Buying, selling, or setting up a business can be a rewarding endeavor and the attorneys at MMC can assist. A taxable asset purchase allows the buyer to "step up," or increase, the tax basis of the acquired assets to reflect the purchase price.Below is a general due diligence checklist with the first 8 of 16 items to cover your bases in a business or asset purchase transaction. Generally an asset sale is better because it limits your exposure because the seller's liabilities remain with the seller and do not carryover.