Congress has just passed bankruptcy reform that will begin affecting all bankruptcies filed late this year. Contained within this massive legislation are provisions that will affect tax planning in a bankruptcy proceeding. None of these changes will be in the Internal Revenue Code, so tax practitioners will need to be aware of them and make sure the tax side is considered when a client files for bankruptcy. Topping the list of tax-related provisions is the elimination of “superdischarge” that allows some taxpayers to avoid paying taxes when filing under Chapter 13 bankruptcy protections.
The goal of tax planning is to structure financial transactions so as to maximize the taxpayer’s after-tax return. In his chapter on tax planning from Small Business Taxation: Planning and Practice, author Gary L. Maydew takes a practical look at the tax planning strategies that small businesses should consider. It provides a complete, comprehensive roadmap that practitioners can use as a diagnostic planning checklist with clients to clarify tax planning objectives and optimize results. Maydew describes the nine primary tax planning routes for small businesses — including specific action steps or techniques along with numerous examples to illustrate the specific tactics and the results those tactics can achieve.
Business valuation questions come up in a wide variety of contexts involving both tax and non-tax issues, and they involve as much art as science in many instances — which is where troubles often begin for appraisers who get called into a courtroom or deposition room to defend their work, notes George B. Hawkins, a seasoned business appraiser who has been involved in hundreds of cases. Opposing attorneys bring a wide variety of attacks to bear on an appraiser as they seek to pick holes in their valuations.
In a new article, Hawkins, the author of the CCH Business Valuation Guide, warns appraisers that they must be ready to defend their work under the toughest scrutiny. Hawkins provides a real-world discussion of the attack questioning methods to expect and urges appraisers to take a harsh, critical approach to their work because it is almost a certainty that someone else will.
While stock or debt losses are commonplace, the tax ramifications are not always clear. In many cases, it is ambiguous as to how to even classify the loss as capital or ordinary because two inconsistent policies rule this area. E&Y partners, Jerred G. Blanchard Jr. and David C. Garlock take a close look in the March issue of TAXES Magazine, which features coverage of the Annual University of Chicago Tax Conference. The article addresses three critical questions: • What events or circumstances permit or require a corporate creditor or stockholder to recognize a loss relating to stock or debt? • What determines whether a holder’s loss on a debt or stock investment is ordinary, capital or nondeductible? • What special rules apply when the corporate debtor and creditor are related?
Insightful resource on the important issues and opportunities at the intersection of tax law and bankruptcy law to help practitioners resolve client tax liabilities.
Reliable starting point for competitive performance analysis — gives you accurate performance data for 50 operating and financial factors in 192 industries, so you can benchmark a company's value and performance.
