税收筹划的外文文献及翻译.doc.doc

Planning forever tax savingsl Learn how to keep your tax bill at the legal minimumand keep it there!By Mark E.BattersbyNow is the best time to think about reducing the ornamental and miscellaneous metal operations tax bill even lower than the point the economy may have driven it to.And,of course,aim to keep that tax bill at its legal minimum for many year to come.While many of us rely on the advice and help provided by tax professionals or utilize software programs to ensure a low tax bill,the real goal should be a low tax bill for not just this tax year but year-after-year.The best guarantee of consistently low tax bill,this year,next year,and so-on down the road is,of course,tax planning.Tax planning is easy:the more tax deductions taken,the lower the fabricating operations taxable income will be-at least for this tax year.Of course,ignoring potential tax deductions this year might mean significant savings in later years when profits-and tax bills-are higher.Either way,in order for deductions to count,the time to make the moves necessary for those low tax bills is before the end of the tax year.Tax Planning BasicsWhen thinking about any type of tax planning,every metal fabricator should keep in mind that although the IRS may occasionally disagree,the courts strongly back every taxpayers right to choose the course of action that will result in the lowest legal tax liability.Thus,as the end of the tax year quickly approaches,every fabricator faces several different options as to how to complete certain taxable transactions.Out tax system has graduated rates that increase along with the income of the metal fabrication business at various tax rates.Thus,one strategy for saving taxes means reducing the tax bracket of the fabricating operation.Getting the most from the temporary 15-percent tax rate for dividends,means finding another way to reduce corporate level income-and taxes?Obviously,neither an ornamental metal fabricating business nor any business owner can literally reduce their federal income tax rate.They can however,take actions that will have a similar effect.For example:l Choosing the optimal from of organization for the business(such as sole proprietorship,partnership,corporation or S Corporation).Although not a year-end tax planning strategy,this option deserves attention in the overall tax planning process especially in light of the current,and temporary,15 percent tax rate on dividends paid by incorporated metalworking businesses.l Structuring transactions so that payments received are capital gains.Long-term capital gains earned by non-corporate taxpayers are subject to lower tax rates than other income.l Shifting income from a high-tax bracket individual(such as you,the business owner),to a lower-bracket individual(such as your child).One fairly,simple way to accomplish this is by hiring your children.Another possibility is to make one or more children partners in the business,so that net profits are shared among a larger group.While the tax laws limit the usefulness of this srtategy for shifting “unearned” income to children under the age of 14,some opportunities to lower tax rates still do exist.Remember,however,the time to think about those strategies is during the course of the tax year.Consistently ConsistentAlthough the goal is usually to reduce taxes this year,to be really effective the tax bracket should be consistent