Article
Why Choose Bloomberg Tax?
There has never been a more crucial time to rethink your approach to tax research. Federal, state, and international tax laws and regulations are becoming more complex, with governments around the world placing greater emphasis on enforcement. Having a deep understanding of evolving tax laws can mean the difference between a sound tax strategy and hefty penalties, fines, or legal action for noncompliance.
Additionally, the demographics of the tax profession are changing. As younger staff continue to account for a higher proportion of employees in the tax function, they need a tax research solution that’s as easy to use and accessible as their favorite research tool, Google. Many tax information tools work well only when used by experienced tax professionals, making them unsustainable as teams turn over.
Finally, the tax department is being relied on to support key business challenges in areas such as M&A and restructuring, geographic presence, and ESG reporting. This work is stretching already understaffed teams and requires tax leaders to make quick decisions that can have major repercussions on the business.
Establishing a tax strategy and managing tax operations is complicated, high-pressure work. It requires you to have a complete and accurate view of all the internal and external factors at play. It requires confidence in your tax research.
The wrong approach to tax research
Consider your current approach to tax research.
When searching for an accurate interpretation of complex tax law, is the team relying on oversimplified and potentially misleading answers from Google?
Are you spending thousands on a tax research solution that simply regurgitates the source materials without any expert analysis or commentary?
With the limited scope of the tools available to you, do you find yourself scouring a variety of sources and wasting valuable time?
Many tax teams rely on research platforms that are incomplete and unreliable, and lack actionable insights. These platforms often employ an editorial staff that lacks a tax background, does not review and update their content with as much regularity, and simply lifts sentences from cumbersome tax code without further analysis.
This poses a big problem. If a tax concept is hazy or if information surrounding a tax law isn’t updated or accurate, the consequences can be grave, including an increased audit risk, inaccurate filings, missed deductions, and monetary or reputational damages.
It can also have a negative impact on the business’ bottom line. The time it takes to form a view on an issue can result in higher tax costs, in part due to an increased reliance on external advisors.
Finally, timeliness is critical. If clients or colleagues are learning about a tax development before the tax function, it puts you in a position of playing catch up when you should be taking the lead.
Avoid the failings of other tax research options
Steer clear of the risks associated with other tax research approaches with Bloomberg Tax Research, which offers expert-curated content from original sources, breaking news alerts and immediate updates on potential and actual changes to tax policy, and clearly presented information that allows tax professionals to take an informed view and short-cut conversations with external advisors.
There are four primary reasons Bloomberg Tax is the better approach for tax research.
1. Comprehensive global content that is both timely and accurate
Bloomberg Tax’s network of lawyers, CPAs, and tax experts review and analyze major tax developments daily and translate the information into indispensable resources like Bloomberg Tax Portfolios, On Points, and roadmaps.
For more than 50 years, our Tax Management Portfolios have been relied on as the gold standard of tax research and have not been replicated by any other provider. The series of more than 500 in-depth tax and accounting guides are designed to offer a comprehensive understanding of topics like federal tax, state tax, payroll, international tax, and U.S. income. They are authored by the world’s leading tax experts and provide tax departments with the clarity and understanding they need to act with confidence.
No other platform offers the same exhaustive news coverage at the state, federal, and international levels as Bloomberg Tax. Publications like the Daily Tax Report provide news and analysis in real time, which is critical for industry professionals to stay abreast of new developments in the ever-changing, fast-paced world of tax legislation and policy.
2. Accessible information in a user-friendly interface
Bloomberg Tax Research is an intuitive platform where the content is structured to mirror your natural research progression, with consistent page layouts for easy navigation. Our search functionality uses natural language processing, so there’s no need for complicated Boolean search structures. Bloomberg Tax also offers full integration of all content types across the platform, which makes it easy to get from primary sources to expert analysis to calculators and other workflow tools.
