Predictable tax strategies in an unpredictable tax environment

Sometimes I wonder if CFOs and HR Directors talk with each other. Occasionally I run into a CFO who is implementing a tax strategy using employee benefits, and he or she is clueless as to whether the benefits are actually valued by the employee. (I assume that’s how Clark Griswold ended up with a subscription to “Jelly of the Month Club” in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”)

At the same time, I sometimes encounter an HR Director who designs a benefit package purely based on employee demand. The reality is that plan benefit designs must be all-inclusive of tax, financial and incentive issues. A benefit plan should benefit both employer and employee.