Business Valuation Wire reports there has been a sharp spike in the number of families asking valuation professionals to analyze what the newly proposed rules out of Treasury mean to their business succession plans:

Valuation practitioners tell BVWire they are already seeing an increase in valuation engagements triggered by the proposed Section 2704 regulations. And they expect this to gain steam as the regs continue to sink in with attorneys, wealth planners, and clients.

This should not come as a surprise.  The proposed rules target family businesses for higher estate and gift taxes, simply for being family-owned businesses.  They accomplish this by forcing the estates of family business owners to disregard important facts like control and marketability when ownership of the business is being passed on to the next generation.  Read through the S-Corp presentation for a full explanation.

The good news is the rule is just proposed, and there is time for you to act to block this rule from becoming law.  Here are three steps you can take right now to help us defeat this rule.

  1. Sign the Letter!

Are you a family business?  Do you intend to pass your business on to the next generation?  Do the pending rules threaten those plans?  Then click on the link below and sign this letter opposing the new Treasury regulations.

Spearheaded by our allies at the National Association of Manufacturers, the goal of the letter is to get as many business groups and family businesses as possible to sign on prior to COB on September 26th.   So click on the link, add your business, and forward the link to other family businesses!

  1. Contact the Small Business Advocate

The Office of Small Business Advocate is charged with defending the Main Street business community against harmful federal rules, and they need to hear from you on this issue.

  1. Submit Your Formal Comments!

The law requires Treasury to have a comment period on large rule changes like this one, so this is your chance to weigh in directly with the staff who drafted the proposed rule.  Click on the link below to register your opposition!

The Comment Period lasts through November 2nd, but don’t wait.  Already, dozens of family business owners have weighed in with comments like this one:

I am a 4th generation citrus grower and our family business is taxed high enough as it is. The citrus industry is suffering today greatly from a disease called Greening. We are having difficulty as it is without having to plan for additional estate taxes down the road.

Get your comments in today!

That’s it for now. Much more to follow.