As businesses expand globally, new opportunities and new legal obstacles appear everywhere. That is where Reinhart steps in. Whether it is helping a foreign business acquire a U.S. company or helping a U.S. business conduct operations overseas, Reinhart has the experience needed for today's global economy. Our attorneys, most of whom are located within a 90-minute drive of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, not only deal with legal issues around the world, they have the connections to help clients succeed abroad.
FOREIGN COMPANIES CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES
Reinhart has the expertise to help your business successfully compete in the United States. Over the years, four Reinhart attorneys have chaired the International Practice Section of the State Bar Association and another former shareholder served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic. In addition to the issues briefly described below, Reinhart has published the guide Foreign Investment in the United States.
Foreign Investment in the United States (Inbound Investment)
Reinhart provides a full range of legal services to investors in the United States, including mergers and acquisitions ("M&A"), tax, securities, and environmental. We represent institutional investors making direct investments in companies and investments through private equity or other private market funds. Additionally, our trade regulation and antitrust practices represent clients before federal, state and local regulatory bodies for necessary approvals, licenses and registrations.
Reinhart's M&A practice encompasses a broad spectrum of clients and activities, ranging from counseling purchasers and sellers of small and middle-market companies to negotiating and structuring complex transactions for large, publicly-held companies. These transactions can range anywhere from several million dollars to several billion dollars in transaction value.
Success Story: Reinhart helped a publicly-traded Swiss client to successfully complete numerous acquisitions throughout the United States, as well as expand its global network of machinery and vehicle manufacturing facilities. Services provided by Reinhart include international tax structuring, supply chain management and the registration of U.S. and foreign intellectual property rights.
Licensing and Intellectual Property Protection
Reinhart prepares and reviews licensing and other technology transfer agreements with respect to intellectual property ("IP") rights, obtains statutory or other U.S. protection for foreign patents and trademarks, helps clients navigate U.S. technology transfer regulations and restrictions and advises on the import of goods involving IP rights. We also assist foreign counsel with their U.S. patent and trademark enforcement, clearance and protection needs.
Success Story: For years, Reinhart had nationalized European patent applications in the United States for a European client. When the client decided to expand its production facilities to the United States with a new product offering, Reinhart helped the client analyze third-party IP to minimize risk as well as prepare and file numerous patent applications to cover the product offering launch.
Tax Planning, Transfer Pricing and Repatriation
Reinhart's inbound tax planning practice focuses on transfer pricing and repatriation techniques.
Reinhart helps clients plan for and document the arm's length price with respect to transactions that cross international borders, which is the most significant tax issue facing multinational companies. We help clients develop defensible transfer pricing positions pursuant to the IRS regulations and the guidelines promulgated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Implementing these positions often involves drafting documentation for penalty protection or negotiating with the tax authorities in pursuit of an Advance Pricing Agreement.
Reinhart also helps clients take advantage of operating and financing structures to reduce or eliminate withholding taxes on repatriation. We further assist foreign clients structure their U.S. activities to avoid the U.S. income tax jurisdiction under either the Internal Revenue Code or an applicable tax treaty. We also advise foreign persons with planning to minimize the impact of the U.S. estate and gift taxes. Finally, we represent our clients in controversies with various taxing agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service.
Success Story: A Nordic client manufactured equipment that it sold to its U.S. subsidiary. The price charged from the client to its U.S. subsidiary would impact whether income would be subject to tax at either the U.S. rate of 42% or the Nordic country's rate of 22%. Reinhart negotiated an advance pricing agreement ("APA") with the IRS to minimize the amount of income the U.S. subsidiary had to report on its U.S. tax return to only 2.1% of sales.
Customs and Import Regulations
Reinhart advises on import classification and valuation issues, the Generalized System of Preferences, Caribbean Basin Initiative and other special tariff opportunities such as Foreign Trade Zones, the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement. We also assist clients with customs protests and appeals before the U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Court of International Trade as well as provide counsel on import remedies under U.S. antidumping, countervailing duty and unfair import practices laws.
Success Story: Reinhart recently assisted a manufacturing client by protesting the reclassification of duty rate imposed by U.S. Customs on imported components. The successful protest resulted in immediate savings to the client as well as an annual reduction in the duties paid by the client of approximately $40,000.
