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News flash: most of the companies we’ve been asked to value so far in 2010 are reporting lower-than-normal growth rates since the 2008 recession began, or even outright sales drops.

To paraphrase James Carville, ‘it’s the economy, stupid’! No doubt about it: the economy stinks, and it’s awfully tough to predict when things will get better.

But every cloud has a silver lining. If there ever was a great time to gift interests in your business, that time is now. Take a look at this Wall Street Journal article from late 2008. Sound familiar? We’re in virtually the same boat as two years ago, and the opportunities still exist.

Company values are generally lower thanks to economic and industry woes, so you can gift away many more shares now than in years past. Tax rates are likely to go up in the years ahead as Federal, state and local governments seek every means at their disposal to grow tax revenues, so gifting likely will become more expensive as time passes.

Talk with your advisor. The stars have aligned for business owners who want to transfer interests in their companies to others.

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