An easy-to-use platform not only increases the tax department’s efficiency by saving time on tax research and getting you to the correct answers faster, but it also removes roadblocks for newer practitioners by offering intuitive integration and suggested content to close the loop on all assignments.
“Instead of getting lost in a noncurated search engine, my team can turn to Bloomberg Tax Research for relevant, up-to-date content, including BNA Picks, forms, best practices charts, and more,” said Jennifer Koorie, manager of corporate tax at Victaulic. “Bloomberg is more user-friendly and intuitive than the tool we used previously, with easier-to-digest research and content.”
3. A faster transition from insights to action
Bloomberg Tax Research’s network of more than 1,000 tax lawyers, CPAs, and tax experts from 200+ countries means you can trust the information and analysis provided. Their insights are presented in plain English, making it easy to digest and start strategizing. In fact, 8 in 10 corporate customers say Bloomberg Tax allows them to do work in-house that they would otherwise have to send to consultants.
Without the need to outsource tax research, firms have saved upwards of $100K, which allows them to invest those funds in other areas of their business to scale and grow. Companies that use Bloomberg Tax not only save money but also time. Because information on a topic is synthesized in Portfolios and other resource areas, tax professionals no longer need to do manual research, saving hundreds of hours per year.
As Alex Garcia, a senior international tax analyst at Avnet, said, “Regulations are extremely complex, and you could spend enormous amounts of time making sure you’ve done your due diligence… Bloomberg Tax literally saves us days of time. Whether it’s preparing tax documents such as W-8s or researching a complex issue, we don’t have to waste time figuring out whether we have the latest information on tax law.”
During a recent survey, 80% of respondents stated that Bloomberg Tax research has been critical to get a refresh on a concept that has changed and relay the impact of that new tax development to their clients or business.
4. World-class customer service and support
Bloomberg Tax provides unrivaled support and service with a 24/7 help desk staffed by experienced tax research specialists and CPAs, one integrated platform with transparent pricing, a fast response time, and the highest customer satisfaction ratings. In a recent survey, 93% of participants stated that Bloomberg customer service is as good or better than competing tax platforms. Last year, Bloomberg Tax’s support team answered 95% of calls within 30 seconds, handling more than 57,500 cases, which outpaced competitors.
“I have been impressed by the responsiveness and timely communication from the Bloomberg Tax support team whenever I have had an inquiry – even on the weekend outside of tax season,” said Kelly Brown, a tax manager at Yeo & Yeo.
Bloomberg Tax’s customer service team offers personalized onboarding plans, including individualized training to ensure customers get the most out of the resources the platform offers. Subscribers have a live chat option to talk through any questions or concerns about the product. For complex research questions, CPAs and tax lawyers are available to chat at a customer’s convenience.
A platform for today’s tax challenges
Bloomberg Tax offers an unparalleled solution to mitigate risk and stay in compliance through expert insights, timesaving tools, news coverage, and customer service.
Although there are other tax research solutions on the market, Bloomberg Tax is the platform that industry leaders – and even the IRS – rely on for their tax research. More than three generations of tax professionals have trusted us to provide the latest tax laws, regulations, cases, and rulings, and used them to make informed decisions for their clients or company.
Request a demo to see how Bloomberg Tax offers what you need to stay ahead of the curve and plan a sound tax strategy.
What customers are saying about Bloomberg Tax
I rely on Bloomberg Tax to have the most up-to-date tax law and to provide me a summary in a format I can understand. Tax code can be difficult to interpret, but with Bloomberg Tax I am able to more fully understand the intent of the law and translate the tax code to what is applicable to my company.
Regardless of whether it’s an international or a domestic tax project, Bloomberg Tax helps us deliver high-quality research and analysis, Bloomberg brings the best minds together on issues that require big-picture, abstract thinking.
We rely on Bloomberg Tax Research to ensure we are as up to date as possible on legislation that concerns the tax industry. It is a consistently accurate and appreciated product.