As human beings, we are wired to work to fend for ourselves. We might work as a professional in a corporate or state setup or be at home providing for ourselves and the family in one way or the other. But yes, we all work. And with salaried work comes the additional task of paying taxes. The working class knows that they have to pay taxes. However, do they really understand the taxes?
More often than not, tax systems are complex and people need the assistance of specialized tax assistants to file them. People are often so focussed on paying off their taxes that they forget to take a pause and understand if there could be another way round. In a recent survey from NORC at the University of Chicago, 32% of taxpayers in the US were unsure whether they’ll be getting a refund or owe money to the state for the current financial year. Not just in the US, most people across the globe face similar anxiety.
About a decade ago, Stan Samole’s friend asked him if he ever got his taxes reviewed. His answer was a No and that he was unaware if this is legit and viable. So his friend processed it for him and after 3-4 weeks, Stan received a handsome amount as a refund. The immediate thought that struck Stan was the possibility this process offered to people who knew nothing about it! This incident led to the foundation of his firm, Family Tax Recovery.
The Entrepreneurial Start
Stan was working for his brothers in the late 70s and early 80’s when he came off the road working as a musician. They were manufacturing consumer electronics including electronic games like chess and bridge, with 1,200 employees in Miami, Fl. This was before video games became mainstream. Their distributor in Canada was Coleco (Cabbage Patch Dolls, etc.). When Coleco’s fortunes waned, his brothers offered Stan the Canadian distributorship. He was 33 then. Starting with their products he added other lines. Eventually, Stan added Nintendo and grew a joint venture with Nintendo of Canada. They became the exclusive importer of many of the videogame releases from 3rd party publishers. That company was sold to Standard Broadcasting when sales were approaching $50 million. But Stan had been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug by then.
After the refund incident, he realized that there are many CRA (Canada Refund Agency) benefits available to Canadian Taxpayers that are often overlooked. The reason is that it usually takes too much time and money to find out if one qualifies for the refunds. At Family Tax Recovery, Stan and his team have simplified the process. They have created their Refund Tax Engine to instantly perform all the tedious calculations for each refund opportunity and uncovers unused grants, credits, positive law changes, and accounting errors resulting in taxpayers being owed a refund from the CRA.
A Unique Service
Family Tax Recovery provides a unique service. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) allows personal taxpayers up to 10 years to amend tax filings. They review 10 years of their clients’ filings for refund purposes. If an accountant was to charge for this time-consuming service it would be quite expensive, and of course, there’s no guarantee a refund will be forthcoming.
Family Tax Recovery offers the service on a contingency basis, meaning if there’s no refund, then there’s no fee. Because of that, all taxpayers can now afford to have their personal taxes reviewed for refund purposes. “I’m pleased to say that more than half of the refunds so far, have gone to Canada’s less privileged, lower-income earners,” shares Stan.
Family Tax Recovery was named in 2019, 2020, and 2021 in the Globe & Mail list of Canada’s fastest-growing companies; the Profit Magazine Award for Canada’s fastest growing start-ups 2019; and the 2021 Welp Magazine’s list of Toronto’s top accounting firms.
Other corporate awards include the Profit Magazine Award for Canada’s fastest growing companies 1990, 1991, 1992, 2007; the Source Innovation Award 2008 and Consumers Digest Best Buy Award 2008; Dedicated chapter in the book ‘Secrets of Success from Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies’ by Rick Spence, Feature story in The Financial Times Magazine (1995).
The Views of a Leader
Integrity, commitment, and gratitude are three qualities as per Stan that are crucial for a Leader in making. We also asked how he handles moments of confusion during business decisions, to which he said, “ Good counsel is crucial. I regularly seek the advice of my genius business partner, Rob Sheinbein, and all our managers, who in turn seek advice from their counsel, and peers. A good team, working effectively and with a common goal – stands a much better chance at getting things unstuck, rather than trying to figure things out by oneself.”
Speaking about micromanagement, which many leaders prefer, he says, “I started this business at the age of 65. Now, at 72, I have no interest in micro-managing anybody. It also is comforting to have a great hands-on partner and two sons in the business. Where I get directly involved is when I see anomalies, poor results, questionable logic, and the like.”
He shares his advice for young entrepreneurs saying, “Take accounting 101. Not understanding the balance sheet, the accounts, cash flow, and such, greatly increases the chances of failure. Relying on an accountant to understand the numbers, likely won’t help fix the problems. Stay honest, positive, and thankful for the opportunities.”
The Way Forward
The pandemic meant growth for the business as people needed cash more than ever. While the business grew, unfortunately, Canada’s lower-income earners were the hardest hit financially during the pandemic. “We suffered higher bad debt, but understandable,” shares Stan. But now, with the economy under better control, optimism is on the rise.
“I’m pleased to say no other companies are providing our service. The only small competitors we have are ex-employees and ex-licensees who thought they’d do better on their own,” says Stan. The company has found more than $60-million in refunds and amendments for over 25,000 taxpayers (including licensees). “It’s far and away from the most rewarding business I’ve ever had. We are making a real, tangible difference in people’s lives. This is a business where we’re helping people because everybody needs or wants more cash,” concludes Stan.