Immigration Matters
Reinhart develops and implements successful immigration strategies. More specifically, Reinhart advises on U.S. visa requirements for foreign business personnel and works with allied professionals to facilitate the preparation and handling of visa applications to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Reinhart also works with the EB-5 Visa Program to obtain visas for foreign individuals making a significant investment in the United States.
Success Story: Reinhart recently helped a multinational client implement a strategy to move inbound personnel using streamlined immigration processes. This will help the client move its personnel in a more timely, efficient and predictable manner.
U.S. COMPANIES CONDUCTING BUSINESS ABROAD
Reinhart attorneys have access to legal expertise in most markets around the world. Moreover, Reinhart attorneys are recognized leaders and experts of the international bar. One shareholder recently served as President of the UIA (Union Internationale des Avocats/International Association of Lawyers), which is the world's oldest international bar association and is headquartered in Paris, France. Another shareholder chaired the Business Law Practice Section of LawAsia, an association of business attorneys practicing in Pacific Rim countries.
U.S. Investment in Foreign Countries (Outbound Investment)
Reinhart provides the full range of legal services with respect to outbound investments, including M&A transactions and joint ventures, advising on foreign registration, disclosure, currency and exchange control laws and helping clients take advantage of foreign investment incentive programs, such as tax holidays. We also assist in establishing branch offices or subsidiaries in various countries.
Reinhart's M&A practice encompasses a broad spectrum of clients and activities, ranging from counseling purchasers and sellers of small and middle-market companies to negotiating and structuring complex transactions for large, publicly-held companies. These transactions can range anywhere from several million dollars to several billion dollars in transaction value.
Success Story: Reinhart recently helped a U.S. manufacturing client form a joint venture in China to manufacture and distribute the client's products throughout Asia. The project involved advice from Reinhart with respect to intellectual property, supply chain management, tax planning and transfer pricing.
Exports
Reinhart has several attorneys dedicated to products distribution issues, including the maintenance and establishment of sales networks and the termination of agents and distributors. Reinhart provides counsel on all matters relating to exports, including U.S. export restrictions, anti-boycott laws, antitrust and competition laws, dispute resolution and choice of law contract provisions, international banking and finance (including payment procedures) and governmental assistance programs. Additionally, we help clients take advantage of tax-based export incentives through Interest Charge-Domestic International Sales Corporations (IC‑DISCs).
Success Story: A client, an S corporation, exported approximately $20 million of domestically manufactured products. By organizing an IC-DISC, Reinhart was able to save the client approximately $200,000 of U.S. taxes. Further tax savings accrued when Reinhart identified sales to U.S. distributors who ultimately exported the products as well as sales to Canadian customers that had been incorrectly listed as domestic sales on the client's books and records.
Outbound Tax Planning and Transfer Pricing
Reinhart's outbound tax planning focuses on organizational structuring alternatives for outbound investment. Reinhart helps clients maximize foreign tax credits to eliminate double taxation and defer U.S. taxation of foreign earnings to reduce overall effective tax rates. Reinhart also advises with respect to transfer pricing, which enables our clients to satisfy documentation requirements as well as move income in a tax-efficient manner. With growing uncertainty regarding the future of U.S. tax rates, Reinhart also advises on choice of entity planning, including check-the-box strategies. Additionally, Reinhart represents clients before the various tax authorities, including the Internal Revenue Service, on issues ranging from proof of foreign tax credits to foreign bank account records (FBAR).
Success Story: A client incurred an effective tax rate of over 60% on foreign operations due to the income being taxed in both the foreign country and the United States. Reinhart recommended different contractual terms of sale, which increased the amount of foreign taxes the client could credit on its U.S. tax return. As a result, the overall effective tax rate dropped to 40%.
Licensing and Intellectual Property Protection
Reinhart prepares and reviews licensing and other technology transfer agreements, provides advice and assistance in obtaining IP rights abroad, coordinates with foreign technology transfer regulations and restrictions, assists with foreign registration and disclosure laws and advises on the export of goods involving IP rights. We also work closely with foreign counsel to enforce IP rights and challenge the IP rights of third parties globally.
Success Story: For years, Reinhart had coordinated patent applications for a U.S. client. When the client decided to expand its production facilities to Europe, Reinhart helped the client analyze third-party IP to minimize risk as well coordinate the filing of numerous patent applications.