Corporate Tax Lawyers in Atlanta
In Atlanta, Georgia, a "corporation" is specified 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 concept is referred to as "corporate personhood" in Georgia, and it basically means that, for many purposes under the law, corporations are treated the same as individual people, being subject to many of the same rights and responsibilities.
An apparent example of this concept is a corporation's obligation to pay income taxes similar to how an actual person would.
Corporate Tax Rate in Atlanta, Georgia
Every corporation in the United States is obligated to pay federal income tax. Most states also have a corporate income tax, which corporations doing business in Atlanta, Georgia are obligated to pay.
At the federal level, and in certain states, corporations are taxed at different rates from individuals. Federally, the top corporate tax rate is 35% - a rate applying to corporations earning more than .3 million per year. Corporations earning less than ,000 a year pay a 15% corporate tax rate, and there are a few tax brackets in between. For comparison, the federal income tax for persons maxes out at 33%.
The tax rate in Georgia for corporations probably also differs from the taxes that individuals must pay. In some states, the government has determined that their interests would be best served by making corporate taxes as low as possible. So in many states, the tax rate for corporations is much lower than the one paid by individuals, unlike the federal corporate tax.
Corporations in Atlanta, Georgia are obligated to pay both the state and federal corporate tax. Failing to pay either (or both) of these taxes can result in grave legal penalties, including fines that may prove ruinous, particularly for smaller businesses.
How Can a Atlanta, Georgia Corporate Tax Lawyer Help?
Many major corporations employ tax lawyers full time, to guarantee that they are in conformity with tax laws, and find legal means to reduce their tax liability.
But most smaller Atlanta corporations cannot afford to have these professionals on staff. Therefore, they simply hire them as needed. If you are a business owner, and you have concerns about corporate taxation, you should seek the counsel of a competent and dependable tax lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia as soon as you can.