit for eligible employers affected by the devastating hurricanes. An “employee retention credit” is allowed by the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of  Continue Reading »

Sherwood Invs. Overseas Ltd. v. Royal Bank of Scot. N.V. (In re Sherwood Invs. Overseas Ltd., Inc, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136096 (Sept. 30, 2016) A bankruptcy proceeding makes clear that, if an expert hopes to support a client’s position, he or she has to know more than the mechanics of calculating losses. The analysis  Continue Reading »

In today’s complex business world, shareholder disputes can be quite common. These disputes can be divisive, long-lasting and expensive, and can arise in almost any privately owned business. Some of the more common types of lawsuits that may be filed against controlling shareholders are: Dissenters Rights Actions Some state laws may give corporate shareholders the right  Continue Reading »

If your Maine-based small business is considering acquiring another company, you probably realize the importance of hiring an expert in due diligence and valuation. Unless you’re well-versed in performing a comprehensive financial analysis of a business, it doesn’t make sense to buy one without using a specialist. A due diligence report does three critical things:  Continue Reading »

If your Maine small business reimburses employees for actual travel expenses, then you know the process of submitting and approving expense reports for business travel can be an administrative hassle. Fortunately, the IRS offers simplified alternatives that can save time and reduce recordkeeping. Per Diems vs. “High-Low” Rates Instead of reimbursing employees for their actual expenses for lodging,  Continue Reading »

Since school is back in session, we think it’s a good time for a refresher on tax breaks for work-related education expenditures. Here’s what Maine taxpayers need to know. American Opportunity Credit The American Opportunity credit equals 100% of the first $2,000 of qualified postsecondary education expenses plus 25% of the next $2,000 of qualified education  Continue Reading »

Dunmire v. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp of W. Pa., 2016 Del. Ch. LEXIS 167 (Nov. 10, 2016) In a statutory appraisal action, the Delaware Court of Chancery rejected the deal price as evidence of fair value, citing a suboptimal sales process. Only an income-based approach that the experts for both parties used represented a reliable  Continue Reading »

For partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs) that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes, legislation enacted in 2015 established a new IRS audit regime. To help partners prepare for the changes that are effective starting with the 2018 tax year, here’s a comparison between the old and new partnership audit rules, along with a summary  Continue Reading »

The ultimate indicator of how well a small business is performing is how much the company is worth. Any benchmarking system should include fair market value as one of its primary metrics. With public companies, it’s easy to monitor this metric by tracking share prices and market capitalizations on public stock exchanges. And while it’s not  Continue Reading »