The sale of an owner managed business is often the result of many years of hard work by the director shareholders so they will want to ensure that they do not pay more tax on the sale than is necessary. This will often mean that advance planning is required to minimise any problems that might otherwise arise during the sale process and can commonly involve restructuring the company prior to the proposed sale.
As well as reviewing the share structure to ensure that as far as possible all shareholders can maximise their entitlement to business asset disposal relief, it will often be necessary to carefully review the share sale agreement to ensure that higher rates of capital gains tax (or even income tax) do not become payable.
The shareholders will also be required to provide numerous warranties and indemnities in respect of the company’s accounting and tax affairs.
Freestone Jacobs can provide top quality advice in respect of all tax aspects of company sales and will often start working with clients one to two years before a proposed sale to ensure that the tax liabilities of the company and its shareholders are mitigated as far as possible within the confines of the tax legislation.
For more information please contact us.