Alexander John Hay PLLC

Tag: llc

  • “Disregarded Entity” vs “Taxable Association”: What is the best way to structure your LLC?

    For the past 15 years I have been promoting the USA as the ultimate banking solution for non-residents (or as some might say a “Tax Haven” for non-residents). My traditional proposal was to simply set up a US LLC, take the default election of ‘disregarded entity’ (“disregarded entity” is an LLC that is treated by the Internal Revenue Service as a complete pass through entity. For tax purposes it does not exist. For all other purposes it does.), open a bank account, and as long as you are not earning any US Source/Effectively Connected Income, you are fine. No need to file tax returns let alone pay any taxes.

    That is no longer entirely the case. FATCA has not changed the tax treatment issues, but has changed the reporting requirements for US payors. The issue of the W-9 (reporting form for US resident payees receiving funds) and W-8Ben (reporting form(s) for non-US residents receiving funds) was always a little murky but now it is downright impossible. Non-residents receiving payments from US payors, even if the funds are “not effectively connected” to US income, are now facing serious problems. No one really understands how the new W-8Ben system works since they have replaced the one form with 4 or 5 related forms that no one really understands how to use. And the penalties for getting it wrong are quite serious so payors are paying a lot more attention, or just choosing not to do business with anyone who cannot execute a W-9.

    In short, it has become very difficult for non-residents to use their US bank accounts to receive funds from US payors.

    My solutions:

    For those non-residents who do not need to receive funds from US payors, the Disregarded LLC is still fine. Nothing to worry about.

    For those receiving money from US payors, we need a more sophisticated structure. The US LLC will elect to be a ‘taxable association’ (that is an entity that will be taxed separately like a C Corporation), but it will only act as an agent of a non-resident business (with a written agency agreement) to resell non-resident goods and services in the USA. 90% of the gross income goes to the foreign provider (with appropriate W-8Ben — that will be very easy), and all operating expenses will come out of the 10% agency fee — there should be little or no taxes.

    This solution is simple and easy to implement. In fact old Disregarded LLCs can be converted to “Taxable Association” LLCs with little effort. The only downside is that there is now a requirement to file an annual tax return which means there is a requirement to maintain a good set of books so that the tax preparer can accurately file the return. There may be no taxes due, but failure to file a tax return can cause a lot of problems. I have always advised my clients to maintain a set of books for professional reasons, but they were not required for US tax purposes. Now they are.

    If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

  • How the USA can provide you financial privacy

    How the USA can provide you financial privacy

    Do you want Financial Privacy?

    Many people are surprised to find out that the USA actually provides better financial privacy than most other developed countries, and even better than most “tax havens”.

    lockIt is my considered opinion that some of the best banking privacy in the world is now found in the United States of America. As long as you are not “laundering money” (the vague definition does cover a lot of ground) or supporting national security threats, the US provides some of the most strictly ENFORCED privacy rules around. Notice my emphasis on the word ENFORCED.

    There are many jurisdictions that have such amazingly draconian bank privacy laws that you wonder why anyone would ever take the risk of becoming a banker in those countries. I am thinking of one small country where even a minor disclosure released through mistake can result in jail time and fines for the banker, at least under the terms of its laws. Wow! That must mean that your money and your information is safe! Well let us look at how often these laws are enforced. After all no one is perfect. In the country I am thinking of there has never been, to my knowledge, a single banker prosecuted under the draconian bank privacy laws. Not even a slap-on-the-wrist or a probated sentence. Either bankers in that country never make mistakes, or the laws are never enforced. What good are bank privacy laws that are not enforced?

    In the USA on the other hand bank privacy laws are enforced (to the chagrin of most of my banker friends) by a bevy of alphabet soup Federal, State and Local agencies whose only reason to exist is to enforce various consumer protection laws, banking disclosure rules and credit protection regulations. In addition to all the government agencies looking to enforce these rules (and levy punitive fines that go to fund their activities), the laws themselves almost always give the victim the right to sue the bank in civil court with punitive damages and attorney’s fees awarded. I know a lawyer who specializes in class-action law suits against banks who violate these consumer protection rules.

    In addition most states have enacted Deceptive Trade Practices Acts which provide treble damages plus attorney’s fees to the victim of any Deceptive Act, disclosure of prohibited information being among them.

    Because of these consumer protection laws combined with vigorous government enforcement along with civil court remedies for victims, US Banking has become some of the most private in the world in spite of the rather sinister reputation of the Patriot Act.

    If you would like more information on how best to take advantage of the USA contact me.

  • What is an LLC? Why should you care?

    What is an LLC? Why should you care?

    A limited liability company (LLC) is a hybrid business entity that blends together characteristics of a partnership and a corporate structures. It is incredibly flexible giving limited liability to its Members (the owners) just like a corporation, but offering the ease of management of a partnership.

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    It also can offer interesting tax advantages depending upon how you want to use it (but only if properly set-up). It can be set up to be treated as a “disregarded entity” providing “pass through” tax treatment, or it can be set up as a “taxable association” in which case it is taxed like a corporation, but without some of the negative aspects of a corporation. This can often avoid double taxation.

    But the most interesting aspect of an LLC is its ability to protect your assets. How can an LLC protect your assets?

    The LLC has many special features similar to a partnership that are very beneficial for asset protection:

    • A partial LLC interest, unlike shares in a corporation, cannot be easily seized by creditors. If a Creditor attempts to take your Membership Interest, the creditor will only receive an “assignment” of the interest. The creditor can take away your membership interest, but will not be able to vote in the absence of the unanimous approval of all the other Members.
    • An LLC can require Members to make additional contributions of capital. So if a creditor takes away your Membership Interest, the LLC may require the Creditor to make additional contributions to the LLC. If the Creditor refuses, he may lose his interest in the LLC.
    • If the LLC shows a profit, it is not necessary for the profit to be distributed to the Members but can be retained by the LLC. However, the Members will be taxed on this profit even though they did not receive it. So if a Creditor takes your Membership Interest, the LLC can operate at a profit, and may be able to force the Creditor to pay taxes on profits which the Creditor never received.

    A creditor who attempts to take your shares in the LLC will only get an assignment of non-voting shares. The remaining shares will be held by the other members who may be friends, family, or even specially designed trust that will protect your interests. These other Members will be able to vote on who becomes Manager of the LLC, not the creditor that took an assignment of interest.

    The other members may choose to appoint you or another friendly person to be the Manager of the LLC. As Manager of the LLC you will be able to decide whether or not you and other employees get a salary, whether or not assets are sold, whether or not profits are distributed, whether or not there is a need for additional contributions from the Members, etc.

    In essence, a Creditor who takes your shares in a cleverly designed LLC will not be able to vote or control the company, will not be able to force distribution of assets or profits, may have to pay taxes on income earned by the company even though it never received the profits, and will be vulnerable to demands for additional capital.

    As you can see this would be a very unpleasant situation to be in if you were a creditor, but a very good situation to be in if you are trying to protect your assets. Few creditors will want your membership interest in the LLC when they realize what a hornets nest they are getting themselves into.

    I have designed a specific system to be able to take advantage of these attributes of an LLC. I call it The Personal Preservation Fortress®. Check it out if you would like to get more information on how to effectively and affordably protect your assets.