About June Walker

A Tax Consultant With Sass and Soul

"It's the first time I ever heard applause for a talk about taxes," said an independent professional who attended a June Walker seminar. "But then, it's the first time taxes were explained to me in a way that I completely understood."

The admiration is mutual. June Walker, a financial and tax consultant for more than 20 years, has great respect for the grit, innovative skills, and accomplishments of her clientele, all of whom are self-employed.

They include lawyers, carpenters, physicians, computer consultants, psychologists, psychics, and even a shepherd. A devotee of the arts, June also counsels a large number of artists, actors, writers, agents, musicians, critics, and art gallery owners.

Frequently she's told that she's the first "numbers person" who understands creativity. "She makes it fun," said one of her clients, "and it's even got soul -- but above all she makes it simple, without talking down to you." June has also been described as upfront and hard-hitting, yet flexible, with an approach that hones in on particular needs and unusual situations.

Over the course of her career, June has seen IPs grow both in numbers -- 25 million is a current estimate -- and in economic importance. A champion of their interests, June has little patience for the way that the IP sector has been misadvised.

"They're neglected," she says. "The tax laws are written as if IPs don't exist, and the people who are supposed to look out for their interests give them harmful advice -- if it's not plain wrong, it's inappropriate for the level at which they're operating. Lawyers fancy telling them to incorporate -- which does not save them taxes, costs more in legal and accountant fees and unecessarily complicates their lives. Tax consultants tell them not to deduct an office in the home because it's a red flag for an IRS investigation -- another uninformed and expensive bit of advice. It's time to get real about IPs."

An advocate of simplicity, order, and ease in understanding tax laws that are complex, confusing, and usually unfair to IPs, she has developed a simple method for gathering and recording tax and financial information. Her approach stresses innovativeness in resolving the singular problems of IPs.

June Walker's trademarked Most Simple System(TM) includes copyrighted worksheets that she has developed as a result of her extensive experience with independent professionals. She is writing a book, tentatively entitled Tax Basics for the Self-Employed, which explains the ins and outs of her system in plain language. Some of the material in June's column is adapted from the forthcoming book.

She continues to lead workshops and write for various publications about personal finances and taxes, with an emphasis on the arts and the joys and sorrows of self-employment.

Before relocating in 1995 to Santa Fe, New Mexico, she maintained offices in New York and New Jersey. Her clients, more than 200 in number, live throughout the United States and Europe.

Go to June's current column

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