Finding Joy In Writing About Tax Law

A Q&A with Wall Street Journal's eminent tax reporter, Laura Saunders, reveals why some find writing about tax law so fascinating and rewarding:

1. Satisfies Sleuthing Impulse:  "I love information–digging it out and distilling it for readers, which is what reporters do. Call it my Nancy Drew impulse."
2. Human Element: "Early on, I gravitated to covering taxes because they are at the intersection of economics, politics, and our everyday lives. . . . Later I gravitated to writing about individual income taxes, which raise more revenue than any other levy and touch our lives in so many ways."

Like Saunders, I studied literature, got a masters' degree in literature, and then gravitated to tax law because I enjoy challenging puzzles.^[1] I write about tax issues (among other estate planning topics) because I also enjoy packaging complex information in ways that can help people.^[2]

"Working at [the Wall Street Journal] has been terrific," states Saunders. "I love being surrounded by smart, helpful colleagues . . . My editors have been great." I blogged briefly at Forbes.com, and the thing I miss the most is the smart, helpful colleagues and editors. I hope a community of brilliant minds will gravitate to this website and contribute by commenting on posts and even writing articles.

I learn so much from Saunders' articles at the Wall Street Journal, and I hope one day to write as well as she. If you want to read informative and accessible reporting, then read her articles: https://www.wsj.com/news/author/laura-saunders