There are a lot of important obligations that we have in life and there are a lot of important professionals that we have to rely on from time to time. If we have health problems we seek out the best physicians and treatments available to us. If we have legal issues then we seek out the best legal counsel. Simply because these are just two of many issues that commonly come up in life that need attending. Included in the important issues list is our tax obligation. Most realize there are severe consequences to not being diligent about tax filing each and every year. Yet as important as this is a lot of people don’t put enough emphasis on the professional they are choosing to assist them in meeting this obligation.
Anyone that has had to deal with tax issues will be the first ones to tell you how important your tax preparer is. Many times people end up having tax problems because they did not rely on a professional tax preparer or they relied on one that misguided them.
Nobody wants to have to pay extra tax when they are filing their taxes. Unfortunately many times this turns out to be the case. If you are sitting in front of your tax preparer who has told you that you have to pay taxes, but don’t worry there are ways to get out of this, then stop right there. If you legitimately owe taxes there are no ways of getting out of it. This particular tax preparer may get you out of paying it with this filing, but you can be sure that the CRA will catch up with you.
Now if you tax preparer tells you that you owe taxes but don’t worry there are ways that you can go about paying it. This is a totally different approach. This means your tax preparer has identified that you have a tax obligation, has brought it to your attention, but will now explain to you how you can make arrangements with the CRA to meet this debt without putting a financial burden on you that you can’t handle.
The tax preparer doing your taxes has to possess two very important attributes.
Honesty
Honesty by this professional is important. If they are not going to totally explain your tax situation to you then you really cannot rely on them as an expert. Some ask what does a tax preparer have to gain by not being honest with the tax filings? The answer is that some unfortunately don’t want to lose your business by giving you bad news about your taxes.
A honest tax preparer who is experienced knows that the best service they can offer their clients is honesty in determining what the tax situation is of their clients, then knowing and explaining what actions have to be taken to meet the tax obligations.
Experience
Experience is also critically important when it comes to tax preparers. Many different issues can occur when doing tax filing. The professional once identifying these issues has to have the experience in knowing how they must be handled in order to be compliant with the CRA and what works best for the client when doing so.
If your tax preparer is not being honest with you and you are aware of this knowing that you really do have a tax obligation, then you need to walk away and find one that you can count on.
