Tax Law
Our attorneys understand the importance of Tax Planning.
Taxation Law Services
Do you find that tax laws are becoming more and more complex? You’re not alone. Many people in Holland and around the state of Michigan share your concern. With government at all levels in greater need of funding, methods of taxation are becoming more “creative” with each passing day.
This is one reason why you need a competent and experienced tax attorney at your side. Here at Cunningham Dalman, we provide you with the support and expertise to protect your interests, and to make sure that your transactions have been planned with tax consequences in mind.
Voted Best Law Firm in Holland, Michigan
Attorney Articles
Celebrating Our Recognition in the 15th Edition of Best Law Firms®
We’re thrilled to share some exciting news—our firm has been recognized in the 15th edition of Best Law Firms®! This
Celebrating Our Firm’s Recognition in Grand Rapids Top Lawyers 2024!
We’re proud to announce that several of our attorneys—Tom Hillegonds, Rob Howard, Haans Mulder, Susan Vroegop, Ron Vander Veen, Brad
Medicaid Planning Seminar – Nov 2024
Cunningham Dalman will be hosting a Medicaid Planning Seminar on Thursday, November 21, 2024, 5:30-7:00 pm. We’ll cover important topics
Keeping Clients Informed on Tax Laws!
Tax planning. Let our team help keep you informed.
Taxation Law Services
Business Formation and Reorganization
Our attorneys provide insight for entrepreneurs as they choose legal structures or reorganizations of their business.
business tax strategiesExecutive / Partner Compensation
Our team fully understands executive / partner compensation plans which is a complex area of law today. We advise on tax issues related to stock options, restricted stock, non-qualified deferred compensation, and more.
CompensationStock Purchases and Sales
Our attorneys assist businesses with structuring stock purchase deals and sales. We can help you understand the advantages and disadvantages for both buyers and sellers.
Stock TransactionsBusiness Dissolutions
Businesses must go through a formal closure process called a "business dissolution" when "closing" or "going out of business". We can assist with the preparation, articles of dissolution, or what is sometimes called a "certificate of dissolution".
DissolutionsIncome Tax Planning & Compliance
Our taxation attorneys assist individuals and businesses with tax planning for corporations, partnerships, estates, and trusts for domestic entities.
Income TaxEstate Tax Planning
Cunningham Dalman is a local leader in estate & inheritance planning. We look at each component of your estate to ensure tax implications today, tomorrow, and for the next generation are fully understood. Family legacies take years to build and require careful planning to secure long-term.
Tax PlanningProtecting Your Legacy!
Looking out for you. Let us guide you through the tax planning process!
importance of selecting the proper legal structure for your business
Business Formation and Reorganization
Business owners and entrepreneurs all have to decide upon a business structure and choosing one which benefits them today and into the future. Tax planning, liability & risk, and your ability to borrow money are impacted by your decision at this stage. Or maybe you’ve been in business for a number of years and growth is necessitating the need to change your business structure. Our Tax Attorneys at Cunningham Dalman in Holland, Michigan are here to assist you in deciding on “What business structure makes the most sense?” There’s never one option and you can leverage our years of experience as we walk through the advantages of each one.
For information on business start-ups, acquisitions, operations, intellectual property, or licensing, please visit our “Business & Corporate Law page for more details.
Popular Business Entity Formations:
- Sole Proprietorship - This is the most common form of business structure. This provides lower start-up costs and tax preparation is much easier. The major downside is the owner is personally liable for all financial obligations and risks of the business.
- Partnership - A simple partnership involves two or more individuals who decide to share in the profits or losses of a business venture. Taxes on profits or losses are passed through to the partner's individual income tax returns. The disadvantage is each partner is personally liable for the business.
- Corporation - A corporation is a legal entity which is created to carry out business. The key advantage is a corporation avoids personal liability. This structure requires additional paperwork, requires more start-up, and can pay more in taxes.
- Limited Liability Company - This structure benefits from allowing owners to benefit from both partnership and corporation structures while limiting taxation and shielding you from personal liability.
assisting clients with executive compensation plans
Executive / Partnership Compensation
Our taxation attorneys have many years of experience in assisting firms in developing and periodically reviewing their executive compensation plans. In recent years, reforms by the Internal Revenue Service and heightened scrutiny within the investment community have put executive compensation plans on notice. Our attorneys can assist you in complying with applicable regulations today and any future changes to the laws.
Common Areas We Assist:
- Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Arrangements
- Executive Compensation Plan Audits
- Executive Departures / Severance & Restrictive Covenants
- Dedicated Employment Law Practice Area
expertise in helping you understand local & state government
Stock Purchases and Sales
Business purchases generally are done via an “asset purchase” or the “purchase and sale of common stock”. Our attorneys can assist you in understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each one. We assist parties in weighing the pros and cons in terms of price, complexity, tax implications, and timeframes.
