buying a business
Foreign National Buying a Business in the U.S.: What to Consider

We’re helping clients—foreign nationals buying a business in the United States that are coming to a foreign country where they don’t have the knowledge that they have from their own country—navigate very complex tax and business laws in order to build the most efficient tax and legacy structure possible for them.

My name’s Julian Casal. I’m a trust and estates attorney, and I’m a managing partner at Casal & Moreno, P.A. In effect, the practice focuses on helping the clients structure their assets correctly so they leave a legacy when they pass away. If you’re buying a business, you’ll want to ensure it goes into the proper hands once you’re gone.

How Casal & Moreno Can Help When Buying a Business in the U.S.

There are three main pitfalls in not structuring your acquisition or your assets correctly. The first is an estate death tax concern. This is a tax that’s applied upon the death of somebody. Unfortunately, most clients that are foreigners are unfamiliar with this tax because it may not exist in their country. And most of them will have a misconception that it does not apply to them because they are not U.S. citizens.

The second concern and pitfall is from an income tax perspective. Depending on how you structure things here, you’re going to have certain levels of income taxation. Some clients will make the mistake of structuring in a way where they are taxed two times upon their income: at the corporate level and at the personal level.

The third consideration is factual. It depends on the facts of the case and the partnership or corporate or limited liability company structure. We have to take all of that into consideration to make sure we address those issues at the inception and the client does everything right the first time.

Are you a non-U.S. Citizen who is considering buying a business here in the United States of America? Don’t wait until it’s too late to protect your business. Call Casal & Moreno to set up your business the right way from the start.