The Ritual of Taxes
By Richard Schooley
10/26/20
Part of the ritual of my business life is the on-going conversation with trusted advisors.
I’m an S Corp. I’ve been a sole proprietor and later a C Corp, but a conversation with my tax accountant years ago shifted the way I run my small business and how I approach many decisions in my life. Today, I had the near-year-end conversation with my tax accountant that has been taking place for more than a decade. It is a bit of ritual, as are so many of our annual check-in conversations.
This has been a strange year. Full of ups and downs, but as the year comes to a close, I will still be in the top tax bracket. It’s a love-hate kind of thing. I’m grateful for the successes and the contributions I can make to my community, but I don’t like paying taxes. Who does?
What I do like is the 20+ year relationship my tax accountant and I have and our ongoing conversation. I have not always taken his advice, though he has a better track record of being right than I do. While I have learned things from our disagreements, it is the exploration of my business, his knowledge of the tax code and our shared insights into where the world—and my business—will go next year that I find to be of greatest value.
I have no control over the market and my investments. So naturally, we incorporate my financial advisor.
For me, the ritual of taxes begins at the end of the year as I look ahead and forecast the next. While I have some control over my business (more, please!), I have no control over the market and my investments. So naturally, we incorporate my financial advisor. This is where things get really interesting. Honestly, I don’t think any of the three of us agree politically, but somehow that never comes up. We just turn a cold eye to what we see on the horizon and set a course.
Then, we check-in because it never goes quite as we envisioned it. So, while March 15th and April 15th, and sometimes September 15th and October 15th, are the routine dates that require my attention, it is the conversation with trusted advisors that I value as part of the ritual of my business life. Year in and year out, those conversations anchor me and simultaneously give me what I need to navigate the course ahead.
Potentia, Potentia Wealth and LPL Financial do not provide legal advice or tax services. Please consult your legal advisor or tax advisor regarding your specific situation.