Our Tax Planning Practice Group provides our clients with creative tax planning strategies that minimize, defer and eliminate Federal, State and local taxes. In a highly complex and evolving tax environment, businesses and individuals rely on timely, accurate and practical tax counsel. We remain constantly engaged in the fluid, evolving world of taxation to consistently counsel clients with up-to-date, effective and understandable tax solutions. Our deep knowledge of taxation enables us to advise clients, CPAs and other trusted advisors on a diverse array of Federal, State and local tax planning and transactional issues.
Our Tax Planning Services Include:
1031 like-kind exchanges are a cornerstone of our tax practice. With proper planning, gain on the sale of most investment assets such as real estate, artwork, precious metals and even cars and airplanes can be deferred through a 1031 exchange. 1031 exchanges are one of the most dynamic areas of our tax practice and one fraught with technical nuance. Due to strict rules on timing and structure, the key to a successful 1031 exchange is to seek tax counsel early, before an inadvertent misstep precludes this tax saving opportunity.
We regularly work with local and regional investors and developers as well as family offices to structure tax efficient residential and commercial developments, including capital gains planning, syndicated and tax credit financed transactions. Our tax attorneys have experience in Federal, State and local issues affecting real estate. From structuring complex joint ventures with technical partnership tax issues and minimizing tax liabilities on the sale of real estate assets to minimizing overall real estate tax obligations, we provide comprehensive tax counsel for client projects.
Corporate and partnership tax planning is at the core of our tax practice. Our tax attorneys work with C-corporations, S-corporations and partnerships on a daily basis to provide tax-efficient planning solutions, as well as practical transactional counsel. Our tax attorneys work closely with our Business and Corporate Practice Group to provide streamlined legal service solutions for our clients’ business needs. Whether structuring business formations, investments, mergers or acquisitions, our tax attorneys leverage their knowledge and experience in tax planning to guide our clients through all stages of the lifecycle of their business.
Whether a client intends to transition ownership of a closely held business to the next generation or to transition ownership to key employees, we understand the tax implications that complicate this capstone of business events. We recognize the unique challenges that these business owners face and we work closely with our clients on managing the transition of a business to future generations while balancing legal, business, tax and family concerns.
We work with real estate developers and investors through difficult financial times and understand the unique tax implications of real estate workouts and debt restructuring. Failure to conduct proper tax planning in a real estate workout or debt restructuring can result in a significant tax bill for a business ill-equipped to handle a new liability. We assist clients in structuring the most tax-efficient workout or debt restructuring possible.
Whether we are representing developers or investors, our tax attorneys have experience and expertise on both sides of the tax credit finance table. Our tax attorneys regularly represent clients in tax credit finance transactions involving Federal and State historic tax credits, new markets tax credits, low income housing tax credits and renewable energy credits. Whether a project involves the rehabilitation of a historic building or the construction of a solar farm, we have the knowledge and experience to navigate through all stages of a project.
With offices in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, our tax attorneys work daily with taxing authorities throughout the New England states. We regularly represent clients through State tax audits for income, sales, use and other tax types. Our tax planning attorneys work closely with our Tax Resolution Practice Group during the audit process to ensure that clients receive integrated representation. We also work with clients to address State and local planning considerations including sales tax compliance issues, appealing tax assessments or advising clients through the re-domestication process to minimize estate and income taxes.
We assist our clients with the sale of their businesses and strive to ensure that these transactions are conducted in a tax-efficient manner. Whether a sale is structured as an asset sale, stock sale or a merger, our knowledge and experience enables us to guide and advise clients to best transition their businesses to new ownership. Our tax attorneys work closely with our Business and Corporate Practice Group to negotiate and document merger and acquisition transactions.
Our tax attorneys create estate plans that ensure client wealth is passed on to the next generation with the least tax exposure possible. We work with clients to provide comprehensive estate planning solutions aimed at minimizing taxes, preserving wealth and protecting assets. Our attorneys regularly work with other practice groups in the firm to ensure our clients receive streamlined, integrated legal representation as estate planning often effects other aspects of clients’ interests including small businesses and closely-held investments.
Our tax attorneys have experience spanning the exempt organization area ranging from public charities, non-profits and private foundations to pension funds. We regularly work with clients to establish charities and seek tax exemption. We also work with clients to structure charitable planning; whether motivated by pure generosity or with an eye towards balancing personal tax benefits with improving public benefit. Where appropriate, our charitable planning attorneys work closely with attorneys in other practice groups to provide comprehensive planning solutions to clients to minimize current taxes and provide crucial funding to charitable endeavors.
We regularly work with employers and executives to negotiate and structure complicated, yet tax efficient compensation packages including stock options and other equity based compensation. The experience of our tax attorneys in structuring executive compensation plans is integrated with our Business and Corporate Practice Group to provide comprehensive representation to employers and executives to negotiate and memorialize compensation terms as well as broader employment and contracting agreements.
We guide and advise clients in the structure and operation of self-directed IRAs and other tax advantaged retirement accounts. We also offer ongoing on-call advisory services to guide clients through issues that arise through the maintenance of alternative investments and accounts.
Our tax attorneys work with our network of outside insurance professionals to monetize risk into tax-deferred profits. For small businesses, captive insurance companies can pick up where tax-deferred retirement plans leave off. By forming an independent insurance company as a sister company to a small business, tax-deductible premium dollars can be paid to a related insurance company and then invested on a near total tax-deferred basis.