Tax policy may not be the most exciting or glamorous subject at face value, but it affects more aspects of the economy and day-to-day life than most understand. When is the last time you considered who writes tax policies, what their intentions are, and who controls those intentions?
It's easy to assume that policymakers will "figure it out" or that they have a clue about short-term and long-term consequences and benefits of policies that they vote on, but that often isn't the case. Tax policies are incomprehensibly complex and even the most advanced experts struggle and often fail to fully understand all of their implications. A lot of bad ideas are voted into law all the time--the system is flawed.
There is someone in D.C., however, who truly looks out for Americans and the economy when it comes to policies that arise with potential to have massive consequences. While corrupt insiders stand to gain fortunes with insidious legislation, there are not enough people who truly look out for America's economic future and prosperity. As history has shown, holding policymakers and legislators accountable for their actions as they pertain to their constituents is absolutely imperative for democracy, but few truly lead the charge. I'm fortunate to call one such champion defender of America's tax and economic policies a friend.
His name is Julio Gonzalez. He is a world-renowned tax expert and founder of one of the most successful tax engineering firms in the U.S., Engineered Tax Services, providing cost segregation, research and development tax, and 179D/45L energy tax story services. These services are key to allowing U.S. companies to preserve capital to maintain and grow employment while keeping jobs in the USA. In essence, they work to enable those who empower the economy with innovation and employ workers to design their taxes in a way that some of those efforts are taxed slightly less than they would otherwise be.
There is no one in the game who knows it like he does. He keeps his finger to the pulse of what is happening in D.C. and truly looks out for American taxpayers, the economy, and the futures thereof. Not only that, but he is constantly bringing awareness to issues that affect taxes and the economy, spreading helpful and insightful tax and financial advice to his peers and followers, and more.
When he's not running his multiple successful businesses, championing good policies, or fighting bad ones, he spends his time doing incredible things for animals and animal rescue. He frequently hosts and sponsors fundraisers for animals in need, veterans, and whoever else he sees needs a helping hand. He is the petfather of several amazing rescue cats, and Bella, his beautiful veteran German Shepherd. They are truly his world. Fortunately for those who work for him, they can also frequently be found in his offices working alongside their daddy.
A book about Julio’s cat, Coco, is set to be released this year. It’s an inspirational story about when she was swept away in a hurricane, but miraculously found her way home weeks later.
Julio continuously takes it upon himself to stand up and do something when it seems those who should have instead turned a blind eye. His diligence and focus have done so much more than he could ever receive credit for because it is all done quietly. No one sees the countless hours he is researching, reaching out to policymakers, experts, and those with influence to warn them about what's ahead and what needs to be changed.
A few weeks ago, a policy that sounded fine at face value but had countless monumentally damaging potential repercussions returned to the radar and was touted by many as a good idea. Many policymakers saw COVID-19 stimulus measures as opportunities to push agendas silently with the media distracted by the big picture. This is one of many examples of times that Julio took it upon himself to raise awareness and stop this policy. He put massive amounts of his own time and money into bringing PR attention to it, calling out those who were trying to push for it (and their questionable motives for doing so) and fearlessly taking a stand. As always, this mission was successful. The punchline is that this very policy would have financially benefited him tremendously, along with the other .01% who are not struggling from the pandemic, but to the massive detriment of the economy. While he was aware of this from the beginning, his tireless efforts were all out of patriotism and a desire to aid in the nation's recovery.
Throughout the pandemic's ascent, every day, Julio was doing all he could to provide guidance to those who had no idea where to turn. He was hosting webinars, putting out articles, sharing advice on his LinkedIn, Twitter, website, podcasts and more about what small businesses could do to survive. He availed his time and expertise to all who asked and needed it most, freely and generously. Meanwhile, throughout the pandemic, he has been able to grow his business, while not only sustaining, but also growing his workforce. Despite having hundreds of employees, he was able to keep his business operational, pivot efforts to accommodate remote work and social distancing protocols, grow, and keep everyone on board.
It helps me sleep at night knowing that someone is out there stopping tax corruption in its tracks. Of course, hundreds, if not thousands things about our tax systems could be improved, but with people like Julio leading the charge in bringing productive, positive change in D.C., America stands a much better chance of bouncing back and coming out of this with strength and leadership.
