We provide an extremely broad range of business law and tax-planning services and will not attempt to describe them all here. If you are unsure whether we can help you, please ask: chances are we can. Some services we definitely provide are:
Incorporation – Although the vast majority of our incorporations involve companies under the British Columbia Business Corporations Act, we also incorporate “Unlimited Liability Corporations”, Federal business corporations and societies.
Amalgamation – We can assist you in deciding whether or not to amalgamate and can amalgamate your British Columbia companies or your companies from foreign jurisdictions with your British Columbia companies.
Extra-Provincial Registration – If your British Columbia company carries on business elsewhere you generally must register it in that jurisdiction and the same applies to companies from other jurisdictions carrying on business in British Columbia. Some provinces have simplified the procedures but we can help you as much or as little as required.
Continuations – If you have a company from another jurisdiction but you intend to operate it only in British Columbia in the future, you may wish to “continue” it into British Columbia as a British Columbia company.
Mining Law – A combination of geography, facilities and remarkable individuals has made Smithers an ideal base for the mining industry. We have been here and, consequently, have had long and extensive experience serving prospectors, drillers, entrepreneurs, and other law firms requiring agency work.
Business Structuring – Before you incorporate, you should ensure that it makes sense for you. You may want to consider whether to involve your spouse/partner or even your children and, if so, whether they should hold shares directly or a trust should hold shares for them. Should you also incorporate a holding company? Are there any special consents or permits required for your type of business (ie: professionals generally must obtain consent from their college or other governing body before incorporating)? Is another business structure (ie: partnership or sole proprietorship) more advantageous?
Acquisitions – Is it better to buy an existing business rather than starting from scratch? Should you buy shares or assets? What are the risks and how can you minimize them? To what extent can you prevent the seller from competing with you after the sale? How can you structure it to minimize tax, on the sale and in the future? We can work through these and many other questions with you and we can close the deal.
Business Succession – Do you sell, pass it to the kids or do a bit of each? How can you be fair but still ensure that the business carries on? See out “Tax” section for a more comprehensive discussion.