Harvey Redmond is planning a new business that he expects will grow into a large company within a few years. Harvey’s lawyer has advised him that large companies are usually C-type corporations because of stock market considerations, so he’s considering that form now to avoid reorganizing later on. However, he’s also concerned about the after tax income he’ll be able to take out of the business during the first few years.

Harvey thinks his business will have pretax earnings (after paying his salary) of about $150,000 per year for the first three years. Does it make sense for him to operate as a proprietorship for three years and then reorganize into a C-type at an estimated cost of $80,000 or to choose the C-type now at essentially no additional cost? Assume a simplified tax system in which the corporate rate is 34% and Harvey’s personal tax rate is 28% on all income including dividends.

Ignore the fact that the cash flows occur at different times and the possibility of using an S-type corporation or an LLC for the first three years.