✦ Was it an Expensive cup of coffee or was it a Valuable cup of coffee?
Years ago one of my bosses received a cheque for an account and scrawled on the With Compliments slip were the words: “Bill – I’ve never had a more expensive cup of coffee.” In those days tea and coffee were often offered to clients.
My boss had spent several hours with the clients going through a potential business restructure. This is more than “I can set up ABC Company and XYZ Trust”. How does this impact on parents’ retirement, children who are involved in the business, children who aren’t, life partners, etc. The clients trusted Bill with this information so that at the end of the time he was able to give them advice that suited their circumstances.
Surely a cup of coffee that in $ terms might have cost more than the cup next door at the café, but a cup that was much more valuable to a family looking for expanding their business and succession planning.
The Consequences of Choice
Even simple decisions can have consequences that clients might not have considered. For example, a couple buy an investment property jointly, one partner takes several months unpaid parental leave a year or two later and has no income to claim against a loss in the investment property.
The decision to buy jointly might still be a good decision for that particular couple for a range of reasons or it might not be.
A colleague found a method of saving his client thousands of dollars on the after tax cost of his hobby game fishing boat. However, unless my colleague had got to know his client that would not have happened.
Disclaimer: As always the advice in this article is general and you should seek advice from a professional advisor on your circumstances.
Contact John Clarke, Success Tax Professionals
a/ 5/124 Horton Street, Port Macquarie, NSW 2444, Australia
t/ 0481 039 851
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