Thought of the day 20 June 2013

There is of course a silver lining in every cloud and from every person or situation there is a lesson to be learned. Sometimes the silver lining is hard to recognise and sometimes the lesson is hard learned. Also sometimes the lesson to be learned is simply not to listen to the advice of someone in the first place, especially if not experienced or trained in the area that they are talking about.
In the areas of law and taxation people form opinions and have knowledge based on either their own experiences or from the media or google etc. The problem is that every person and every situation is different and you need to know the full extent of the legislation relating to taxation and accountancy in order to be confident that you are correct in your opinions about any matter. Hence the need for accountants and tax advisors.
Often times people come in and tell me that their friend Tom down the road told them (usually at some social function after consuming copious amounts of alcohol) that he earned a huge amount of money last year and paid no tax hardly on it at all. Or they relate stories of a similar nature. The problem is Mr SO and SO is not them. His circumstances are invariably different and also he may not have received good advice in the first place. So the message of the day is to proceed with caution when taking advice you hear and at least check it with your accountant before acting on it (or check with your solicitor as the case may be).
I have a Volvo that I love driving, its big and old and my good wife is allergic to it. But I love driving it and refuse to change it on the basis that it was built for me in mind. However if by some unusual circumstance it breaks down I have this policy of bringing it to a mechanic to be fixed instead of the next door neighbour. Whom by the way has a keen interest in automobiles and has acquired what could only be referred to as a substantial amount of tools which he proudly displays in his garage.
I presume they are related to the repair of cars and vans as I personally have no ideawhatsoever of their function. The same Ipropose should be your feelings in relation to your financial affairs. If you want tax advice ring an accountant and preferably me or Niamh on 0469283891