While it is true that taxes are one of life’s certainties, the amount of tax that you, your business, and your estate must pay can very much depend on how you structure your affairs.

When it comes to taxes, tax planning is everything. Tax planning involves more than just minimizing the taxes that you and your business pay on an ongoing basis.

Let the professionals at Barrons show you how proper tax planning can be designed to accomplish many goals:

• Taking full advantage of any tax exemptions available to you and other shareholders when you sell your business.
• Deferring tax liabilities from one generation to the next.
• Reducing any probate fees and related expenses that may be charged to your estate upon death.
• Structuring your estate to minimize the tax liability and ensuring the funds are available to cover this liability

Questions:

• Have you considered the use of a family trust in the context of an estate freeze or for income splitting purposes?
• Have you considered the tax implications of giving shares to your children?
• For each buy-out event in the buy-sell portion of your shareholder’s agreement
• Will a direct sale or share redemption be used?
• Are capital gains or dividends desired?
• Does your executor have the latitude to do any of the following:
• File separate returns allowed at death for specific types of income?
• Invest in financial products other than those prescribed by law?
• Execute post-mortem tax planning such as estate freezes?
• Create spousal or other trusts to hold estate assets.
• Has a spousal trust, where appropriate, been considered to defer tax at death?
• Have you considered strategies to reduce or eliminate U.S. estate taxes?