Asset Growth Associates Tax & Retirement Advisors

As a business owner, you realize taxes are important to understand, but difficult to grasp.

Of course, you've seen the recent headlines regarding the tax planning done by companies like General Electric.

General Electric's tax department literally invented the tax arbitrage strategies that most major corporations use today and consider commonplace. Perhaps most noteworthy at the moment is GE's use of out of country subsidiaries and branches to defer taxation indefinitely. Well... at least until Congress gives in to demands for another "one time" repatriation allowance.

"Its extraordinary success is based on an aggressive strategy that mixes fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate its profits offshore. G.E.’s giant tax department, led by a bow-tied former Treasury official named John Samuels, is often referred to as the world’s best tax law firm. Indeed, the company’s slogan “Imagination at Work” fits this department well. The team includes former officials not just from the Treasury, but also from the I.R.S. and virtually all the tax-writing committees in Congress."

- Source: NY Times 03/25/2011

G.E. is not alone, Exxon/Mobil, Citigroup and Boeing also didn't pay any taxes for 2010. In fact many of them received tax credits to the tune of billions of dollars. This is in spite of having profitable domestic operations.

So, as a small business owner, your interest should be on legal business tax savings strategies which usually fall into one (or more) of four types:

Creation - Something as simple as taking advantage of tax subsidies;
Conversion - It might mean changing operations so more tax-favored income or assets are produced;
Shifting - Involving techniques to move amounts being taxed to more favorable tax-accounting periods; and/or
Splitting - The spreading of the tax base among two or more taxpayers to take advantage of differing tax rates.

The questions you must ask yourself as a small business owner:

As a small business owner, am I employing tax strategies like large businesses do?
As a small business owner, am I taking advantage of every tax deduction my business is legally entitled to?
As a small business owner, am I allowing the proper role for tax planning to significantly impact business profitability?

Remember: Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Let us develop a powerful Strategic Business Tax Plan that drives your business to the level of success you deserve. Request a Free Consultation.

Strategic Business Tax Planning