John:
Now am I am not an accountant, but I do own and run a small corporation (much smaller than yours) and I have some questions.
1) Are we talking city, county, state, or Federal income taxes or Estate taxes?If income then the following questions/comments apply:
2) Twice taxed for cash on hand? My taxes are based on the income I earn, not my assets. I was a C corp for the first 10 years then switched to an S corp. As a C corp, my retained earnings were taxed again if they were distributed to me personally. The C corp had the advantage of a lower tax rate at the initial income tiers. It did allow me to build up a working capital fund. Then I switched to an S corp and the earnings simply pass through.3) Equipment and Inventory: For the most part, we stuff everything into the Section 179 deduction, and the rest goes into the depreciation schedule which distributes the deduction over several years. But it is still deductible. And the balance sheet shows the current asset value. When fully deducted, it is zero.
If Estate then the following applies:
I know that the 3.5 million dollar exemption should cover most of what I would reasonably expect to pass along to my heirs. Anything after that is still only a percentage. If you need to pick a year, the 2010 looks like the year to die. If I had a partner, then I suspect I would have an Buy/Sell agreement and some insurance in place to make a smooth transition. That takes care of the early accidental death part, but not advanced geezerhood. like working until I die.
But I do not have a partner. For me, the business dies when I die. It should. It was a manifestation of my ability and desire. If anyone sees value in it, then they should step up to the plate and negotiate to buy it from the estate and grow it from there. They would have a much better start at it than I did.
People can easily be paired into two groups based on the answer to "How Much is Enough?" Some can name a figure and be comfortable with that. Most people, I suspect, would reply, "There is never enough".
The issue with Taxes is that is costs money to run a country. We are the source of those funds. Politically, we push unpleasantness into the future rather than deal with it. We want all the benefits but are unwilling to pay the necessary costs. But we are inconsistent as a people. We complain about taxes and spending but piss away endless money on fraudulent wars. Money and the power it confers dictates the direction the country takes, not the taxpayers footing the bill. Until that changes, all the we get out the exchange is a feeling of being fleeced.
Blakely
-- Blakely LaCroix Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA