Tax Guru-Ker$tetter Letter
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Firms taught to milk 'cash cow' - I guess we in the tax practitioner community each have our own ideas of what is ethically acceptable in terms of services we provide for our clients. Helping them minimize their tax outlays is something I've always been proud to do. However, helping them fleece taxpayers through various corporate welfare schemes is far beyond anything I could stomach doing. It seems that Ernst & Young has no qualms about assisting in this.
Maybe it's just my Libertarian philosophy that believes strongly in small inexpensive government; but I could never take part in anything that adds to the cost of government. I've even refused to take part in any of the lucrative farm subsidy programs for my 55 acre ranch back in California and our 285 acre ranch here in the Ozarks for that very reason. If we couldn't make money from them on our own, it wouldn't be fair to have the taxpayers pick up the tab.