(Run Time: 1 min, 40 sec) Working with a first-time auto dealer is an important job.  One reason is because everything is new.  Everything must be set up from scratch.  I always say that it’s easier to do something right the first time than to have to fix it later.  But you have to let me help . . . keep me in the loop. I had a dealership client once that was on the grow . . . purchasing a new dealership every year.  The problem was that his attorney didn’t know dealerships, and I never heard about the transaction until it was consummated.  The result?  Every year, I spent a good amount of time figuring out how to undo errors in the business entity formations,...

(Run Time 1 min, 44 sec) When working with an existing dealer for the first time, the first step is to break everything down to the lowest common denominator, so-to-say.  Each entity, and how these related companies interact with each other.  Consider whether the interactions are arranged in a tax-wise manner.  This has become even more important now in light of the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  Heralded as containing the most sweeping changes in decades, new rules such as the 30% Business Interest Limitation and the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction have turned tax planning on it’s ear. Looking at everything with a new set of eyes can be very . . . well, eye-opening.  The same goes for the dealership returns.  At the end...