Corporate Tax Lawyers in Foster City
In Foster City, California, a "corporation" is defined as a legal entity that's separate from its owners. Therefore, from a legal standpoint, the owner of a corporation and the corporation itself are not the same "person."
This rule is called "corporate personhood." Basically, under the law of California, corporations are, in many ways, the same as individual human beings. Therefore, corporations have some of the same legal rights and obligations as actual people.
One of a corporation's primary legal obligations is its duty to pay income taxes, as an actual person would.
Corporate Tax Rate in Foster City, California
Every corporation in the U.S. which has taxable income must pay its share of the federal corporate income tax. The majority of states further have a corporate income tax, which Foster City, California corporations are required to pay.
Under federal laws that control corporate income taxes, corporations pay a different income tax rate from individual people. Corporations pay a maximum federal income tax rate of 35%, and a minimum rate of 15%, depending on their income. The high tax rate applies to corporations that make $18.3 million per year, and the low rate applies to any company bringing in less than $50,000.
Likewise, chances are good that the corporate tax rate in California are different from individual income taxes. However, many states feel that their economies would be best served by attracting as many businesses as possible. For that reasons, in a large number of states, the corporate income tax rate is substantially lower than the individual rate.
In any case, Foster City, California corporations have to pay both the state and federal income tax. If they fail to do so, they can be subject to severe penalties, such as very large fines. These fines can be big enough to put some smaller companies out of business. Suffice to say, it's normally cheaper for corporations to pay their taxes than to not.
How Can a Foster City, California Corporate Tax Lawyer Help?
Most bigger companies have corporate attorneys and accountants on staff who help them comply with federal and state tax laws.
As most business owners know, however, the majority of small Foster City corporations can't afford to have attorneys on staff full time. Therefore, if you run a small corporation, and are confused about the corporate tax issues that may affect you, it's a very good idea to retain the services of a Foster City, California tax attorney immediately.