A letter from Matt

To the families and businesses of the Treasure Valley,

I came to taxes by way of engineering. I studied at the University of Washington and left with two degrees, a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a B.S. in Chemistry. Engineering teaches one lesson above the rest: everything has to balance. Whatever goes into a process comes out somewhere, and if the numbers don't close, something is wrong. A tax return works the same way. It's the balance sheet of a year, and every dollar has to be accounted for.

I didn't go straight into taxes. I built and ran a small software company that served pharmacy consultants, managed a medical supply warehouse, and spent years running a high-volume restaurant where food cost was counted in fractions of a percent. I've signed the front of a paycheck and the back of one, and I know what a slow month feels like to an owner.

Since 2020, I've worked the hard end of the tax business. I started reviewing cases at a national tax resolution firm, earned my Enrolled Agent license, and became its lead EA. At my busiest, I was closing 60 to 100 IRS cases a month for people the IRS was already pursuing over back taxes, bank levies, wage garnishments, and payroll problems that had grown for years before anyone asked for help. In all, I've helped clients resolve more than $40 million in IRS debt. Later, as vice president of tax strategy, I rebuilt the firm's business services division of preparers, bookkeepers and case managers.

Those cases taught me something I haven't forgotten. Almost none of them started big. They started with a missed estimate, a payroll deposit that slipped, or a letter left in a drawer because opening it felt worse than not knowing. By the time people found me, the fix was expensive. The original problem usually wasn't. The waiting was.

I believe in paying taxes. They pave the roads, staff the schools and keep the water running, and an honest return is part of being a good neighbor. The old instruction still holds: render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. But Caesar is owed his due, not a tip. The tax code is a set of rules, and those rules include deductions, credits, elections and timing that Congress wrote on purpose. Using them isn't a loophole. Judge Learned Hand put it plainly in 1934: "Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible." Paying more than the law asks isn't patriotism. It's a mistake, and usually one nobody explained to you in time.

My job is to make sure you pay what you owe, in full and on time, and then keep what is yours. That work happens before the year ends, not in April.

So I built Snake River Tax Advisors in that order. Planning comes first, while there's still time to change the outcome. Next comes catching small problems while they're still small. And when something has already gone wrong, you'll have someone here in the valley who knows how the IRS works a case.

This valley is home. My family's history in the Treasure Valley goes back [how far / which generation], and I want the people who live here to have the kind of tax help that's usually reserved for bigger cities and bigger clients.

When Bruce Peterson decided it was time to retire, he looked for someone to care for the clients he has served for years. I'm grateful he chose us. His office, his records and the way he treated people are staying put. What's new is a flat fee you'll know before we start, help during the year instead of only at filing time, and representation in-house if the IRS ever comes calling.

My promise is simple. You'll always know what we're doing, what it costs and why. If you have a question, call. Quick questions are never billed.

I look forward to meeting you.