year-after-year.If income is up this year but expected to be down next year,for instance,an ornamental metal business might want to postpone asset sales or other unusual transactions until next year when the additional profits may not be as likely to put the operation into a higher tax bracket.Or,conversely if income and profits are down this year,disposing of unneeded equipment or business assets via a profitable sale just might generate extra income,income taxed at the operations current low tax rates.Depending on the circumstances,a number of legitimate strategies a metal fabricating business can employ before years end will help them remain in the same bracket this year,next year,and for many year thereafter.Those basic year-end savings strategies include:l Delaying Collections:A cash basis metal fabricating operation can delay year-end billings until late enough in the year so payments will not come in until the following year.l Accelerate Payments:Wherever possible, prepay deductible business expenses,including rent,interest,taxes,insurance,etc.Also,keep in mind that the tax rules limit tax deductions for some prepaid expenses.l Accelerate Large Purchases:Close the purchase of depreciable personal property or real estate within the current year.l Accelerate Operating Expenses:If possible,accelerate the purchase of supplies or services or the making of repairs.l Accelerate Depreciation:Elect to expense or immediately write-off the cost of new equipment instead of depreciating it.Remember,the new Section 179 tax rules now permit every metal fabricator to deduct,as an expense,up to $250,000 in expenditures for new equipment.Naturally,what a particular business can do depends a great deal on the accounting method used by the operation.A cash basis metal fabricating operation,for example,deducts expenses as paid and receipts become income when received-or made available.An accrual-basis business realizes income when billed and expenses when incurred-regardless of when income is actually,received,or when payment is made.This years law changesThe American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) earlier this year extended a number of expiring provisions and created a few more that will affect the year-end planning process.For example:l First-year 50% bonus depreciaton:ARRA extended the 50% bonus first-year depreciation allowance available for 2008 for 2009.l Increased Section 179 expensing:During 2009,ornamental metal businesses can choose to expenses and immediately deduct up to $250,000 of the cost of qualifying property and equipment.The $250,000 maximum expensing amount is reduced if the cost of all Section 179 property placed in service in 2009 exceeds $800,000.l S corporation built-in gains holding period.For tax years beginning in either 2009 or 2010,ARRA eliminates the corporate level tax on the built-in gains of an S corporation that converted from regularC corporation status at least seven tax years before the current tax year.Going,going,goneMaking year-end planning more urgent than usual,a number of provisions in our tax law expire in 2009.Among the expiring provisions are:l The tax credit for research and experimentation expenses.l Increased alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption amounts.l 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements,qualified restaurant buildings and improvements,and qualified retail