Tax Planning for Business Owners

At Ainer & Fraker, L.L.P., we believe that every dollar that goes to the Government is a dollar that could be used to grow, maintain, or expand your business. Through legal research and sophisticated analysis, we will custom design a tax reduction program to help ensure the maximum number of dollars remain where they will do the most good - in your pocket.

Entity Selection

One of the most important tax-related decisions that a company can make comes at the very outset of its life. Choosing the proper entity, whether Corporation, Partnership, or Limited Liability Company, can have a tremendous impact on the tax consequences to your business.

If you are starting a new business, or incorporating an existing business, we invite you to schedule a consultation Tax Opinion Letters

As for individuals, many of the sophisticated tax minimization techniques are extremely controversial with the Internal Revenue Service. Accordingly, it makes good business sense to examine your company's tax situation, and any recommended tax reduction strategies, in light of recent IRS determinations, case law, and applicable statutes. We issue comprehensive tax opinion letters on a wide variety of estate planning, tax minimization, and philanthropic strategies.

Sale of Business

For the average small business owner, selling their business can bring a mix of personal, professional and emotional considerations. And this is before getting to the tax bite that often accompanies the sale of one's business.

In addition to providing tax guidance on actual sales, we may also help you consider advanced techniques for selling your business while minimizing tax liabilities, such as selling your business to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

Business Succession Planning

All of the most common business succession techniques, including buy-sell agreements, key-man indemnification programs, and other "top hat" executive compensation packages involve complex tax issues. Retaining the services of qualified tax counsel can help ensure a successful transfer of a company from one generation of business owners to the next.

Mergers, Acquisitions & Joint Ventures

One of the most common ways for a company to increase its bottom line is to take advantage of synergistic relationships with other companies, through merger, outright acquisition, or joint ventures.

Needless to say, these transactions can be highly volatile - it is extremely difficult to mix two or more companies who may have independent histories.

At the core of these transactions, however, are sophisticated tax issues that must be addressed in order to minimize the cost of the transaction. We will conduct rigorous analysis of the tax ramifications of all possible avenues of action.

Recent pronouncements from the IRS may even allow some companies to conduct tax free mergers, if legitimate Employee Stock Ownership Plans are involved.