Estate of Tanenblatt v. Commissioner, 2013 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 273 (Nov. 18, 2013) In challenging the Internal Revenue Service’s deficiency notice related to estate taxes for the decedent’s interest in a limited liability company, the taxpayer pulled out all the stops. He disavowed the initial appraisal that was the basis for his estate tax  Continue Reading »

Let’s say you’ve decided to sell your Maine-based business. There are two basic ways to sell an incorporated business: sell the assets or sell the stock. Sellers prefer stock sales because profits are generally taxed at a maximum federal rate of only 15 percent. Also, when selling C corporation stock, double taxation is avoided since  Continue Reading »

In re Tronox Incorporated, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 5232 (Dec. 12, 2013) Valuation experts of various stripes took center stage in a recent fraudulent conveyance suit regarding a parent company’s decision to spin off its chemical manufacturing business from its highly profitable oil and gas exploration and production business. The transaction left the former with billions  Continue Reading »

As a small business owner deciding on a major purchase, you may wonder if it is better to buy or lease business assets. The answer can be complicated, but one rule of thumb to remember is that it’s generally better to lease assets that will substantially decrease in value over time. Conversely, if the asset is expected  Continue Reading »

If you are a small business owner in Maine, you might be interested in hiring younger, seasonal workers, and you may be able to take advantage of a lower federal minimum wage. Employees under age 20 can be paid a “youth minimum wage,” for the first 90 consecutive calendar days. This lower wage can be  Continue Reading »

The regulatory and legal pressure on employers to tightly monitor their 401(k) plan costs has always been strong, but employers may soon find a little help.  At the same time, however, small employers must be aware that the federal judiciary is still paying close attention to whether or not employers are adhering to all regulations.  Continue Reading »

A small business owner may have several reasons for wanting to permanently close their business. In many cases it is simply because they are losing money. It could also be that the owners launched a company as friends and the relationship has soured over time. Or maybe the owners are ready to retire and have  Continue Reading »

Vega v. Fulcrum Energy, LLC, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 12323 (Oct. 3, 2013) After a partnership dispute arose, the dismissed stakeholder sued, claiming the defendants breached an agreement that required them to buy back his interest, and retained an expert to value the business. Pretrial, the defendants unsuccessfully challenged the expert’s valuation for failing to  Continue Reading »

Sparks v. Sparks, 2013 Mo. App. LEXIS 1421 (Nov. 26, 2013) As the husband pursued a divorce, he thought it necessary to sell part of his animal hospital to comply with any upcoming equalization payment order and procured a valuation. The trial court stayed the sale during the litigation but credited the valuation even though  Continue Reading »

Receivables aren’t really useful if they aren’t turned into cash. Your Maine-based small business really needs to keep tight control of its outstanding invoices so you are fully aware of the receivables situation and can take steps to improve the turnover of those accounts. Here are five steps that can help you speed up the  Continue Reading »