improvements.l Additional first-year depreciation for 50% of basis of qualified property.l Increase in expensing to $250,000/$800,000.l Expensing of “Brownfields”environmental remediation costs.l Empowerment zone tax incentives.l Tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia.l Renewal community tax incentives.l The FUTA surtax of 0.2 percent.l Sixty-five percent subsidy for payment of COBRA health care coverage continuation premiums.l Reduced estimated tax payments for small businesses.l Use of single-employer defined benefit plans prior year adjusted funding target attainment percentage to determine application of limitation on benefit accruals.Tax tail should not wag the dogThere is a great deal of pressure in many metal fabricating businesses to continue cutting costs,including taxes.This coincides with increased scrutiny of tax returns on many levels of government.Identifying opportunities for tax deductions without running afoul of cash-strapped,state and local tax authorities should play a role in the planning process.On a similar note,the financial or operational strengths of a business transaction should always stand on their own,aside from any tax benefits derived from them.There is also the question of whether a tax deduction should be taken or if legally,feasible,ignored.An excellent illustration of the flexibility of our tax rules are those governing bonuses.A metal fabricating business operating on the accrual basis has the opportunity to fix the amount of employees bonus payments before January 1 - but to pay them early next year.Generally,the bonuses are not taxable to employees until 2010,but are deductible on the operations 2009 tax return so long as announced before the end of 2009,and paid before March 16,2010.On the other hand,while few businesses are in a position to pay employee bonuses,an ornamental and miscellaneous metalbusiness may benefit by delaying income until next year.Remember,however,there is constructive receipt when income is made available to the fabricating business.Tax planning all the timeAlthough tax planning should be a year-round process,a number of year-end strategies can reduce not only this years tax bill,but future tax bills as well.The owners and managers of every metal fabrication business should also be taking additional steps to ensure the success of the operation in 2010.Whether or not the metalworking operation is facing a large tax bill or severely lower taxable income,professional advice is almost a necessity.There should however,be no uncertainty regarding the need for planning to minimize taxes this year as well as in future tax years.For your informationThe goal:You should always strive to keep your tax bill at the absolute minimum.The key is good tax planning,and looking at what decision work best in the long-run.For instance,sometimes its better to ignore a potential tax deduction one year to save more in a later year when tax bills are higher.Optimize your company:Do you have the best structure for your company,such as a partnership,proprietorship,or S corporation?Other tips:Have you structured transactions so that payments received are capital gains?Can you shift income from a high-tax bracket individual,such as yourself,to a lower-bracket individual,such as a child?One way to accomplish this is to hire your children or make them a partner in the business, which allows the next profits to be shared among a larger group.While the tax laws limit the shifting “unearned” income to children under age of 14,some opportunities do exist.