What is tax research What is the purpose of conducting tax r

What is tax research? What is the purpose of conducting tax research? Are results of tax research conclusive

Solution

Tax research is undertaken to answer taxation questions. The tax research process includes the 1) identification of pertinent issues, 2) determination of proper authorities, 3) evaluation of the appropriateness of these authorities, and 4) application of these authorities to specific facts. The tax research process is similar to that of traditional legal research. The researcher must find authority, evaluate the usefulness of that authority, and apply the results of the research to a specific situation. Tax research is simply the study of the sources/nature of federal tax law, and it\'s explanations and interpretations. Possible sources for tax research are the IRS and the Tax Court. These results are not always conclusive. \"explanations and intrepretations\" are, by their nature, subjective and open to change. The change could be a higher court ruling on a matter ,or a change in the basic law itself.

Tax research is important because taxes are important. They have priority demands on cash flow and substantial impacts on the bottom line. Entrepreneurs and managers in today\'s rapidly changing, increasingly global environment must consider the tax implications of contemplated transactions, since tax planning works much better before rather than after a proposed transaction. “Tax research is important because once key issues are spotted, decision makers must judge the specific affected rules and rulings. No one knows all the rules in any area, particularly in multiple Jurisdictions--e.g., Federal, state, and local; and foreign--and for various kinds of taxes--e.g., income, value added, and payroll” (Karayan, 2003).