Supporting Materials

Some income-tax advantages often encourage the corporate form of organization. One of these is the possibility of selling the business or liquidating it; that is, of going out of business and disposing of the assets. When this occurs, it is possible to obtain long-term capital-gains treatment. A long-term capital gain is a profit on the sale of a capital asset that has been owned for a specified period. Long-term capital gains get preferential tax treatment - that is, half the rate applied to other kinds of income. Short-term gains - held for less than a specified period - are taxed as ordinary income. A second possible tax advantage of the corporate structure is the deferral or postponement of double taxation by simply not paying dividends. A third is the flexibility that comes from being able to time the distribution of earnings so that they occur during the years in which the owners have the lowest tax liability. A fourth advantage is income splitting. This is a provision of the tax laws that allows the owner of a corporation to divide dividend payments from the corporation among members of his family by having each one own some of the stock. A fifth possible advantage is related to fringe benefits, such as group life insurance, medical payment plans, and wage continuation plans, that provide for full or partial payment of wages and salary to the employees during sickness. Many of these fringe benefits are encouraged in the tax laws by allowing deferred tax payments.

Specific accounting methods and procedures are required for income tax purposes. The choice of one method or procedure over the possible alternatives can lead to a tax advantage.

Some methods of accounting for depreciation offer a tax advantage. For example, in the declining-balance method, a greater percentage of the cost of a fixed asset is figured for the earlier years of the life of the asset. The result is that part of the tax liability is deferred until later years.

There is also a special tax credit for investment in most kinds of depreciable assets, with the exception of building, that are acquired and placed in service. This credit was instituted as a means of stimulating new investment in productive facilities. While there are certain limitations on applications of the credit, it offers an important opportunity to reduce taxes.

There are also different accounting methods for the inventory; that is, the goods that a business has on hand. They are commonly known by the strange names of Fifo and Lifo. Fifo stands for first-in, first-out, and it assumes that the first goods acquired are the first goods sold. Lifo, on the other hand, stands for last-in, first-out, and it assumes that the costs of the most recently acquired goods are the same as the costs of the goods sold during the accounting period. The second of these, the Lifo method, may be better from a tax standpoint, since this method results in a lower tax liability in a period of rising prices. Under Lifo, the higher-priced goods are depreciated in the current accounting period.

A tax advantage also exists for businesses that sell merchandise for personal use. These sales are often made on the installment basis, with payments spread over a period of weeks, months, or perhaps even years. For tax purposes, it is permissible to report the profit from sales during the years in which the actual payments are made rather than during the year of the original sale.

A tax advantage is also available to the holders of most depletive assets - those which are used up, or depleted, over a period of time-like oil, natural gas, uranium, or coal. The taxpayer who owns assets of this kind is allowed a deduction on the gross income derived from the asset. The deduction is known as a depletion allowance; because of the economic importance of many of the depletive assets, the percentages allowed to the taxpayers are of great political concern. Some corporations received such a tax advantage that despite substantial earnings, they were paying almost no taxes.

Say it in English:

· добиваться режима долгосрочного прироста капитала (прироста капитальной стоимости)

· получить льготный налоговый режим

· учет износа (учет амортизации)

· отсрочка двойного налогообложения

· дробление дохода (в целях снижения налоговых платежей)

· поощрять (стимулировать) дополнительные выплаты

· допускать отсроченные выплаты налогов

· метод уменьшения остатка

· первое поступление - первый отпуск (ФИФО); учет по методу ФИФО

· последнее поступление - первый отпуск (ЛИФО); учет по методу ЛИФО

· с точки зрения обложения налогом

· на основе платежей в рассрочку

· истощимые активы (в процессе добычи, эксплуатации, обычно-природные ресурсы)

· допускать вычеты (удержания) из валовой прибыли

· устанавливать (вводить) дополнительный 15%-ный налог на доходы с привилегированным налоговым режимом (доходы, подпадающие под альтернативный минимальный налог)