Asset Protection

The economy sure has done a 180 in the last year. People are not only losing their investment homes but they are losing the homes they live in. Retirement accounts are being wiped out faster then you can sell the stock and pull the money out. Our personal belief is that before this gets better it is going to get much worse. So what should you be doing? You should be at work enacting (or setting up) your plans to protect the assets that you have and that you may get in the future. Give us a call at 775-577-4822 so that we can help you before it is to late!

Corporate Havens

CORPORATE HAVENS

What is a corporate haven? A corporate haven is a jurisdiction that provides a favorable climate for forming corporations. It is a pro-business state that provides flexibility in the management and structure of the company, and usually provides a measure of tax-favored treatment. A corporate haven is attractive to individuals located outside that specific jurisdiction, who live in places that don’t provide the same advantages.

It is pretty easy to spot a corporate haven. A corporate haven will form an unusually large number of corporations in comparison to the population of that state. That is a sure sign that the jurisdiction is attracting corporations from a much wider base.

Most people who incorporate do so for one or more of the following reasons:

Ø Protection from personal liability,
Ø Tax advantages,
Ø Financial privacy, and
Ø Flexibility in management and control.

All corporations provide advantages in these areas to a degree, but certain states do it better than others. There is an economic incentive for states to establish themselves as a corporate haven. The more corporations a state files, the more revenue it brings in through initial filing fees and the annual renewal fees necessary to maintain corporate status. In addition, a state with favorable corporate laws attracts economic development and growth, in other words, it brings in new jobs. Some states raise better cattle, some states grow superior potatoes, some are proud of apples, but the following states specialize in corporations.

At the top of the list is Nevada for closely held companies, while Delaware heads the list for publicly traded corporations.

Nevada's Pro Business Attitude

In 1996, Nevada made its first appearance in the Top Ten List of states with the highest number of incorporations. That’s not bad considering there are 36 states with larger populations than Nevada, and testimony of the filing efficiency of the State. Over 2,400 corporations are formed every month in Nevada, which is a 500% increase over 1985 filings. By 2004 over 200,000 entities were domiciled in Nevada and by 2008 well over 300,000 entities are domiciled in the State.

Because of Nevada’s pro-business attitude, Nevada has ranked highly in a number of studies comparing the business climate of various states. The 2004 Small Business Survival Index, published by the Small Business Survival Committee, (and includes such factors as taxation, health care costs, unemployment, crime rate, bureaucracies, etc.) has rated Nevada # 2 among all States for having a favorable policy environment for entrepreneurship. Nevada ranked in the top 10 in the Site Selection Magazine survey of business executives ranking business climate. The Tax Foundation ranked Nevada # 6 in their 2004 State Business Tax Climate Index. While other factors are used in each of these studies, they all consider the management features of each state’s business law as heavily weighted components.

In the last decade, Nevada has clearly established itself as the “Corporation Capital of the West,” and has shown significant annual growth in the number of new businesses that incorporate there each year. In addition, Nevada’s legal system has naturally grown to accommodate the need for establishing legal precedents that support the state law.