What is Strategic Tax Planning?

Between the extremes of complete compliance with tax law and the outright tax fraud is a dense fog of uncertainty due to the gap created by our current tax laws and lack of guidance from Con­gress. Currently five times longer than the Bible (and increasing by one change a day, on average), the Internal Revenue Code relies on vague and confusing language such as “reasonable compensa­tion” and “ordinary and necessary business expense.” With this ambiguity created by the ever-changing Tax Code, some taxpayers take blind gambles, running substantial risk of audit and penalties. Conversely, another group of taxpayers will enter into their sitau­tions without planning and incur far more tax than legally neces­sary; they considerably pay more than their “fair share”.

Simply stated, Strategic Tax Planning is the process of structur­ing and conducting business and personal transactions so taxes are reduced to the lowest possible level while protecting busi­ness and personal assets in an increasingly litigious society. The overall aim of Strategic Tax Planning is to maximize “after tax” in­come, protect assets, plan for the eventual exit from the business, and minimize estate and inheritance taxes. This is accomplished through the Strategic Tax Planning process, which includes a team of professionals investigating the Tax Laws together with the busi­ness owner’s individual facts and circumstances, to develop a cus­tomized Strategic Tax Report.

In other words, a Strategic Tax Report serves as a map by which to guide business owners to a safe path through the fog of uncertain tax laws. While the hazards may be fearsome to the inexperi­enced, the due diligence of a prudent Strategic Tax Planning team of professionals serves to illuminate the uncertainty and expose the hidden dangers in the complexity of the Tax Law, ultimately permitting business owners to safely structure their businesses and transactions while protecting their assets and reducing their tax burden.