Complete International Tax Resolution in Six Weeks
I found Wolf Bay Tax through a recommendation from a company that specializes in offshore tax matters for Americans living outside the United States. I worked directly with Jeff Chaney, CPA. My case involved foreign accounts, a New Zealand retirement account, FBARs, prior-year returns, and the Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures.
From my first conversations with Jeff, it was obvious that he had substantial practical experience in this area. He knew the issues, knew what documents mattered, and knew how to move the case forward. He also explained that he has consulted with tax attorneys who specialize in international tax law and has one available when a legal issue requires additional review.
Just as importantly, Jeff actually listened to me and took the time to understand the history of my situation before deciding what needed to be done. He clearly laid out the scope of the work, gave me a price up front, and told me when I could expect it to be completed. The fee was very fair and was only a small fraction of what I had previously been billed by the tax law firm I had been using. There were no surprises.
That was particularly important to me because my experience before finding Jeff had been very different.
I had previously retained a tax law firm because I assumed that a complicated offshore tax problem automatically meant I needed a tax attorney. I remained with that firm for approximately three years. During that time, my tax and foreign-account compliance issues were never completed. The delay put me further behind in my filings and ultimately increased the tax consequences I had to deal with.
At the end of that representation, the prior tax law firm presented me with a bill of approximately $130,000. More importantly, the work that had actually been filed during those three years could not simply be relied upon. Jeff had to review it, correct it, and refile what was necessary as part of properly resolving the matter.
My experience was that the prior firm was trying to determine how to handle some of the international tax issues while the case was already underway. With Jeff, I had the opposite experience. He had years of experience with foreign accounts, FBARs, foreign retirement plans, and streamlined offshore filings and knew how to handle the issues from the outset.
The contrast was remarkable. After approximately three years with the prior tax law firm, the matter was still unfinished. Jeff and Wolf Bay Tax sorted through the history, determined what actually needed to be done, corrected the prior problems, prepared the necessary filings, and completed the process in approximately six weeks.
The biggest lesson I learned is that when dealing with international tax issues, the most important thing is not simply whether someone is a tax attorney or a CPA. It is whether that person has real experience with the specific problem you have.
Jeff did. He was knowledgeable, responsive, practical, transparent, and efficient. After years of frustration, I finally felt that my tax situation was being handled by someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
I would strongly recommend Jeff and Wolf Bay Tax to anyone dealing with foreign accounts, FBARs, foreign retirement assets, prior filing problems, or the Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures.