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Tax Suggestions

by John S. Rhodes
2 replies
I did well in 2008. I hope you did well too. If you didn't there's
still some time left to make a few bucks...

Here's something I did. I spent a lot of time and money talking
to my accountant about my business. This is NOT an expense.
It's an investment you should make if you're serious.

In any event, I just want to make sure you're considering taxes.
There are some wonderful ways to reduce taxes through various
retirement investments. And, don't forget about health care,
day care, and education. If you have a business you can write
off a ton of stuff -- 100% legal. It's encouraged in fact.

The best way to do all this is via your own company. Also, if
done right, you get pretty good legal protection. Again, setting
this stuff up is not an expense. They money isn't burned up...

~ John
#suggestions #tax
  • Profile picture of the author kristinecpa
    Great post John. As a CPA who works with a lot of eBay sellers and other online business owners, I'm always surprised at the number of people who...

    1. Don't know they have to report their online income
    2. Don't know what expenses they can deduct, and
    3. Think they can't afford a tax preparer/accountant

    The thing is if you fail to report your income (and subsequently get audited), or if you miss out on valuable tax deductions and/or credits because you try to do it yourself, then you will lose a lot more money than you would have paid to hire a tax professional to begin with.

    I don't want to sound like an informercial, but a good tax professional IS an investment, one that can save you hundreds or thousands in taxes if they can show you tax deductions, credits or planning strategies that you would not have known about on your own.

    Just my 2 cents...
    Kristine
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Lockwood
    Or you could get a professional who is too conservative or not knowledgeable about the type of business you do and doesn't tell you about many valid deductions.

    Having a license doesn't mean someone is actually good at what they do.
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