Tax
Services
Containing costs and providing attractive employee
benefit packages are challenges facing every company today. Our employee
benefits specialists work with clients to design programs that are right
for you ... and your employees. This includes an evaluation of health
insurance options that may be cost-effective for your company, Cafeteria
Plans that can provide significant tax savings both for employers and
employees, 401K programs and more. We perform benefit plan audits not
only to satisfy annual reporting requirements, but can also perform
mock-DOL audits to help you detect operational issues that could affect
the qualification of your plans.
The job market in Northeastern Ohio has been tight for
the last several years. The best recruiting that a Company can do is to
retain the talented people that they currently have. More and more,
valuable people are "jumping ship" when another company offers
them a bit more money, more flexible hours, better benefits, etc.
We can assist you with the proper design of incentive
compensation plans that provide both short-term and long-term incentives
to your management group. These plans will encourage management to
stay with you as well as to excel at their jobs. The goal in designing
these types of plans is generally not just staff retention but also to
keep the management team focused on the Company's goals and objectives
and to reward them for successes. Bober, Markey,
Fedorovich & Company has assisted various clients
in complex areas such as the design of phantom stock plans, stock
appreciation rights, stock option plans, deferred compensation plans, etc.
We can work with you on some of the more simple
incentive bonus designs, which are often based on corporate operating
profit, divisional or subsidiary operating performance, EVA, etc…
Also, we can work with you on incentive compensation plans for all of
your staff, not just for your management team.
Succession planning in closely held businesses is
always tricky. A popular tool that has been used by many of our clients
is setting up an ESOP to assist in the transition of your Company’s
ownership to the employees of the Company. There can be significant tax
benefits to the selling ownership group in transitioning to an
ESOP. However, proper planning is critical in order to retain those
benefits. The buying ownership group (the employees), also have critical
planning needs. Not only can we assist them in obtaining financing
for their acquisition but we can also help in dealing with the eventual
repurchase obligations that the Company will have in buying back stock
from departing employees. We work with both the selling group and the
buying group to make sure that all of the issues are properly identified
and dealt with in order to ensure that the transaction is successful for
both parties.
This Web Site is
designed to present accurate and authoritative general information on a
broad range of tax and accounting issues. For personalized advice on
matters effecting your rights under the law and/or the drafting of legal
documents, you should consult a licensed attorney.
Bober, Markey, Fedorovich & Company maintains extensive expertise in
working with business owners, high net worth individuals, and corporate
executives in providing proactive tax planning services along with tax
compliance related services. Our proactive approach is predicated on the
premise of no surprises. We work with our clients throughout the year in
monitoring their situation, evaluating of the tax consequences of
specific transactions, assisting in structuring transactions in order to
obtain the most advantageous tax treatment, and providing analysis of
options available. We also focus on preservation of family wealth, and
in this regard maintain extensive expertise in the estate planning and
retirement planning areas.
We do not sell any products, so we
believe we can maintain our independence as it relates to serving as a
trusted advisor. In this regard, we believe in a team approach, whereby we work closely with our clients as well as their legal counsel
and financial advisors in providing proactive advice.
We also maintain extensive expertise in
the area of stock options, by working with corporate executives from a
variety of companies in analyzing the tax consequences of such financial
instruments and designing a program so as to maximize the after-tax
proceeds realized from such instruments.
Within our practice we maintain dedicated
experts in a wide variety of areas, including gift & estate
planning, business valuations, family limited partnerships, employee
benefits, international taxation, multi-state tax planning, IRS audit
representation, trusts, stock option structure and planning, charitable
planning, and business succession planning.
Tailored Services
In working with high net worth
individuals, our typical range of services would include the following:
- Year-end tax planning and related tax
projection designed to identify opportunities to minimize current
year taxes and also to assist the taxpayer in understanding the
projected taxes which will be due upon filing of their tax returns.
- Providing taxpayer with a year-end tax
planner which serves as a checklist in compiling information related
to year-end taxes.
- Tax compliance work as it relates to
preparation of federal, state, and local returns.
- Analysis of subsequent year’s
"safe harbors" for payment of interim taxes and
determination as to whether to remit safe-harbor amounts or the
required percentage of current year estimated taxes.
- Assistance in determining the level of
payroll withholdings to remit from payroll, including both base
salary as well as bonus amounts.
- Quarterly tax planning designed to
assess amounts required to avoid year-end penalties.
- Transactional planning on an as
required basis as it relates to either stock, stock options, or
other transactions which take place throughout the year with
underlying tax consequences.
There are
many companies in our region that do business internationally, however,
many of the issues related to doing business outside the borders of the
United States can often escape scrutiny.
At Bober, Markey, Fedorovich & Company, we can assist with you many of these issues. We have extensive
experience with a wide range of matters including transfer pricing,
foreign employee compensation planning, ex-patriot tax planning,
international asset transfers, the extraterritorial income exclusions,
selecting the form of business for foreign operations, and foreign tax
systems.
We have the additional resources necessary to
accommodate our clients needs regarding their international operations.
Occasionally, taxpayers are notified by federal, state or local
taxing authorities regarding various tax filings or nexus
questionnaires. Whether the taxpayer is contacted regarding a return
already filed or a state or local municipality is conducting a nexus
review, expert tax advice is essential.
From time to time taxpayers are audited by taxing authorities.
Whether you need assistance with a notification for additional
information or more complex matters such as coordination with legal
counsel or consultation through the appellate process, BMFC
has the experience you need to coordinate and resolve your audit in the
most beneficial way possible.
As the economy continues to tighten, state and local governments have
become increasingly aggressive in an effort to increase revenue. Many
times manufacturers have a hard time balancing increased sales and/or
operating activities in other states without creating nexus with that
state. Since state nexus that would require filing of tax returns is a
complex area that varies from state to state, taxpayers occasionally
discover that they have exposure for tax filings and potentially tax in
prior years. In order to minimize tax exposure for prior years, the
taxpayer may have need of a voluntary disclosure with a prearranged
settlement of prior years.
In today’s competitive
environment, most companies do business at some level or another in
multiple states, however, they are often unaware of the potential nexus
issues that may exist by doing business outside of their home state. By
having nexus in a particular state, your company will be subject to that
state’s tax laws and filing requirements.
Additionally, with today’s economy as it is, more and
more states are looking for ways to increase their revenues. One such
way states are increasing their revenue stream is by becoming more
aggressive in their interpretation as to what creates nexus in their
state.
At Bober, Markey, Fedorovich & Company, we can assist you in
determining what potential nexus issues may exist for your company as
well as help you to minimize your state tax liabilities while maximizing
your company’s profits.
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