Passing on the family business or selling an interest in the company you worked so hard to build has a number of tax traps waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting entrepreneur.

Often large sums of income tax are avoidable by talking through your future plans for succession with a Chartered Accountant and coming up with an action plan. After all, everyone retires eventually, so how would you prefer to handle the situation – a last minute panic when the realization of the sums involved suddenly hits you, or by planning ahead and arranging your affairs in the most tax efficient manner possible?

From Father to Son, Mother to Daughter, Founder to Buyer, each option has its own tax implications. Even the age at which you plan to do this has a tax angle, so please, for your own sake, let’s talk about your options early and devise a plan to minimize the taxman’s share.

The transfer of assets to the next generation can attract a significant amount of income taxes if not well planned. For the owner-managed business, this can threaten the viability of continued family ownership of the business. Our firm can provide practical advice in such areas as equity ownership, management succession, financial restructuring, tax planning, wealth preservation and wills.

According to studies, over 75% of family businesses never make it to the second generation.

A surprising 90% never see a third generation, despite a genuine desire by most owners to see the business continued in the family.

Generally, the reason for such a poor rate of survival is poor succession planning.

To build the business you have today, you’ve invested years of your life and the bulk of your assets. Sooner or later, it’s inevitable that someone other than you will own and run your business. Perhaps you’ll transfer your business to family members. Maybe you’ll sell to a third party. You might also sell to an outside investor.

Which ever path you choose, there’s a lot to consider before you make your move. It’s important that succession planning isn’t a short-term exercise or a one-time event – effective succession is a long-term process, and it only makes sense to get the right advice.

At Joseph Truscott Chartered Accountant we bring together a team of specialists from various fields to design a plan that works for you. Some of the services provided include the following:

Tax Planning

Is your succession-ownership transfer structure tax-effective? The tax implications associated with the transfer of assets and death will be reviewed.

Business Valuation

Valuation is an important issue in your succession plan. What is your business worth? It is essential that a reasonable value be determined early in the process.

Retirement Planning

A secure stream of retirement income must exist for the founder to comfortably retire.

Strategic Business Planning

A three-to five-year business plan is a fundamental base upon which your succession plan can be built.

Transfer of Management

Successors must develop management skills in order to successfully transfer the business for the future. Without good management, the business will not thrive.

If your family business does not prepare a succession plan, then its chances of survival are minimal, despite the best efforts and intentions of the owners and the children. Using our over 30 years of experience, we can assist you in:

• Focusing on your objectives
• Assessing the business skills and commitment of the potential successors (your children)
• Developing solutions that will result in a realistic and workable succession plan

For further information regarding our services we recommend you review our Additional Services, the Tax Planning Brochure, the Shareholder Agreement brochure, or browse through the many articles that Joe has written in the Resource Library.