Dramatic tax changes may be coming. Here’s how to prepare.
It's said that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. But there doesn't seem very much that's certain about taxes these days.
The future of the tax code is an open question at the moment; various tax bills are floating around Capitol Hill and proposals are emanating from the White House to raise the capital gains rate, eliminate stepped-up basis and other ideas.
This has business owners understandably nervous. I don't know which, if any, of these proposals will become law. No no one else does, either.
How then to react?
Some business owners are scrambling for off-the-wall solutions. Should I open a Swiss bank account? Establish an offshore entity as a tax haven? Pursue some exotic accounting strategy like the double Dutch Irish scheme favored by big companies like Google and Microsoft?
My advice might be counterintuitive, but it's sound, particularly in the face of all this uncertainty: Stay the course.
Businesses can spend a lot of time and money and worry trying to outsmart the Feds, planning for contingencies that might never happen. But the reality is that smart, elemental accounting strategies can minimize a business' tax liability and broadly shield them from the impact of whatever changes do end up on the president's desk and signed into law.
Instead of pressing the panic button, now is a good time for CFOs to take a hard look inside their organization and make sure tax strategies are aligned with business plans. They should be working with their teams to assure that their companies appropriately structured as the right type of business entities from a tax perspective.
Business owners and CFOs alike should review their business relationships from top to bottom – vendors, suppliers, subcontractors and clients. Are your contracts in order and thoroughly documented? Are you prepared to deal with disruptions to your supply chain? Do you have the right bank account for your excess cash?
Some of this basic blocking and tackling can future-proof a business against changes in the tax code that are both beyond your control and, despite being branded as "permanent," subject to revision or repeal when a new administration or majority in Congress takes office.
Bruce Willey, JD, CPA, is the founder of American Tax & Business Planning, LLC. He has been advising individuals and business owners in accounting, tax and wealth-building strategies for more than three decades. To speak with him or another ATBP expert, please reach out here or at https://www.americantbp.com/contact-american-tax-and-business-planning.