There is an interesting provision in Donald Trump’s tax reform proposal. Specifically, he proposes to lower the corporate tax rate to 20%, while setting the maximum tax rate for LLC’s and S-corps at 25%. In essence, his proposal would penalize businesses that elect a pass-through entity structure over the traditional corporate structure. So the question is, will this kill the LLC?
Of course, this is only a proposal, and given the track record of the current administration and Republican-led Congress, there may be no tax reform at all. Or, something will pass, but whatever it is will differ in key ways from the original proposal. It’s still worth considering whether it makes any sense to have different tax rates for different entity structures, and what effect that will have.
If the differential tax rate does pass, I expect many of my existing clients who have set up LLCs to engage in some serious tax planning. They will need to compare their tax bill at the new 25% LLC rate, vs. what they would pay if they were a corporation. This may lead a number of these firms to convert to corporations, to take advantage of the preferential tax treatment. Even more profoundly, it may lead new entrepreneurs to ignore LLCs completely when starting a new business. The LLC form is only about 30 years old, and it has become wildly popular for most kinds of businesses, but this new tax scheme may kill it.
Let’s keep an eye on this issue.