Tax

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” – Albert Einstein

We know what you’re thinking – it does not take an Einstein to know that under the black line federal, state, local, and international tax laws are increasingly complex. We know what you’re also probably thinking – tax?  ZZZzzzzzz.  Well don’t doze off; this is important! Almost every business activity or transaction has tax implications. Need more inspiration?  Consider this quote from jurist and politician George Sutherland: “The legal right of a taxpayer to decrease the amount of what otherwise would be his taxes, or altogether to avoid them, by means which the law permits, cannot be doubted.”  Yes, it is OK for you to want to pay only those taxes that the law requires. You will have met your obligations as a citizen and can use some of your savings to support your favorite charities. It’s a win-win and who doesn’t like a win-win?

Fortunately, the lawyers in our Tax Practice Group have extensive experience analyzing and structuring business transactions to achieve tax-efficiency. Our lawyers are recognized for creative (but perfectly legal, thank you very much) tax planning, especially when it comes to identifying solutions for knotty problems in complicated business transactions. They stay current on the most recent developments in the tax law and tax planning strategies and while they are happy to talk “Code and regulations” with accountants and other tax professionals, they pride themselves on straight talk and simplifying the complex as much as possible for clients.

Our tax lawyers regularly provide counsel on the tax aspects of business formations, operations, liquidations, and other transaction matters, including:

• Business formations (including choice of entity) and succession planning
• Partnership and joint venture formations and transactions
• Mergers and acquisitions (including reorganizations, recapitalizations, divestitures, and liquidations)
• Private equity, venture capital, and hedge fund formations and transactions
• Private debt and equity offerings
• Real estate transactions (including acquisition, disposition and leasing transactions, syndications, tax-deferred exchanges, tenancy-in-common arrangements, and REIT and UPREIT transactions)
• Executive compensation
• Intellectual property transactions
• General business and commercial transactions

Notably, our tax attorneys have accounting backgrounds or advanced degrees in taxation, teach in law school tax programs, speak and write for nationally recognized seminar companies and tax publications, and participate in projects to provide comments on tax regulations to the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service. And if that doesn’t pique your interest, our tax attorneys also are active in tax discussion groups and associations, and include a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and former Chairs of the Chicago Bar Association’s Federal Taxation Committee and Partnership and Passthrough Entities Subcommittee.  When it comes to tax attorneys, we have an abundance of riches for which proper structuring can minimize or defer any gain (that’s a tax joke).  Aren’t you glad you read to the end?