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MAKING LEMONADE

August 31, 2005

Now that the heady days of the tax-shelter era are over, what do the big firms that marketed the shelters have to offer? Advice on how to not be embarrassed by your tax planning!

According to an article by Martin Sullivan in today's Tax Analysts (subscriber only link), different times demand different measures:

Press attention to accounting scandals and the use of aggressive tax shelters has translated into more resources for tax authorities and regulators. And as sure as night follows day, that makes tax compliance more onerous and tax planning more challenging. But in this post-Enron, post-WorldCom, post-Parmalat world, there's a new dimension of risk associated with overambitious efforts to lower taxes. Now the actions of the tax department can tarnish a company's public image.

It's not just KPMG sounding the alarm. All of the Big Four accounting firms are urging their clients to give careful consideration to "tax risk management."

It's sort of like the computer hacker who takes a job as a security consultant for Microsoft...

UPDATE: The good TaxProf has now made the article available to non-subscribers here, by arrangement with Tax Analysts.

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