EPILOGUE
Some Final Words of Advice— and Resources to Rely On
If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.
—BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
All Good Things Must End
We’ve been together for so long now, I’m going to miss you. I have great confidence in your success. You’ve done everything right along the way. Your business plan is smashing. You worked out some of the kinks in the first few months of operations, so it’s been rebalanced. Your tax pro has reviewed your accounting records, to high praise. Your customers love you.
Most of all, your home and family life has been enriched, through your family’s enthusiastic participation in shaping your legacy.
Let me leave you with this comment from my favorite writer and egotist, Isaac Asimov: “I am at least as intelligent as my tax advisor. So, I should have no trouble understanding the tax laws. But if I were to concentrate my energies towards learning everything I needed to know, the world would be deprived of many of my books.”1
Follow Asimov’s advice. Learn enough about taxes to build a strong foundation. Keep your trusted tax advisor handy, as well as your advisory team. Then concentrate your energies on what you do best—running your business.
Resources
You’ve been immersed in tax and business information throughout this book. You’ve learned so much more than you ever expected. There’s so much to learn, to know, about tax law and strategy. This book was designed to be your guide—to lead you to more information. It was designed to open your mind to creative ways of thinking— to bring you perspectives you didn’t have before and won’t find anywhere else.
You’ve got power you never had. (Have I said this before? A dozen times perhaps? Oh my goodness, I’ve become my mother!) But, please, you’re in business. Don’t prepare your own tax returns. You have an advisory team. Use it. The team and the resources listed throughout the book will help keep you up to date. Most of the resources in these pages are available quickly and freely on the Internet.
Hang On to These Important Phone Numbers
• IRS main phone number. (800) TAX-1040 or (800) 829-1040.
• IRS Forms and Publications Order Line. (800) TAX-FORM or (800) 829-3676.
• IRS E-Help for E-Services. National toll-free number: (866) 255-0654.
• IRS E-Help for EFTPS. (800) 555-4477.
• Social Security Administration. (800) 772-1213.
• Taxpayers Advocate Service. (877) 777-4778.
For more resources, please check the end of each chapter and the wonderful index in this book. Thanks for letting me join you on your new business adventure!
Always leave them laughing when you say goodbye!
—GEORGE M. COHAN OF COHAN RULE FAME2
1 For a history on the good doctor, his writings, his films, and his life, go to www.AsimovOnline.com.
2 Stacy A. Teicher, “No, your husband is not deductible . . . and other IRS tales,” Christian Science Monitor, April 15, 2004: www.csmonitor.com/2004/0415/p01s04-wmgn.htm.