Hey everyone, looking for a gut-check on a co-founder dispute regarding state taxes.
My co-founder and I (50/50 split) run a SaaS structured as a Delaware C-Corp. We are currently in talks to sell the business for around $500k.
Here is the situation: I live entirely outside the US. My co-founder is a US citizen who works remotely and bounces around between different states. We are currently doing our annual tax return, and because he spent time working in a state with aggressive tax laws, his physical presence created a nexus. Now, our C-Corp is getting slapped with an ~8% state corporate income tax on top of our standard 21% federal tax.
Since this state tax is triggered entirely by his personal lifestyle and location choices, I’m struggling to see why my 50% cut of the profits (and our upcoming exit) should take a hit to subsidize it.
Because it's a corporate tax, the state bills the company directly. But internally, should this cost be deducted from his side of the payout? Has anyone else navigated a cross-border founder split like this?
Non-US founder here. Should my US co-founder’s location choices reduce my share of our $500k exit
byu/Professional-Hat9196 intax
Posted by Professional-Hat9196