Is It Time to Become a Tax Lawyer?
The president's new tax law promises to be a boon to business, as the trillion dollar tax cut benefits large corporations and wealthy investors.
Average Americans will see reductions, too, but another strata of society will actually make money on the new legislation. That's right, it will be a great time for tax lawyers.
According to analysts, the tax laws will create many opportunities for attorneys. They will be busy finding loopholes for the wealthy and debt relief for everybody else.
Cost of Doing Business
David Kamin, a law professor at New York University, said the law could cost more than legislators bargained for.
"My sense is that the estimates have not so far taken into account the ways in which the taxpayers are going to game the system," he told Mother Jones.
A former special assistant for economic policy to President Barack Obama, Kamin co-authored a report with 12 other tax scholars that criticized lawmakers for a "rushed and closed process, without adequate regard for the intricacies of the tax law and the risk of unintended consequences."
For example, the tax plan reduces the corporate income tax rate to 21 percent and allows them to make deductions for state and local income taxes. Such benefits could encourage individuals to shelter income in corporations to avoid higher income taxes on their personal income.
Tax, Corporate Law, and More
Attorneys will have their doors open for any challenges presented by the new law. Of course, becoming a tax lawyer takes more than hanging out a shingle.
In California, for example, attorneys must pass an examination to certify as a tax specialist. If clients want to form corporations for tax purposes, however, any general practitioner can do it.
Otherwise, the best tax attorneys have prior experience working for a tax agency or have earned a masters in law. It may take years to do, but the tax bill promises opportunities for years to come.
In the meantime, you could start a debt relief or bankruptcy practice for those Americans who can't afford the "unintended consequences" of the new tax law.
Have an open position at your law firm? Post the job for free on Indeed, or search local candidate resumes.
Related Resources:
- Tax Collections and Debt (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)
- Alimony Deductions Could Disappear in New Tax Bill (FindLaw's Law & Daily Life)
- When Is It Time to Quit a Professional Organization? (FindLaw's Strategist)
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