Let’s Talk About Tax

Many business owners, especially owners who are thinking of selling their business, wonder if an ESOP is a good ownership transition option for them. The answer is not always easy to determine but an ESOP is something that should be explored.

Having spent more than a decade working with taxpayers and Department employees on sales and use tax audits and refund requests, I find that responding to documentation requests from the Department can either be an exercise in pragmatism or an exercise in preventing auditors from murdering a taxpayer’s business by a thousand cuts. The reality is that accumulating and providing documentation is easier for some taxpayers than for others. Similarly, the requirements laid out by some states, or by some auditors, are more burdensome than by others.

One of the largest sources of stress for a taxpayer with significant federal tax debts is whether the IRS can take his or her house. For many taxpayers, the family residence is the most important source of their wealth. In addition, it is not just their house, but their home—a source of happiness and joy and family community. The prospect of losing a home therefore not only threatens financial loss, but it is often emotionally taxing as well.