“There is nothing wrong with a strategy to avoid the payment of taxes. The Internal Revenue Code doesn’t prevent that.” The late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.
Most business owners don’t have a strategy or a plan for savings taxes. They think they do or actually they think their tax preparer does and that their tax preparer is implementing that “plan.” But the reality is the tax preparer is just making sure you’re in compliance and compliance is simply putting numbers in the right boxes on the right form and sending it to the IRS at the right time. Some plan!!
Are you satisfied with the amount of taxes you pay? Are you absolutely confident that you’re taking advantage of every legally available tax break? Is your tax advisor giving you proactive advice to save on taxes? The bad news, you do pay too much in taxes and you’re probably not taking advantage of every tax break. What a horrible feeling. The good news, you don’t have to feel that way. You just need a better plan. The first step in tax planning is actually coming up with the plan.
Tax planning for your business is about giving you a well thought out written “map” to minimizing your taxes. The map will guide you on: What you should do; When you should do it; and How you should do it.
There are two more powerful advantages in tax planning:
First, it’s the key to your financial defense. As a business owner, you have to ways to put money in your pocket: Financial Offense is making more; Financial Defense is spending less. For most business owners taxes are the biggest expense. So it’s common sense to focus our financial defense on saving taxes.
Second, tax planning guarantees results. You could and should spend time, energy and money on marketing your business, making sure you are communicating directly to your ideal customer or client to maximize results. But you can’t guarantee results. Or you can utilize the Internal Revenue Code to set-up a medical reimbursement plan, deduct your child’s braces, and guarantee savings! And that is only one guarantee, there are many more.
You wouldn’t launch a new product or service without a least some planning. You wouldn’t expand your operations without some planning. You wouldn’t even venture to move your business from one location to another location, even if it’s only next door or across the street without planning. So stop the mistaken belief that you’re engaging in tax planning every April 15th when your preparer simply complies with the Code and make a real plan using the Code to guarantee savings.