When you woke up this morning, did you feel the way you wanted to feel? Did your breakfast and "morning time" (with family, getting ready for school and work, etc.) go smoothly? Was your morning commute a breeze, smooth, no delays, no wrecks, no construction? How about when you got to the office - did you have a 100 e-mails from the night before? Client voice-mail messages demanding their work done yesterday?
I could go on and on, but you get the point. Life does not usually happen as we plan - either on a daily basis or when big life-altering decisions or situations happen in our life. These moments require us to adapt, improvise and overcome. This motto is generally referenced in relation to the U.S. military, but has obvious applicability to every day life. Every day we are forced to become flexible to achieve success, to meet goals, to keep our house in order, to pay the bills, to get the family to all of its functions and extracurricular activities on time. It is a constant and never-ending battle. Thus, we have to constantly adapt, improvise and overcome.
The same can be said when it comes to multistate taxes. Working in the state tax field is a constant barrage of daily change. Every state's laws are different, every client's situation is unique and court cases / rulings are continually changing the interpretation and application of vague tax laws. Every question requires research to be conducted to obtain a conclusion with substantiated certainty. Businesses receive tax notices and assessments that require perseverance and a 'never give up' attitude at times to keep digging (researching) to develop arguments and a strong defense to assessments that appear unreasonable. State tax professionals must adapt, improvise and overcome.
How have you adapted, improvised and overcome in your life or in the state tax field?
What best practices or advice would you give other state tax professionals?