Deal With Credit Issues

Income and corporation taxes are levied on income or profit. In the disposal of a business, proceeds from the sale of trading assets such as stock are included in the trading income of the business for the year in which they are sold and corporation tax might be payable on any profit resulting from the sale.

Income tax could apply to a business vendor in many other areas too numerous to mention in a book such as this. You should, as a part of your exit planning, review with your advisors the likely impact the sale of your business will have on your personal income tax, particularly with regard to the proposed timing of the sale. Early advice will give you the time to plan for the optimum outcomes. Also, it is difficult, and often illegal, to backtrack on transactions after they have been processed, so it is necessary to get it right the first time.

Customer perceptions and behaviour – what the customer wants and expects – are among the biggest influences on pricing. Successful pricing is based on a clear understanding of the needs and nature of the target market. The culture of the market affects pricing decisions. If there is an acceptance of a particular type of pricing structure or approach, strategies will often follow this. The maturity of the market is also important. If the market is mature with few new customers, pricing decisions should focus on taking customers from competitors as well as retaining market share. But if the market is new and growing, the aim is to build and gain market share as rapidly as possible.

These two approaches may or may not lead to the same result. Lastly, if the market is in decline, prices may need to be cut simply to compete for a dwindling number of customers.

The economic influences on pricing include monopoly and the extent of competition. Antitrust legislation aims to stop abuses of market power by big companies and to prevent mergers or acquisitions that would create a monopoly. Supply and demand affect pricing, because generally when supply exceeds demand prices will fall. The converse is also true: when demand exceeds supply prices will rise. One sales technique is often to stimulate demand by creating a perception of scarcity. Linked to this concept is price elasticity of demand, which highlights how the volume of demand is influenced by changes in price.