Taxation

Providing legal services to banks and other credit providers in the Sioux City, Iowa Tri-State Region including Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota

Goosmann Law is knowledgeable of rules and requirements to help businesses and individuals minimize their tax liability to the maximum extent permitted by law. We can help you reduce the effective tax rate of your business, structure a transaction in a tax advantaged manner, avoid a tax disaster or resolve a dispute with a taxing authority efficiently and advantageously. Some of the areas we can assist in include:

Privately-held business structuring and succession planning

Goosmann Law focuses on evaluating and structuring privately held businesses to achieve the owner’s tax and business goals. A key consideration for many private business owners involves exit planning. We have experience counseling business owners through the challenging management, operational, family and tax issues owners encounter when transitioning business ownership.

Mergers and acquisitions

Tax implications play a key role whenever businesses consider mergers, acquisitions, dispositions or split-ups. Goosmann Law can help structure your transaction to achieve optimum tax results. We have experience structuring taxable and tax-free transactions for public and private businesses.

Like-kind exchange planning

If you’re planning to sell real or personal property currently held for investment or productive use in a trade or business and purchase another one, Goosmann Law can help you consider whether you may want to take advantage of the benefits of a 1031 like-kind exchange. Under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, investment or business property owners — using a qualified intermediary — can sell one qualified property and purchase a similar qualified “like kind” property while deferring capital gains. Capital gain taxes on the sale of the “relinquished” property are deferred until the “replacement” property is sold at a future date.

• Real property: All property classified as real property under state law is “like-kind” to all other real property including land, apartments, office buildings, retail space, and others.
• Personal property: Defining like-kind for personal property exchanges is more challenging than it is for real property exchanges. The properties being exchanged must be in the same general asset class or product class. Examples of personal property that may be exchanged include aircraft, equipment, artwork, yachts and others.

Personal tax planning

With sound, long-term, sophisticated planning, we help our individual and family tax law clients pay the absolute minimum tax required – and often can dramatically reduce tax liability through every provision that the tax law allows. Our team is knowledgeable in creating a variety of trusts and lifetime gifts to shelter assets and minimize tax impact, while diversifying and structuring investments for maximum tax flexibility.

Tax controversies

Goosmann Law is experienced in assisting clients with tax controversies involving all types of taxing authorities, including the IRS, and state and foreign governments. We represent our clients in audits and administrative appeals, in estate planning tax controversies, and can help in litigation before the United States Tax Court and other federal and state courts. Let us help you whenever the IRS has sent you a notice to which you need to respond to minimize adverse tax consequences and reduce penalties.

Not-for-profit tax planning

Goosmann Law can assist public charities, private foundations and charitable trusts to make sure that that their organization and structure meet all Tax Code requirements for tax-exempt status. Our lawyers make status applications to the Internal Revenue Service, secure letters of determination, and respond to audits and inquiries involving Section 501(c)(3) charitable and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations.

International taxation

Goosmann Law advises domestic and foreign companies on tax-efficient means of operating abroad or domestically and on the tax implications of cross-border mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. This includes advice regarding investment incentives, tax treatment for royalties, dividends and interest generated by the operations, including consideration of international tax treaty provisions. Through our relationships with tax professionals throughout the world, we literally are able to provide advice in virtually any country in which your business wishes to operate.

IRS Private Letter Ruling and Tax Opinion Practice

When the IRS is concerned, it’s sometimes better to ask for permission rather than forgiveness. When a matter is particularly important Goosmann Law can draft a private letter ruling request to secure a binding commitment from the IRS as to how a particular transaction will be taxed. Alternatively, we in various circumstances can draft a formal tax opinion that contains the information required by the IRS to avoid penalties that could result from a transaction. Generally, penalties only apply in circumstances where a position taken was successfully challenged. In many cases, the existence of “substantial authority” may eliminate any penalties. We encourage you to discuss with us the situations where you might need private letter rulings or formal opinions and analyses for purposes of avoiding tax penalties.