When a tax regime reaches unrealized gains in privately held business stakes, valuation becomes more than a transaction support exercise, it becomes the foundation for determining what an owner is actually worth on paper. For business owners, investors, and advisors, the central issue is not simply whether a stake has increased in value, but how […]
California’s proposed one-time 5 percent wealth tax on residents with net worth above $1 billion, measured as of December 31, 2026, would do more than increase a tax bill. It would force ultra-high-net-worth taxpayers, their advisors, and valuation professionals to defend the fair market value of every privately held asset in a net worth calculation. […]
A business fair market value (FMV), or market value, is commonly used in business valuations and is defined by several public institutions or valuation associations as: “the price that would be negotiated in an open and unrestricted market between a knowledgeable, willing but not anxious buyer and a knowledgeable, willing but not anxious seller acting at arm’s length.” If […]