Are you doing 'deep work'?
Meaning, are you digging into the facts and state tax authority to find what is essential? To find true cash tax savings? To identify, quantify and mitigate risk?
We are all bombarded with the 'fire drill' of the day - compliance or reactive, last-minute advice needed for a transaction. Perhaps a notice or audit assessment out of the blue with a tight deadline. Some of us respond to e-mail constantly.
It's time to do deep work.
To do the projects that others don’t want to do or have time to do. To dig into court cases, rulings, statutes, regulations, audit assessments, transactions, etc. to identify opportunities, risks and tax policy that should be challenged.
To work with tax professionals, and legislators to learn their perspective and shed light on areas that are grey.
To help reduce the unintended consequences of legislation and problems caused by actions taken or the lack thereof.
After we do deep work, we need to turn that ‘deep work’ into intelligence and tools that are practical. To communicate the application of complicated state tax authority into easy to understand terminology which allows clients to make informed decisions and act.
It is too easy to be reactive in life and at work. I seek to live and work proactively, and lead my clients to do so as well. I believe extraordinary efforts are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus. I also believe in every set of facts or law, something essential is hidden.
I don't just want to be the best at what I do. I want to find the best way to do it.
State tax professionals solve problems through technical arguments, experience, negotiation and contacts. My role is to make it easier.
State taxes are deceptively simple and endlessly complicated. Let's do deep work and get results.