By Benjamin Weis, Business Editor
In the duration of time spent in Sy Syms School of Business, many students struggle to decide what they are going to do for the rest of their lives. Even those who have known what they are majoring in from day one still have to spend hours upon hours contemplating one of the biggest life decisions as each major opens many doors. As a dual major in finance and accounting, I, like many others, have chosen to work in tax, and I firmly believe it is a great career path that every Syms student should consider going into.
Besides for it being known as one of the safest career options, tax is crucial and impacts all of us in our everyday lives. Apart from the current legislation having many tax features, tax considerations can make or break an M&A deal. If one has a good hold on tax laws, they automatically know the most efficient way to invest based on tax laws. A great example of this is when the IRS loosened its timelines for 1031-exchange buyers. Without this, investors would have been responsible for capital gains taxes even if they would have found a replacement property within the allowable window. Everyone will tell you that tax is at the epicenter of all business and economic deals.
Another statistic that shows truly how important tax is, is the fact that the state of New York loses nearly one percent of its population each year. People from states like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California are all moving to states like Texas and Florida. Originally, I thought this all had to do with the climate, and all the people migrating were doing so to retire in warmer weather. However, I realized that the migration to this extent is all due to the tax laws of those states. There isn’t any state income tax in Texas and Florida while they are through the roof in New York and California. Essentially, moving to Florida from New York pretty much gives you a 12% raise.
Another great draw that a career in tax has is the amount of options within the field. You could work in corporate tax and help clients meet their tax obligations while at the same time managing the impact that it has on their business. You can also work in international tax which will give you the opportunity to work with foreign clients that do business in the United States. You can even work in tax analytics and design software solutions for complex tax problems. There are so many options in this vast field.
I hope that after reading this you would at least consider applying to an accounting firm. It is such a safe career path that the entire business world depends on.