Tuesday, February 05, 2008

The Dish on Finding the Right CPA

This week's guest on my radio show "Simply Wealth" is Diane Kennedy of http://www.taxloopholes.com/.

Diane is a very well known CPA and tax strategist and author of several books and courses.

An ongoing challenge for a lot of my capital gains clients is finding the right CPA. Even with a tax strategy for a particular asset sale, it is important to know how all the different taxes you may be subject to can affect your bottom line.

Diane uses a statistic from a study that 80% of CPAs don't understand actual tax planning. It is not their focus. Once you own a business or real estate investment, it is very important to have it structured properly and take advantage of all the deductions you are allowed.

It is important to have someone who understands that keeping as much money working for you as possible for as long as possible will increase your wealth.

Never assume because someone took a CPA exam (perhaps many years ago) that they are aware of current rules on more complex tax subjects. A good CPA will know how to research a strategy and be willing to be brought up to speed. A CPA, or other tax professional who is not willing or able to research can do you great disservice.

If you have an internet connection and speakers you can listen to the program on line. Just go to http://www.webtalkradio.net/ and click on my name or Simply Wealth and you can click on "listen now" or download a podcast if you have an IPOD or mp3 player.

Paula Straub
http://www.savegainstax.com/
760-917-0858
savegainstax@gmail.com