With the pace of merger and acquisition activity taking place in the healthcare industry, 税务尽职调查——包括对公司被收购或出售时可能存在的不同类型税务责任的彻底分析——在资产出售交易中经常被忽视.
Why would this be the case when millions of dollars may be at stake? 在大多数情况下, the buyers believe that because they are purchasing assets instead of a company’s stock/equity, they are shielded from any potential pre-acquisition liabilities. That can be a risky and potentially costly assumption.
的确，买家可以通过购买资产来避免某些类型的税务风险, there are two liabilities they generally cannot escape: sales tax and payroll tax.
在许多税收管辖区, any liability associated with sales or payroll tax attaches to the assets of the entity and, 在大多数情况下, the buyer can become responsible for paying the liability. 的se areas of exposure are commonly overlooked during the due diligence process, 然而，这两者都会对交易的结果和收购后买方的底线产生负面影响.
在某些情况下, there also may be substantial 处罚 added to these tax liabilities, making what appeared to be a great deal much less appealing. 以下是在收购时可能存在的几个潜在的销售和工资税风险领域的概述.
美国.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Wayfair 2018年的案例赋予了各州对州外企业征收销售税的更大权力，并将销售税真正推向了风口. 的 Wayfair 该案例基本上消除了在一个州建立销售税关系的实体存在的必要性.e. what triggers a filing requirement or collection issues).
在这个案子之前, 一个实体需要在一个州有实体存在，以便该州评估销售税. 现在, 各州正在改变销售税相关的法律，更多地基于销售额和/或交易数量. 例如, 在新规则下, nexus can be triggered in a state when a business has at least $300,000 in sales and more than 200 transactions.
LBMC执行了许多税务尽职调查，我们看到的关于销售税的两个最大的问题是(a)公司没有充分了解他们提供的产品或服务的潜在税负，(b)公司未能获得免税或转售证书, even if selling to an obviously tax-exempt entity.
另一个需要注意的关键点是，销售税的时效直到提交纳税申报单才会开始. 像这样, if a sales tax return has never been filed, 一个州可以评估税收, 处罚, 利息从公司开始在该州开展业务的第一年开始.
As a result of the Wayfair ruling and varying state criteria for triggering sales tax nexus, these key areas of exposure have become much more complex, and many businesses have more exposure in other states than they have ever had before. So, 请特别就Wayfair的裁决以及它可能对您的销售税义务或机会产生的任何影响向您的税务顾问咨询.
工资税一直是美国国税局(IRS)的热门话题，特别是当涉及到员工和独立承包商之间的错误分类时. LBMC还发现，各州对在本州工作的非居民个人征收工资税的力度越来越大. 例如, 如果田纳西州的雇主有一名员工在他们的“家乡”加州以外的州工作了一个月, the employer may be legally required to withhold California’s payroll tax, file a California return and remit any required withholding. 每个州都有不同的法律来确定非居民个人的雇主何时需要缴纳非居民工资税, 但大多数情况下，一旦雇员在美国工作了一定时间(例如，在美国工作了一段时间)，他们就会强制扣缴税款.e. 两周，一个月，等等.).
除了, if the company being purchased did not file payroll tax returns, the state’s payroll statute-of-limitations never starts. In such a case, the liability could go all the way back to the company’s formation.
工资 taxes can really add up and adversely affect a deal. 最近的一个例子是，一家公司在寻求购买时发现，由于员工分类错误，工资税负债敞口为600美元,我在三年的时间里获得了5万美元. 的 purchase price was $6 million so that extra $600,000 made a big difference to EBITDA and the overall valuation of the company.
If you see an acquisition or sale on the horizon, 确保你识别并量化所有的风险暴露领域，这样你就可以在前端解决它们，并确保你得到一个准确的估值.
If you are planning to sell your company or are looking for new investors, 明智的做法是聘请一个在税务调查方面有知识的人来执行销售方面的税务调查，这样你就知道你在前端的风险敞口，并有机会弥补以前不知道的税务责任. 由于您的远见卓识和透明度，这种勤勉也增加了您在潜在买家中的信誉.
另一方面, 如果你正在收购一家实体，确保你没有忽视销售和工资税——它们绝对需要添加到你的尽职调查清单上. 即使你不想要全面的税务调查，也要确保你关注这两个领域.
无论是买还是卖, 在任何收购中，成功的税务尽职调查的关键是确保你与一位合格的交易专家合作，他知道要寻找什么，以及如何解决以前未发现的税务问题. Such specialists not only can save time, 钱和头痛, but also bring credibility and objectivity to the process.
Jayme Parmakian, 注册会计师, LBMC股东, and tax services leader in LBMC’s transaction advisory services division.
LBMC税务提示是为公司的客户和朋友提供的一种信息和教育服务. 沟通是高层次的，不应被视为采取任何具体行动的法律或税务建议. 个人在作出任何与税收或法律相关的决定之前，应咨询他们的个人税务或法律顾问. 除了, the information and data presented are based on sources believed to be reliable, but we do not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. 的 information is current as of the date indicated and is subject to change without notice.
