I remember providing some advice to a client in relation to employment status for tax purposes, about 2 years in to my career. They had some individuals working on a ‘self-employed’ basis for them.
I remember it as this was the first (and fortunately, only) time I’ve had a client unhappy with advice I’ve provided. Ironically, I thought I’d done a really good job, so this was a massive eye-opener for me.
The problem was that I was too heavily focussed on being ‘technically’ correct, providing the ‘correct’ tax answer but when it comes to employment status, there isn’t a correct answer. It is highly subjective and even tribunals frequently disagree with each other.
I spent a lot of time figuring out what I could have done differently, to make sure the same didn’t happen again. I learned so much from doing this experience on how to advise on grey areas! So in this episode, I’m sharing with you 6 tips from what I’ve learned that you can apply to help you provide great tax
You’ll Learn
- Practical tips you can apply to provide great tax advice on grey areas
- How understanding the client’s objectives, drivers and appetite for risk will help you provide the best tax advice on a grey area for that client
- Some words that you can use to make it clear to the client that the position doesn’t have a definitive or correct answer
Related Episodes
TTPP1: How to Undertake Effective Tax Research
TTPP6: How to Build and Maintain Strong Tax Knowledge to Excel as a Tax Professional