Tax & Business Insights

Help is Here, Now!

Volume 16 Issue 5 --  September/ October 2004

You must have heard the 2004 Democratic cry, “Help is on the Way!”  Lucky you, YOU don=t need to wait.  For many years, accountants and attorneys have been relying on The Tax and Business Professionals, Inc. (T&BP), to provide help.

What kind of help and why?  Many of you out there have been reading this newsletter but may not realize that we do much more than write free newsletters. 

Have you ever thought about how convenient it would be to have a tax partner in a nearby office to whom you could turn when knotty tax questions arise? 

For many attorneys and accountants, T&BP fulfills that function. Instead of being in an office at the other end of the hall, we’re at the other end of a telephone line or an e-mail message.

Many clients have come to think of T&BP as a valued resource.  For example, what do you say to a Client that wants to give a piece of land to his hometown?   What if a Client wants to set up another ice cream store in another state?

Since 1987, we have been providing advice on subjects such as those mentioned above and much more.  Do we know it all?  Of course not; no one does.  Do we know as much as specialists at large law firms?  Often not, because such firms have the wherewithal to have one attorney work only in one narrowly focused area, for example, state sales tax issues.  But what about advice involving state sales tax and many other issues as the same relate to forming a subsidiary?

What We Really Do

Some brief illustrations from recent projects will show the range and diversity of tax issues that our clients bring to us.

A Sounding Board

In addition to writing formal memos, we can, for example, “ghost-write” a letter or memo for you to put on your own stationery to address a particular situation. Often a client will call and use us as a sounding board to determine if an issue merits research or to get a second opinion. 

Often, in taxation and business there is no clear answer, and many risk factors have to be weighed.  We can and do listen, and provide valuable advice.  Do we charge for such advice?  Of course, it is our work product.

In recent years, e-mail has become an increasingly useful way of communicating with our clients. For example, recently a CPA who was working on a tax return whose filing deadline was fast approaching encountered a potentially complex question involving an S corporation shareholder whose basis in both stock and debt had been reduced by losses in prior years.  The CPA needed assistance with figuring out how to treat a partial loan repayment on the return.  An e-mail inquiry was answered within the day.

Of course, you could hire an associate or take on a partner to do what T&BP does, but that would likely be very much more expensive than paying for the assistance of T&BP on an as-needed basis.

We know how busy you are and how easy it is to overlook resources because you have not dealt with this or that issue in some time.  Even if you have all the best resources and the time to consult them, there are still situations where a second opinion is valuable.

There are some clients whom we hear from about once every five years.  This newsletter is oriented to those individuals.  We hope to hear from you soon.  

For more about what we do, click here.



Copyright 2004, 2005
By Tax and Business Professionals, Inc.
9837 Business Way
Manassas, VA 20110
(800) 553-6613

While designed to be accurate, this publication is not intended to constitute the rendering of legal, accounting, or other professional services or to serve as a substitute for such services.

Redistribution or other commercial use of the material contained in Tax & Business Insights is expressly prohibited without the written permission of Tax and Business Professionals, Inc.