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 »

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the My Retirement Account (myRA) program will be coming to an end, even though it was just created just a few years ago in 2014. As part of the Trump Administration’s effort to slim down wasteful spending where possible, the Treasury has decided this short-lived Roth IRA  Continue Reading »

The top line of your company’s income statement is revenue. So, it tends to receive a lot of attention from investors, lenders and other stakeholders. Why? It’s a telltale sign whether your company is growing or declining based on changes in revenue. Moreover, changes in the composition of revenue can provide insight into your strategic plans.  Continue Reading »

Starting up a small business in Maine and wondering about how tax deductions will be handled? It’s very important to remember that most expenses incurred before a business begins functioning cannot be deducted or amortized until the year when the business does become active. The Basics of Business Expenses Section 162 of the Internal Revenue  Continue Reading »

Small business owners and executives would be smart to obtain business interruption insurance, and possibly contingent business income. The idea is that the policy will compensate the company for lost earnings if a devastating event forces it to temporarily stop operating. However, the calculations and details of business interruption coverage is quite complicated and mounds  Continue Reading »

When considering the value of your Maine-based small business, you may not have considered what standard is used in the determination. It can be a fairly important question that affects how the valuation turns out. Any qualified valuation report should state the standard of value used in determining the value in the very beginning of  Continue Reading »

You may be considered part of the “sharing economy” (also known as the Gig or on-demand economy) in Maine if you provide car rides through a mobile app, rent out your spare room using an online platform or repair computers for local businesses on demand. Participation in this emerging method of distributing services can be a  Continue Reading »

You may have expertise in marketing, production and sales, like other business executives. Yet the short and long-term profitability of your Maine small business relies on strategic planning that looks at marketing, production and sales from several different angles. Even successful companies rely on outside business expertise to help with these issues and more. It’s best  Continue Reading »

Are you a passive investor who isn’t directly involved in a project’s day-to-day operations, or do you materially participate in a business or rental activity in Maine? To help individuals classify income, gains and losses from activities as passive or nonpassive, the IRS has prescribed seven tests. The passive activity loss (PAL) rules have been around  Continue Reading »