Yesterday, I had the opportunity to watch a recording of a quarterly consulting session with my client and his business coach. Several times the business coach said ” I am not a tax expert but”. Yup, its the “but” that will get you every time. The advice he was giving my client was just not accurate. He did not mean to do any harm, he just does not understand or have detailed knowledge of tax law and practice. My preferance is for your business coach to say “I don’t know, I recommend you discuss that with your tax advisor”. If someone asked me an insurance question, for example, I would simply say, “I don’t know, please ask your insurance advisor”.
Luckily in the instance my client sent me this video so I could see the conversation and clear up the mistaken information before my client spent any money and incurred a tax liability or problem that he was not expecting. Inaccurate information, no matter how well intentioned, can be expensive!
How many of you are following the guidance of someone who is not an expert? Please be careful! You would not ask a dentist to do surgery on your leg. Don’t ask your business coach for tax advise unless they are also a tax advisor.
Reach out to me anytime for advice and please use all the resources available on my website that may answer many of your tax questions.