Featured Practice

OUR TAX FOCUS

 

Our tax attorneys at Wilke Fleury support all areas of the firm’s practice so that tax planning is seamlessly integrated into every transaction. The breadth of knowledge and experience of our tax practitioners allows us to provide our clients with a wide range of strategic tax planning, tailored to their specific needs. 

 

HOW WE HELP OUR CLIENTS

 

Our Tax Practice covers a broad range of client needs, including the following representative examples:

 

Tax planning is often a key to the viability and growth of a business. We have years of experience advising businesses on tax choices that can be key to growth and prosperity, including:

 

Choice of entity: Selecting the right structure for the enterprise, including S corporation, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or C corporation, and structuring tax-free contributions to capital.

 

Tax planning: Planning business structures and advising on operational matters including employee-related issues such as stock options, worker classification, and employment tax issues.

 

Tax-free mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, liquidations and restructurings: Structuring transactions to avoid tax to the corporation and the shareholders.  

 

Joint ventures: Forming, operating and terminating partnerships, limited liability companies and other forms of joint ventures.

 

Sales and acquisitions: Analyzing, structuring and negotiating purchases and sales of businesses.

 

Real estate transactions: Structuring like-kind exchanges, sale-leasebacks, donations of conservation easements and environmental settlements.

 

Professional Practices: In support of Wilke Fleury’s health care clients, our tax practitioners have specific and unique experience relative to the formation, purchase, sale, merger, buy-in and buy-out of professional practices.

 

Wilke Fleury has considerable history advising nonprofit organizations in dealing with the tax issues affecting them, including:

 

Formation: Advising and counseling founders regarding the organization, structure, and operation of new nonprofit organizations, forming the organization, and obtaining tax exemptions.

 

Planning to avoid problems: Avoiding or minimizing the effects of private foundation status, minimizing unrelated business income tax, and advising on operational and transactional matters to protect and preserve the organization’s tax exempt status such as lobbying and political activities. 

 

Advocacy: Advocacy when necessary in controversies with federal or state taxing authorities, such as questions relative to granting or maintaining tax exempt status. 

 

We work closely with individuals and families to structure personal and business affairs for maximum tax advantage. Our goal in working with our clients is to formulate estate plans and business arrangements that meet our clients’ personal and business needs, while minimizing the tax impacts inherent in the transfer of wealth, including income, gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Issues we address in this capacity include:

 

Planning for liquidity and business succession: Buy-sell agreements and other business succession plans, including the use of insurance, and the creation of charitable foundations and charitable remainder trusts.

 

Recapitalization: Restructuring investment and business entities for changing family circumstances and orderly wealth transfers.

 

Sales of businesses: Analyzing, structuring and negotiating the sales of businesses to advance our clients’ strategic wealth management goals.

High net worth tax planning:Evaluating proposed tax strategies for high net worth individuals.

 

Estate Administration: Ensuring a smooth transition between generations through traditional wills and trusts, and direct and specific counsel and guidance relative to estate and trust administration.

 

In addition to our extensive strategic planning and implementation, we are also adept at representing our clients in tax controversies with state and federal tax authorities including audits, appeals, negotiating compromises and if necessary, litigation of tax controversies. 

 

OUR CLIENTS

 

We represent a wide range of clients, including individuals and multiple generations of families, multi-state corporations, closely-held businesses, exempt organizations, trade and business associations, hospitals, clinics and medical groups, health care, dental and optometric professionals, professional practice groups, and health and dental insurance plans.