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Corporate Tax Advisors 2017 Hot Firm sponsor is led by Dawson Fercho, a business development guy who is part social worker, part psychologist.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent D awson Fercho says he likes to laugh. And why not? At 46, he’s co-founder of a growing firm, Corporate Tax Advisors, is an IRS enrolled agent in all 50 states, and is licensed by the U.S. Depart- ment of the Treasury. He’s oftentimes out on the road doing his thing – selling tax and financial services to architecture and engineering firms, and helping them enhance their bottom lines. He also has a wife, three kids, and is a coach of youth sports. So it’s pretty easy for Fercho to laugh. He’s got a lot going on, and it’s all going his way. But don’t let the easygoing nature fool you. Fercho is a hard-charging businessman who knows how to fill a niche and can walk into a room full of en- gineers and not meet a stranger. Not the easiest thing to do. But for Fercho and his company, that’s how it has to be. “We want to know the firms we work with,” he says. “We want to be a valued member of their financial team. But I don’t want to always talk about busi- ness. There are other things going on.” But when it comes down to business, Fercho and his team know the score. Experts in three sections of the tax code – the research and development tax credit, the energy efficient commercial building deduction, and cost segregation – Corporate Tax
Advisors finds dollars that firms didn’t know they had. “There are 9,000 different code sections, and we fo- cus on three,” Fercho says. “Pick a beach head and be the best at that thing.” And the big benefit for qualifying firms? Reduced costs for research, labor, and an overall lower tax- able income. In a video embedded in CTA’s website, Fercho says he wants to “demystify” the R&D tax credit. The biggest mystery for firms, Fercho says, is simple: “Do they qualify?” “There are 9,000 different code sections, and we focus on three. Pick a beach head and be the best at that thing.” Of the three specialties handled by CTA, efficiencies through the R&D tax credit are the most sought after. But firms oftentimes consider the R&D tax credit and think of white coats, petri dishes, and the scientific method. While those staples are cer- tainly covered under the umbrella of the credit, the definition captures a much broader array of en- deavors. “I unpack what R&D really is in terms of the U.S. Congress’ interpretation,” Fercho says. “When the credit first came out, it applied well to the widget
Dawson Fercho, Co-Founder, Corporate Tax Advisors
See CORPORATE TAX ADVISORS, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER August 21, 2017, ISSUE 1213
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