Harsh Ruling Due to Faulty Value Allocation in a Merger
Cavallaro v. Commissioner, 2014 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 189 (Sept. 17, 2014) So much for professional help! Hardworking taxpayers who built a successful business relied on estate planning professionals to effect a transfer of wealth that would minimize their tax liability....
Successful Strategies Create Successful Mergers
Small business owners want their companies to grow. An efficient way to do this may be to acquire and merge with another company. But it’s not a sure thing, and usually when it doesn’t pay off, it’s because of management issues, and not market conditions. Read these...
Project Cash Flow to Protect Company’s Future
Small business owners often prepare a projected cash flow statement. These set a prediction of the company's available funds over a specified period of time. The primary goal is to determine whether the business will have enough cash to pay the bills. These statements...
Federal Guidelines for Hiring Employees Who May Be Contagious
Many Maine-based small business owners are involved in the food service industry. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishes a Food Code for restaurants to protect the public from diseases that are transmissible through food. Owners of food service...
How to Get More from Your Business Valuation
Usually when a business is professionally valued, owners and managers immediately check out the bottom line to see what the company is worth. They may pay little attention to the reasons behind the final number, especially if the report was prepared for internal...
Be Cautious When Accepting Checks
It may seem like checks are less common for Maine-based small businesses than they used to be. However, check fraud continues to cost individuals and small businesses billions of dollars every year. Even though forged checks have always been a problem, inexpensive...
Court Deems Treatment of S Corp Undistributed Income ‘Problematic’
Diez v. Davey, 2014 Mich. App. LEXIS 2041 (Oct. 23, 2014) How does the law treat undistributed income from a parent’s S corporation for purposes of determining child support? This was the central question in a recent child custody case. The lower court relied on...
When Does an Employee Qualify as Exempt From Withholding?
Often a Maine-based small business will be asked by staff members if they can be exempt from federal withholding. There are a few different things to keep in mind when considering this question: If the staff member had no liability the previous year, i.e., they...
Goodwill: Personal or Business, and Why Does It Matter?
Goodwill is one of the most valued assets for many small businesses. It exists among many different types of companies, from professional service firms to retailers to manufacturers. To place a value on this important piece of a business’ puzzle requires a valuation...
New Twist to Debate on Discounts in Fair Value Proceedings
Much of the valuation community’s attention in the past few months has focused on New York fair value proceedings. Now the Utah Supreme Court adds more fodder to the discussion with a decision that rejects the lower court’s reliance on precedent that prohibits...