Advantages for Buyers & Sellers:
- Simplicity - The major advantage of a "Stock Purchase" is these are relatively straight forward and you are purchasing or selling the entire business. Existing contracts and customer agreements go along with the sale.
Disadvantages & Other Considerations:
- Tax Benefits - Buyers will forego "step up" basis options on assets and possibly lose tax deductions for depreciation and/or amortization. We can assist buyers and sellers through this process and provide you a thorough evaluation on any deal.
- Liabilities - Buyers will most times acquire and assume ownership of unwanted assets and liabilities.
- Shareholder Challenges - Minority shareholders, especially in privately owned companies, can refuse to sell and likely delay a transaction. This is another reason to ensure you have "buy-sell" or "forced buyouts" language in your shareholder agreements.
legally closing down your business
Business Dissolutions Attorney
Businesses who formed a corporation or an LLC must formally close their business with state authorities. An LLC should have an operating agreement in place and a key element should be a dissolution section. In Michigan, any LLC needs to file a “Certificate of Dissolution” with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Our attorneys can assist corporations and LLCs with taking the proper steps is legally shutting down a business.
Common Areas We Assist:
- Articles of Dissolution - Business owners need to file these with their Secretary of State disclosing their intention to cease operations. Failure to file these can leave owners open to taxes, state penalties, and other fees. This can be especially important if the company is not in good standing with the state.
- Voluntary and Involuntary Dissolutions - Businesses may face the need to dissolve based on either voluntary or involuntary reasons. Involuntary usually means the business has fallen into bad standing with the State of Michigan for not filing annual reports, a bounced check, not paying state taxes, or other reasons.
- Dissolution Preparations - Based on the entity, LLCs and Corporations will be required to hold meetings, takes votes, and record minutes before they can formally shut their doors. Our attorneys will assist to ensure you follow the proper steps to ensure your business entity is properly shutdown.
understanding business structures, tax planning, & more
Income Tax Planning
Our tax lawyers at Cunningham Dalman in Holland, Michigan, routinely provide tax consultations for individual and businesses. We provide assistance with tax planning, tax opinions, tax disputes, and estate planning.
Common Areas We Assist:
- Tax Planning - In broad terms, tax planning involves implementing various strategies to minimize taxes for a given period of time. General areas of tax planning are accounting methods, inventory valuations, equipment purchases, wages paid to family members, and benefit plans. Tax planning strategies are specific to business entity formations.
- Tax Settlements - We assist individuals and firms needing assistance in negotiating or settling tax issues.
- Tax Opinions - Our tax opinions can provide individuals and business owners with guidance on how to structure certain business transactions to their advantage.
tax implications for future generations
Estate Tax Planning
Cunningham Dalman assists clients in developing estate plans and ensuring their family legacies are protected. There are a number of reasons why everyone should have an estate plan and one of the primary ones is “reducing estate taxes”. Our attorneys will explore all possibilities with you including gifts to family, irrevocable life insurance trusts, charitable donations, family business succession planning, education 529s, planned giving, and more.
Common Discussion Items:
- Secure Act of 2020 - This act / legislation is aimed at improving retirement security for the American public. This repealed the maximum age for IRA contributions, changed the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age to 72, offers more options for lifetime income strategies, changed inherited IRA distribution time frame to 10 years, and more.
- Roth Conversions - The Secure Act (see above) may require everyone to rethink their IRA investing strategies and look at converting portions of traditional IRA (pre-taxed) into Roth IRAs.
- Planned Giving - Many individuals choose to include money to charity in their will or trust. Read more about this in our planned giving brochure.
- Education 529s - Education 529 plans can be an excellent way for grandparents to allocate money for education. The value of these plans is removed from your taxable estate and yet you can retain control over the account.
- Trusts - Trust are an excellent choice for estate planning and help you avoid taxes and probate court process. Please read all about trusts on our "Estate Planning, Wills & Trusts" page.
Taxation Law FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
This is a federal trial court set up by Congress to have jurisdiction over tax cases & disputes. These cases are heard by special judges and aren’t decided by juries. In addition, these courts are not connected to the Internal Revenue Service.
Business owners generally need to account for five basic types of taxes:
- Income Taxes
- Estimated Quarterly Taxes
- Self-Employment Taxes
- Employment Taxes
- Sales Taxes
According to the Small Business Administration, there are over 31 million. Approximately 24.8 million of these have no employees and 5.3 million employ 1 to 19 employees.