永久节税筹划学会怎样在合法范围内将税额减少到最低并一直保持下去现在是考虑降低金属饰品和五金经营税额的最好时机，因为那甚至可以比自然经济趋势下所能达到的税额更低。当然，我们也要设法在合法范围内将未来很多年的税额一直保持最低。尽管很多人会依赖于税务专家的建议和帮助，或者是使用软件来保证低税额，但真正的目的不光是降低今年的而应该是从今往后每一年的。为此，最好的保证当然就是纳税筹划了。税收筹划很简单：存在的减免税款越多，制造经营的应缴税所得越低，至少今年的会低。当然，只有当后几年的盈利和税额更高时，忽略今年的可能减免税额才会更有意义。不管怎样，如果想使减免成功，就必须在纳税年度结束前进行必要的年度间转移。税收筹划基本原理当考虑使用哪种缴税筹划时，所有金属制造者都应该记住，尽管有时你的筹划会被国税局否定，但每一个纳税人都有权力选择能使自己的纳税义务降到最低的方法，且这一权力受到法院的强烈支持。所以，纳税年度即将结束之时，每个制造者都得选择怎样完成某些需纳税交易。我们的税收制度规定了一种递进的税率，金属制造生意的收入越高，税率也会随之增高。所以，减少税额的其中一种策略就是降低纳税等级。对于股息目前征收的是15%的税率，充分利用该税率意味着寻求其他方式减少公司收入，但这样做能不能也减少税额呢？显然，不论是金属饰品制造商还是其他行业的商人都不能真正地减少联邦税税率。但是，他们可以采取其他措施，从而达到相近的效果，比如：l 选择营业的最优形式（比如个体经营，合伙企业，公司，或小型企业公司）。尽管该选择并不属于年末税收筹划，但对整体的税收筹划过程来说值得重视。特别是对于采取企业制的金属相关行业来说，按照目前税法，对股息征收的暂时是15%税率。l 安排好交易，使该交易的收款成为资本增益。因为对于非公司制企业的纳税人来说，长期资本收益得税率比其他种类收入的税率低。l 将处于高纳税等级的个人收入（例如你，企业主）转给处于低纳税等级的人（例如你的子女）。达成此目的相当简单的一种方法就是雇佣你的子女工作。另一种可能的方法是，使一名或多名子女成为合伙企业的合伙人，这样更多人可以参与分配净利润。将非劳动所得的收入转给14岁以下的子女是受税法限制的，所以上述方法显得不是那么有用，但仍然存在其他用于降低税率的方法。请牢记，需在纳税年度期间考虑采取何种策略。始终一致尽管目的基本上是为了少缴税，但若真要达到有效，纳税等级应该每年一致。例如，如果今年收入高，但是预期下一年会减少，金属饰品商人可能会把销售或者其他特殊交易推迟到下一年，没有这些额外利润，今年的收入就不太会进到更高的纳税等级里去。相反，如果今年的收入和利润低，通过出售闲置设备或者货物会产生更多收入，但对这些收入征收的是今年较低税率。在年度结束之前，金属制造商人可以根据各种情况，采取合法的策略，使自己的纳税等级在今年，明年，乃至以后的许多年不发生改变。这些策略包括：l 延迟收款：采取现金制会计的金属制造商可以将年末的账单尽量延迟，那样收款就可以计入到下一年。l 加速付款：如果可能的话，预付那些可减免的企业费用，包括租金，利息，税金，保险等等。但同时要记住税法限制了某些预付费用的减免。l 加速大额购买：在当年年内完成应计折旧的个人财产或不动产的购买。l 加速经营费用：如果可能的话，加速物资的购买以及服务和维修付款。l 加速折旧：对于新设备，选择将其作为费用或者直接做成本冲销，而不是进行折旧。记住，新税收规章的179条款现在允许金属制造者为新设备扣除上限为25万美元的费用。自然而然的，特定行业能做些什么很大程度上依靠经营时采用的会计记录方法。比如，金属制造行业用了现金制会计，在付钱时记录支出,收到钱或者可获得钱时记录收入。采用权责发生制会计，就是不管是否实际收到欠款，当开出票据时就算实现收入，也不管是否已付钱，实际发生消费时就记录支出。今年的税法变化今年年初的美国复苏与再投资法案（ARRA）延长了一系列条款的有效期，并设立了某些新条款。这些条款会对年末的筹划过程产生影响，例如：l 第一年会有50%的额外折旧：美国复苏与再投资法案将针对2008年有效的第一年50%额外折旧延长到了2009年。l 增加179条款的费用：在2009年，对于符合条件的财产和设备，金属装饰业可以选择支出并立即扣除上限为25万美元的成本。但如果2009年所有符合179条款且投入运行的财产成本超过80万美元的话，该25万美元的扣除上限将会减少。l 小型企业公司的固有利得的持有期。在2009年和2010这两个纳税年度，如果公司从一般公司转为小型企业公司后已经经过至少7个纳税年度，那么美国复苏与再投资法案将免除对固有利得征收企业税。现存但即将消失的条款由于一些税法条款将在2009年终止，所以与往年相比，今年的年末筹划更加急迫。即将到期的条款包括：l 研发费用的税收抵免。l 针对替代最低税的免税额的增加。l 对于符合条件的租赁物，餐饮建筑和零售店等的改良，采取为期15年的直线折旧法用于成本回收。l 对于符合条件的财产，第一年会有50%的额外折旧。l 财产成本不超过80万美元时，可扣除费用上限为25万美元。l 废弃地环境恢复成本的支出。l 授权开发区的税收鼓励。l 投资哥伦比亚特区的税收鼓励。l 社区更新的税收鼓励。l 联邦失业税税率减少0.2%。l 统一综合预算汇编法案中的医疗保险费支付费用的65%由政府补贴。l 小企业估计预付税减少。l 通过养老金固定收益计划前一年调整后的资金目标百分比来决定福利应计的限额。不应本末倒置许多金属制造商都面临着继续降低成本的巨大压力，包括降低税金在内。这正好与各级政府逐渐严格的退税审查制度相符。所以在筹划过程中必须注意减免税款不能与缺乏资金的州级和地区级税务机关产生冲突。同样需要注意的是，除了衍生而来的税收利益之外，业务交易的财务和经营优势应该总是独立的。其它的问题还有，是否要减免某个税款，该减免是否合法，是否可行，或是忽略该减免。管理红利方面的税法能够很好地体现税法的灵活性。采用权责发生制的金属制造商能够在1月1日以前决定雇员的红利总额并且在第二年初支付。通常，对于雇员来说这份红利收入要到2010年才需交税，但对于雇主来说，只要在2009年底之前公布红利总额并且在2010年3月16日之前支付给员工，雇主在2009年就能扣除该红利。另一方面，虽然很多有企业支付给员工红利，但金属饰品和五金经营企业仍可通过将收入延迟到下一年的做法获利。但是记住对制造产业会有推定收入的情况出现，即认为已获得未收收入。始终进行税收筹划尽管税收筹划是一个需全年进行的过程，但是一些年末的策略既能减少今年的税金，也能减少未来的税金。每个金属制造企业的业主和精力都应该采取其他措施来保证2010年的经营能够顺利。不管金属行业是否将面临大额税金或急剧减少的应纳税所得，都必须询求专家的意见。但是必须确定是否需要筹划将今年和未来的税金最小化。供参考目标：你应该总是力求保持你的税单在绝对最小值。关键是有好的税收筹划，和懂得考虑什么的决定对长期工作最好。例如，当往后几年的盈利和税额更高时，忽略今年可能减免的税额对以后几年的节税更有意义优化你的公司：你的公司有最好的组织结构吗，例如是个体经营，合伙企业，公司，还是小型企业公司？其他提示：你有安排好交易，使该交易的收款成为资本增益吗？你能将处于高纳税等级的个人收入，例如你自己，转给处于低纳税等级的个人，例如孩子吗？达成此目的的一种方法就是雇佣你的孩子工作，或使一个或多个孩子成为合伙企业的合伙人，这样更多人可以参与分配净利润。尽管将非劳动所得的收入转给14岁以下的子女是受税法限制的，但一些机会仍然存在。说明：本译文原文出自外文期刊Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metal Fabricator， 2009 no.5，作者Mark E. Battersby。