by Mike Baker | Jul 15, 2019
I can tell you how to make money and pay no tax. “Doubtful,” you think, feeling skeptical and remembering that wise mantra “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” True story: last week I was eating at a Chinese restaurant, opened up my fortune cookie, and...
by Mike Baker | Jun 15, 2019
Running your business as an S corporation has several tax benefits. However, it’s hard to raise money in an S corp because you can only have one class of stock and you cannot have entity shareholders. So what do you do when you want traditional investors? One...
by Mike Baker | Jun 1, 2019
Few tax code sections are as technical or punitive as Section 409A. If you get things wrong, you’re staring a 20% penalty in the face… plus acceleration of tax, plus interest, plus an additional 5% penalty if you happen to live in California. But there is good news....
by Mike Baker | Mar 1, 2019
It’s a badge of honor for a founder to be able to say, “we started this company in my garage.” After all, notable companies like Apple started that way. On the other hand, founders do not enjoy living in their parent’s garage. When the typical lifecycle from formation...
by Mike Baker | Feb 1, 2019
So, you want to grant a stock option in a privately-held corporation? Here’s how, in 10 easy steps… Step 1: Have legal counsel prepare an equity incentive plan, form of option grant notice, option agreement, notice of exercise, and board and stockholder consent. These...
