#LegalBytes: The Official Podcast of Cummings & Cummings Law

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings analyzes Georgia’s tax competitiveness in this presentation. The state has made impressive progress, climbing from 28th to 18th on the Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index with a flat 5.19 percent individual and corporate income tax rate scheduled to drop further to 4.99 percent. Yet Georgia remains surrounded by stronger competitors: Florida and...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings explains the extreme tax and fiscal burden facing businesses in the District of Columbia in this presentation. DC collects the highest tax revenue per capita in the nation at $15,009, yet it also carries the highest per capita debt at $32,166 and ranks 48th on the Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index. With a top individual income tax rate of 10.75...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings presents this important overview of why Florida remains one of the strongest states for business ownership and how redomestication provides flexibility when life requires a move. Florida ranks fifth nationally on the Tax Foundation's 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index with no state personal income tax, no estate tax, and a competitive corporate structure that ap...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings explains why Delaware is no longer the default choice for corporate domicile in this presentation. Once considered the gold standard, Delaware now ranks 24th on the Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index and continues to lose major companies such as Tesla, ExxonMobil, TripAdvisor, Dropbox, and Pershing Square to more competitive states. With a 6.6 p...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings breaks down Connecticut’s persistent tax problems in this presentation. The state ranks 47th on the Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index and has remained in the bottom four for eleven consecutive years. With a recapture provision that effectively taxes all income at the top 6.99 percent rate, a 10 percent corporate surtax, one of the nation’s wors...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings examines Colorado’s declining tax competitiveness in this presentation. The state has fallen from 22nd to 33rd on the Tax Foundation’s State Tax Competitiveness Index in just six years, not because of major tax hikes, but because it stood still while twenty-three other states cut their income tax rates. Colorado’s flat 4.4 percent individual and corporate rates no...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings breaks down Arkansas’s tax situation in this presentation. The state has made meaningful rate cuts, lowering its top individual income tax to 3.9 percent and corporate rate to 4.3 percent. Yet Arkansas still carries one of the highest combined state and local sales tax rates in the country, a capital stock tax, an inventory tax, and a throwback rule that taxes inc...

Yes, it IS possible to redomesticate your LLC or corporation out of California, regardless of what the "experts" on Reddit say. Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings explains why California remains one of the worst states for business taxes in this presentation. The state ranks 48th overall on the Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index, near the bottom in individual income taxes, corpor...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings highlights Arizona’s tax reality in this presentation. While the state’s 2.5 percent flat individual income tax is a significant improvement over its previous graduated structure, it is still a tax. Florida and Texas impose none. For a pass-through business owner earning $500,000 annually, that 2.5 percent represents $12,500 per year in state income tax that simpl...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings examines Alaska’s unique tax situation in this presentation. While the state has no individual income tax — a major advantage shared with Florida and Texas — it imposes one of the highest corporate income tax rates in the country at 9.4 percent. Combined with heavy reliance on volatile oil and gas severance taxes and high per capita debt, Alaska’s fiscal model car...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings breaks down Alabama’s tax position in this eye-opening presentation. While the state ranks 37th on the Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index, it still imposes a graduated personal income tax up to 5 percent, a 6.5 percent corporate income tax, and one of the highest combined state and local sales tax rates in the country at 9.46 percent. Compare th...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings explains the single most important document in any redomestication: the Plan of Conversion. Most business owners, CPAs, and even many attorneys have never heard of it, yet without this custom legal instrument, your filings with the Secretary of State may have no legal effect, the transaction can fail, and you risk turning a tax-free move into an expensive mess. Th...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings explains why dissolving your company in one state and forming a new one in another is almost always the wrong move. This common advice from well-meaning professionals can destroy your FEIN, force you to renegotiate every contract, close and reopen bank accounts, reset your credit history, and potentially trigger unnecessary taxes. In this presentation, you’ll see...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings explains the real limitations of the newly raised SALT deduction cap in this presentation. While headlines tout an increase from $10,000 to $40,000, the full benefit phases out above $500,000 in modified adjusted gross income and reverts entirely to the old $10,000 cap at $600,000. The change is also temporary, expiring after tax year 2029, and high earners in the...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings presents this overview on the accelerating migration of billionaires and high-net-worth individuals to Florida. A $300 million mansion is rising on North Bay Road in Miami, with reports of a major tech billionaire arriving by helicopter and raft to view the property. Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, Alex Karp, and Howard Schultz have all made major moves...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings breaks down the latest corporate income tax landscape in this timely presentation. Forty-four states still impose a corporate income tax, with top rates reaching as high as 11.5 percent in New Jersey, while three states cut their rates effective January 1, 2026, and thirteen states now sit at or below 5 percent. Florida and Texas stand out with far lower effective...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings presents this timely presentation on the accelerating corporate exodus from Delaware, now known as DEXIT. Major companies including Tesla and ExxonMobil have already redomesticated to Texas, while TripAdvisor, Dropbox, and Pershing Square have moved to Nevada. Even Meta has reportedly considered Texas. This is no longer a niche trend—it is a structural shift drive...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings presents this eye-opening presentation on a surprising reality: most Americans know very little about how taxes actually work. According to the Tax Foundation’s National Tax Literacy Poll, the majority of taxpayers cannot correctly identify the top federal income tax rate, do not understand how tax brackets function, and have no idea what share of federal taxes is...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings presents this timely update on a major fiscal warning for business owners. According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, forty states ended fiscal 2025 with tax revenue below their 15-year inflation-adjusted trends, marking the first back-to-back real revenue declines outside of a recession in at least fifty years. With structural budget gaps widening, states are under...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings presents this important update on California’s proposed wealth tax and what it really means for business owners. The co-author of the ballot measure, economist Emmanuel Saez, has now confirmed on record that this is not a one-time tax. He openly stated the goal is a recurring, permanent wealth tax on high-net-worth individuals, adding “so be it” to those who choos...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings provides an overview on New York’s new pied-à-terre tax targeting second homes and investor-owned apartments valued at five million dollars and above. With a projected annual revenue of at least five hundred million dollars, the state is once again choosing to extract more money from property owners instead of addressing its massive budget deficit through spending...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings dissects Illinois’ proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the top marginal individual income tax rate from 4.95 percent to 7.95 percent and push the effective rate on pass-through businesses as high as 9.45 percent. While 23 other states have cut their top income tax rates since 2020 and Illinois’ neighbors continue lowering theirs, Illinois is moving...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings exposes California’s push for a recurring wealth tax on high-net-worth individuals and business owners. The principal author has openly stated the tax is not a one-time event and that if residents leave in response, “so be it.” While 23 other states have cut their top income tax rates since 2020 and Florida and Texas impose zero state income tax, California contin...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings presents this powerful presentation on the Tax Foundation's 2026 Facts and Figures report showing state tax collections per capita for fiscal year 2024. While tax rates get most of the attention, the amount each state actually collects per person reveals the true burden. California collects $6,754 per person. Florida collects just $2,726. New York takes $6,000 whi...

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings presents this powerful presentation on what you are really paying for when you hire a licensed attorney. Filling out forms and filing paperwork is something anyone can do. What you cannot get from templates, chatbots, or document services is the exercise of professional judgment by a licensed fiduciary who is trained, examined, insured, and held legally accountabl...