Lex
J. Byers serves as the organization's senior counselor and creator of the
P.E.B.™ Plan. In that capacity he is responsible for the overall regulation and
structure of the company, conducting enterprise valuations and diagnosing the
fiscal health of client organizations. Byers joined Argent, LLC following an
extensive career in government, tax research, financial analysis and marketing
that spans the past 30 years.
A former senior congressional staff
member (Executive Assistant to The Honorable Eldon Rudd - 4th District, AZ),
Byers uses his extensive knowledge of Washington D.C.'s regulatory and
legislative environment to keep the organization current on pending federal
tax, retirement and business issues. Additionally, he holds membership in the
Association of Corporate Counsel and is a General Associate of the American Bar
Association, where he is active in the ABA Sections on Tax and Estate Planning.
Lex’s entrepreneurial career also
includes serving as government affairs manager for the Food Marketing Institute
(Washington, D.C.); government affairs manager for the Greater Phoenix Chamber
of Commerce and executive vice president of the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce.
Byers was educated at the University of California-San Diego, and the University
of San Diego.
A recognized expert in retirement planning, income tax
mitigation and asset protection, Byers has experience structuring tax and
enterprise transactions, including corporate and limited liability company
formations (domestic and offshore), acquisitions, dispositions and mergers,
buy-sell agreements, partnership agreements, joint ventures, real estate
acquisitions, dispositions and tax-deferred exchanges. Additionally, Mr.
Byers has substantial experience in the areas of ERISA, tax treatment of
business enterprises and tax-deferred entities.
His Business Succession work focuses on transition issues
for professionals and small business owners. The primary goal of
professionals and small business owners is often to minimize taxes while retaining
control of their business. To that end, Byers has extensive experience
setting up both qualified and nonqualified retirement programs with their
attendant tax deferral benefits.
In his asset protection practice, Lex assists clients in
protecting their assets from potential creditors arising from personal and
business transactions. Specific, tax-neutral strategies utilizing
both onshore and offshore vehicles include the use of Asset Protection Trusts,
corporate veils, bearer shares, spendthrift trusts and International Business
Companies.
He also has extensive experience representing clients before
the IRS and other taxing authorities on issues ranging from simple sales tax
examinations to complex unitary business investigations.
Lex is a frequent lecturer to various
financial planning and professional associations on topics ranging from
structural formation and taxation to asset protection and retirement planning.
He is an instructor for continuing education of Attorneys, Financial Planners
and Certified Public accountants lecturing on ART: Asset protection, Retirement
and advanced Tax planning techniques.
In his spare time, Lex collects and drives a variety of classic motorcycles and automobiles.
In his spare time, Lex collects and drives a variety of classic motorcycles and automobiles.