If your exit strategy is to one day pass your business down to one or more of your family members, which we call following a “Passer” exit strategy, then the new tax laws effective January 1, 2018, present a radically changed landscape for your exit planning.1 Business owners who are Passers and intend to keep the business within the family need to know what the new laws include, and how to best achieve your exit goals now that the rules have changed.
For most business owners, the number one goal to achieve at exit is to reach financial freedom. (We define financial freedom as reaching a level of wealth where work is a choice, not a necessity.) However, business owners face a number of costs in their pursuit of financial freedom, the greatest of which usually is income taxes. With the US Congress and President Trump enacting into law on December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), business owners seeking to achieve financial freedom at exit now have a vastly changed tax landscape to work within. And while the headlines all seem to indicate that TCJA reduces income taxes across the board, the truth is more complicated...
SPECIAL ALERT:
On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA), the biggest reform to US taxes in several decades. The tax changes impact every corner of the economy, and every American taxpayer and business. Over the next few weeks, we will summarize important information about the major provisions of the new tax laws, and how they may impact business owners and their preparations for exit. The highlight of our analysis will be an in-depth webinar about exit planning under the new tax laws, to be broadcast on Tuesday, January 23rd at 2:00 pm ET.
As 2017 is wrapping up, 2018 soon begins. Like most business owners, it's time for each of us to look forward to the challenges and opportunities the new year brings.
The image of the business owner alone at the top is a myth for most businesses.
About 70 percent of the six million privately held businesses in the United States have more than one owner, and the average number of owners per business is nearly three.*
This means there are approximately twelve million US business co-owners.
