Small business action plan to profit from tax reform

We can now begin to make a reasonable forecast of the eventual form of U.S. tax law and, even with the list of uncertain issues, ask what it means to each of us. For me and my small business practice, this is how it plays out:

Winners

• Tax and business advisers
• Rental real estate owners
• High income people

Losers

• New Jersey property owners
• Tax preparers who handle simple tax returns
• Nonprofits

Action plan

The next logical step is turning this into an action plan that will likel have the most impact:

1. Increase communications with tax return preparers that handle mostly simple individual tax returns. There is now more incentive than ever to team up with a guy like me who handles small business issues. Maybe now is the time to consider new affiliations. Many accountants have talked about repositioning their small business practice but haven’t taken action yet.
2. Closely follow the publications and tweets of top business tax planners as details of open issues unfold. I’m specifically focused on the issues related to pass-though entities. It might be smart to change our business legal forms soon.
3. Talk to my nonprofit clients about opportunities to cut costs, boost revenues and enhance the use of technology to accomplish these. They need to be ready for the possibility of slowing revenue.