Friday, March 25, 2011

NEVADA SUBSIDIARIES OF FOREIGN ENTITIES

One of the beneficial attributes of Nevada corporate law is that Nevada has no requirement that the shareholders, officers or directors of any Nevada entity be citizens of the United States. While the obvious initial reaction to this point is the availability of share ownership or officer and director positions to individual citizens of other nations, another benefit is the ease with which an entity organized under the laws of a different country can form a wholly-owned Nevada subsidiary.
Considering the importance Nevada places on corporate privacy by not requiring the reporting of the identities of shareholders, a foreign entity can utilize wholly-owned Nevada subsidiaries in its international expansion plans while protecting information as to its originating nation. We at Global Business Lawyers assist business entities from around the world with their expansion plans through the formation of wholly-owned Nevada subsidiaries as well as other methods suitable to the particular business entity.

Disclaimer: This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. If you have questions or need specific advice relating to the matters contained herein, please contact Lovaas & Lehtinen, P.C.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

NEVADA VS. DELAWARE: 2011 STATE BUSINESS TAX CLIMATE INDEX

The 2011 State Business Tax Climate Index, published by the Tax Foundation, ranks Nevada as the state having the fourth best business tax climate in the United States. The 2011 Business Tax Climate Index provides additional evidence as to why Nevada is preferable to Delaware (plus the states that ranked 1-3) as your state of incorporation.

While Delaware was ranked a very respectable eighth in the nation by the Business Tax Climate Index, its Corporate Tax Index Ranking (a component of the overall ranking) of 49 - the second worst in the United States - should give business owners pause. In Delaware, corporations pay corporate income taxes to the state at the rate of 8.7% of their net income. Nevada, on the other hand, imposes no corporate income tax at all, allowing business owners to use their companies' income for reinvestment and other opportunities rather than paying the state.

Which states ranked 1-3 above Nevada? South Dakota, Alaska and Wyoming, respectively. Consider the population base, weather and remote locations of these top ranking states. Consider further those attributes of Nevada: Extraordinary weather; urban centers of Las Vegas and Reno offering world class dining, shopping, accommodations and convention space; Las Vegas as home to the seventh busiest airport in the nation; Reno serving as an industrial transport and warehousing hub to the California Bay Area and Pacific Northwest; Las Vegas as the hub of spokes to Southern California, Phoenix and Salt Lake City. While the Business Tax Climate Index ranks Nevada as fourth in the nation, a consideration of the higher ranked states and the attributes the index did not measure, proves that the clear choice is Nevada as the home for business.

Global Business Lawyers takes pride in its representation of businesses and business owners from across the country and around the world in their efforts to incorporate in and establish their U.S. headquarters in Nevada.

Disclaimer: This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. If you have questions or need specific advice relating to the matters contained herein, please contact Global Business Lawyers.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

NEVADA VS. DELAWARE: FAVORABLE CORPORATE TAX CLIMATE

An oft asked question is whether it is more favorable for an entity to incorporate or organize in Nevada or Delaware. Global Business Lawyers recommends Nevada as the state of incorporation to all of its clients. One reason Nevada is so favorable and, in this instance, preferable to Delaware is the favorable corporate tax climate in Nevada. One such example is the franchise tax. A franchise tax is a tax imposed upon an entity by its state of incorporation for the privilege of incorporating or organizing within that state. In Delaware, the franchise tax imposed upon Delaware corporations is calculated upon the number of shares of stock the corporation has authorized to be issued. Alternatively, the Delaware franchise tax can be calculated upon a reported combination of total issued shares and total gross assets of the company. In either case, the annual franchise tax imposed by the State of Delaware upon Delaware corporations could be as high as $165,000.00.
In Nevada, there simply is no franchise tax - period. Another issue raised by this distinction between Nevada and Delaware is that in Delaware, in order to report and pay the franchise tax, a Delaware corporation must publicly disclose and report its number of authorized shares, issued shares and total gross assets. In contrast, Nevada requires no such reporting, thereby allowing Nevada corporations to keep their business and corporate information internal and private.

Disclaimer: This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. If you have questions or need specific advice relating to the matters contained herein, please contact Lovaas & Lehtinen, P.C.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION

Arbitration and mediation are two different forms of alternative dispute resolution, or ADR, that parties may elect to use, or which may be contractually mandated, to resolve a business dispute without resorting to filing a law suit in court. Arbitration and mediation are entirely different processes than one another.
Arbitration involves the appointment of one or more arbitrators to hear and consider evidence and actually make a decision in the dispute facing the parties. The arbitrator occupies the role that the judge would occupy in a court of law. Often, arbitration is contractually mandated as the exclusive dispute resolution process that business parties may utilize. Contractual arbitration provisions may go so far as to require that the arbitration be conducted within a fixed time-frame; that a certain arbitration provider be used (e.g. the American Arbitration Association or other service); and may limit discovery, the number of witnesses presented at the arbitration proceedings, and other practical issues. In such circumstances, contractual arbitration provisions often call for binding arbitration - that is a proceeding that affords no right of appeal following the arbitrator's rulings on the issues of the case.

By contrast, mediation is a facilitative system where the parties agree to the appointment of a neutral mediator to try to assist them in reaching a negotiated resolution to the dispute they face at the time. Unlike the arbitrator, the mediator has no decision making authority over the issues in the dispute. Rather, the mediator's role is to facilitate communication between the parties to allow them to come up with their own resolution to the pending dispute. While mediators are typically skilled in presenting alternatives that the parties may not have previously considered, it is ultimately the parties themselves who make the decision whether to resolve the dispute and who shape and agree to the resolutions terms.

Partner Aaron Lovaas of Global Business Lawyers serves as a private mediator and arbitrator for clients on a regional, national and international basis, also serving the local legal community in Nevada as a court-appointed arbitrator in Nevada's court annexed arbitration program.

Disclaimer: This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. If you have questions or need specific advice relating to the matters contained herein, please contact Lovaas & Lehtinen, P.C.