Baker Donelson's tax team advises clients on the full range of individual and business tax matters.
Our tax attorneys work closely with lawyers in our Firm's other practice areas to provide comprehensive representation. We advocate effectively for clients on a vast array of federal and state tax, estate planning, retirement planning, and business succession planning matters, including:
Business tax planning. Our advice covers the life of a business from entity selection and maintenance to business succession planning, including how to plan for both voluntary and involuntary transfers of the ownership, management, and/or assets of a business. We advise on tax strategies related to buying and selling businesses, including taxable and tax-free mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, recapitalizations, and other restructuring. We also advise on operational tax issues for C corporations, S corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and other pass-through entities in sophisticated tax planning.
Employee benefits and executive compensation. Our lawyers counsel clients on a full range of employee benefits and executive compensation issues as well as litigation of Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and non-ERISA claims in all state and federal trial and appellate courts. We advise on benefit plans sponsored by many types of employers, including taxable and pass-through entities, as well as governmental, church, and other tax-exempt employers. Our lawyers are familiar with issues unique to collectively bargained funds, multiemployer plans and welfare arrangements, and fully insured plans.
Private wealth – trust and estate planning. We work with clients to create comprehensive estate plans which reduce income and estate tax liability while addressing the specific needs of the individual client. This planning is only one aspect of addressing private wealth that many include family offices, businesses, aircraft, artwork, direct investing, and family philanthropic planning. We also counsel clients on matters of probate and trust administration, post-mortem planning, marital agreements (both prenuptial and postnuptial), guardianship and conservatorship actions for minors and incapacitated adults, and the preparation of gift and estate tax returns.
Private foundations and other non-profit organizations. Attorneys on our team organize non-profit entities, obtain determinations of tax-exempt status, respond to IRS information requests, prepare state and local filings for charitable solicitations and tax exemption, and advise on tax-exempt corporate governance. In addition, we assist with intermediate sanctions and private inurement issues and provide unrelated business income analyses.
Taxation – federal, income, and other. Our tax team advises clients on the full range of individual and business tax matters, including tax planning, compliance, audit preparation and appeals; ruling requests; tax credits and special incentives; employment tax classification and compliance; tax controversies; enforcement actions; international, excise and other tax matters; and litigation.
Taxation – state and local. State and local governments continue to aggressively search for new revenues through increases in or creation of income, franchise, sales and use, gross receipts, property and other taxes. Our team of state and local tax (SALT) attorneys advise clients on reducing their state and local tax burden. We also litigate SALT cases and defend clients in collection and enforcement actions.