As you may be aware, a government collects tax from its citizens to build roads, rails, government schools, colleges, hospitals, etc. It may interest you to note that additionally, the government also collects taxes from companies or businesses that operate in the country.

A tax consultant is a financial expert with specialized training and advanced knowledge of tax laws. The services of a tax advisor are usually engaged to minimize tax payable while remaining compliant with the law in complicated financial situations.

I primarily work with companies to provide regulatory, transaction tax and litigation services.

1. Regulatory: Income tax laws are difficult to interpret for a person who is not professionally trained to do so. Apart from income tax laws, there are foreign exchange laws, and regulations imposed by the Government. Companies want to save costs, and I help these companies to understand these laws. At the same time, I also ensure these companies pay the Government, what they owe the Government in terms of taxes.

2. Transaction Tax: Some companies buy (merge or acquire) other companies to grow or expand their business, and this process is complicated. So I educate these companies about the various ways in which the process can be carried out and also help them in finding the most tax efficient way to do so.

3. Litigation Services: Sometimes tax authorities may disagree with my client's interpretation of the tax laws and may call my client for clarification (a.k.a. "hearing"). These tax authorities require detailed documents for analysing different cases. I help my clients submit detailed analysis and also help them when they prepare for hearing with these income tax authorities.

All in all, the tax is a highly dynamic and intricate field, and I enjoy it immensely since it encourages me to do a lot of research. Tax consulting teaches me a lot of patience and professionalism since we learn to put the client's needs first. The best thing about tax is job satisfaction. You get the feeling that you're actually helping people by sharing your knowledge with them.