I was born in 1943 and raised in the Bronx, in a high rise apartment complex known as Parkchester, the only child of Max, an accountant who worked in the garment district in Manhattan, and Rose, an elementary school teacher.
I should have stayed an athlete, body well-tuned, cruising around with my accountant in a Porsche, maroon and chrome.
When you think about accountants, who would want to be an accountant? But, what would we do without accountants? Whether it’s soldiers or garbage men or doctors, everyone has the thing that they love.
No, I’m not rich. I had a tax problem in this country, curiously enough, and my accountant said the British government was patently wrong in taxing me, and they were, but we couldn’t persuade them and it cost me everything I had.
Commissions add up, taxes are a big drag, margin ain’t cheap. A good accountant costs money as well. The math on this one is obvious, yet investors often fail to recognize it: Keep your costs low and your turnover lower, and you will win in the end.
To find a pool of lawyers from whom to choose, solicit referrals from other professionals you know or deal with – an accountant, banker or business leader. Check out Bar Association listings as well, and don’t neglect Internet research.
You earn very little money on independent films and I’m the provider for my home, so I do have to think of taking one for the accountant time and again and that means studio pictures.
Most years, if you were to ask me how much I make, the genuine answer is that I have no clue. I usually find out the answer to that question once a year, at tax time, when my accountant tells me.
I spend 90 percent of my time saying no, and my accountant yells at me for it, but when I started in this business, I wanted my career to have legs.
If you can manipulate news, a judge can manipulate the law. A smart lawyer can keep a killer out of jail, a smart accountant can keep a thief from paying taxes, a smart reporter could ruin your reputation- unfairly.
Now is the time to draw a clean, clear, bright line and say if you are engaging in speech over the Internet you do not have to check with your lawyer or your accountant. You are a free American, and you have the opportunity to engage in free speech over the Internet.
I think too much of the music industry is for the lawyer and accountant mentality.
If I wasn’t singing, I’d probably be, probably an accountant.
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