Mistakes happen. They shouldn’t, but they do. And it makes matters so much worse when an error seems to repeat itself. My German husband moved to England almost 25 years ago. He found UK tax laws a testing experience! Fifteen years on, we migrated our family to New Zealand and he was back at square one, facing a fresh set of tax regulations.
Our first encounter with the IRD came after shifting our UK pensions. The advice we received almost cost us $15,000 when it became obvious that our advisors did not have the latest information at their fingertips. Nowadays, I need only mention end of year financials to see my husband start frothing at the mouth.
The filing deadline for our 2020 company accounts and personal returns is fast approaching. When my husband noticed today that the accountant is not yet up-to-date with some recent revisions to UK tax law, his frustration quickly erupted. Usually a pragmatic chap, his heated emotional flow formed a raging fireball which consumed all the numbers on the page. Finally, he calmed enough to walk me through the pertinent facts. I've always been emotionally led, but I have certainly learned that keeping feelings off the table speeds up issue resolution!
