TaxEsqBlog -by Ronald J. Cappuccio, J.D., LL.M.(Tax)

European governments are attacking American businesses trying to get as much tax money as possible. The latest leader in this witchhunt is France. They are not only going after companies for large civil taxes but they are at going after the businesses and the employees of the business for criminal penalties and possibly jail. Leading the list are Google, McDonald's and Bookings.com. All these companies have some relationship to France by having services sold through subsidiaries, but the French do not care about legal structures of business. They just want their tax! This sounds a lot like many State governments. New Jersey is always trying to find "nexus" to pull in out-of-state businesses as being subject to New Jersey taxes. Also any business located in New Jersey is subject to grueling sales and use tax audits and lengthy appeals and court hearings. It is a real problem particularly when the company tries to handle it themselves or have an accountant represent them ...

Corporations - the traditional business Corporations are the prime type of entity used in publicly traded companies, larger entities, and when the owners want a separate taxable entity from the individuals. A corporation is set up by filing a certificate of incorporation or articles of incorporation in the state of choice. In addition to getting a separate tax identification number, the corporation should have bylaws detailing the officers, the operation of the business and the amount of shares and any particular rights in different classes of shares. Liberation files a separate tax return and pays income tax on the income earned to both the state and federal governments. After pays taxes if it wants to distribute some of the profit to the owners, these distributions are called dividends and are taxed in the income of the shareholders. This can lead to the famous "double taxation" where the corporation is taxed and then the same income is taxed again at the shareholder leve...

Basic Entities in the United States. Anyone, even a non-US citizen and non-US resident can establish a sole proprietorship. This is simply operating the business under your own name. You have personal liability for the actions of any employees or any actions taken in the name of the business. The business can also have a trade name also known as a " doing business as" name which is typically filed with the state. The advantage of a sole proprietorship is simplicity. There is not much you need to do to set up the business other than obtaining a tax identification number and possibly a trade name certificate from the state. Depending on how the services are rendered are rendered, there may be some licenses that are required but for most online businesses that it is not necessary. Another advantage of the sole proprietorship is that it is taxed on the individual tax return. There is no double taxation. The sole proprietorship is simply taxed at the individual level for both ...

Nexus - When are you "Doing Business" in a State or Country? Google is one of the biggest collection of companies in the world. Wisely, Google has divided itself into many companies to deal with the different tax laws not only in the 50 States of the United States but in dealing with worldwide taxes. By using proper tax planning, Google is effectively avoiding taxes in many countries. In order to be subject to taxation in a given country, a business must have "nexus" in that country. The word Nexus comes from the same root as "connection". Typically that means a company must have an actual physical presence in the country. Google has been very wise in its tax planning. It has its main business in Bermuda, a low tax country, and in the Republic of Ireland, also a low tax country. Google has set up a separate entity in the United Kingdom as a "technology and marketing" company. The idea is that technical services are performed by the UK su...