FIVE and 1/2 KEY TIPS FOR "TAXES"

FOR INDEPENDENT FILM PRODUCERS 
 

BE SMART;  NOT TOO SMART

1.  Chaos Abounds! “Taxes” can be complicated and fraught with unseen tripwires and unanticipated dangers (a little like a Halloween funhouse, but no fun at all!).  Be Smart.  Be Careful.

2.  Huh?!!  Just because you think you know, doesn't mean you actually do. Words and topics that *you* define and understand one way in your own everyday life may have very different meanings or understandings within the world of “taxes.”  Understanding and appreciating that Differences exist is part of “Being Smart with Taxes.” 

3.  Green light?  Look both ways before you cross the street.  Be aware of what can go right;  but also be aware of what can go wrong ... and how it could affect your film, your, investors and *you*!  "Taxes” can yield significant benefits - these items are often "hyped" and “talked up.”  “Taxes” can also create significant risks and big disasters - sadly, there is often only silence on these.

4.  Be careful who you listen to.   Anecdotal observation suggests that there may be a good amount of misinformation and lack of understanding floating about the industry.  Bad information can lead to bad decisions (or no decisions!).  Just because someone says something doesn't mean its true.  And a title is sometimes not much more than that.  Know your sources, and ask for their's too.

5.  Collobarate.  Be smart.  With a little homework and smart thinking, seasoned with some *collaboration* with a smart professional who is well experienced with the terrain and willing to walk and talk it all through with you, *you* can be smart with taxes.  Your terrain includes the world of taxes and its interplay with the world of the film business and its individual parts, e.g., financing, deal structures, investors, lenders, payroll, tax credits, distribution, participations, and others.  That's a mouthful!  Chaos can abound.  A good *collaborator* can help "scout" the terrain and then work through it all with you, kind of like a "line producer" for the tax/financial/business part of your project and should be a key part of your team.

Where's the 5 1/2?  Look again, up Top!:  Be Smart;  Not Too Smart!!!