Archives for July 2015

HOW MANY MAGIC TRICKS DO YOU KNOW?

July 28, 2015 by Frank

The great magician, David Devant, has the following quote attributable to him. When Mr. Devant was approached backstage by a young amateur magician who proudly told him that he knew about 300 hundred tricks and asked how many Mr. Devant knew, Devant’s response was: “I know only eight. But I know them very well”.

Mr. Devant realized that one can only be a true master of a small number of things, regardless of whether they are magic tricks, business disciplines, or client industry sectors. In our firm, we are true masters (specialize) of tax preparation and tax planning, working with small business owners to improve their cash flows, and to resolve IRS tax problems of individuals and business owners. While we offer many other services to our clients, we use strategic partners to help our clients with estate planning, financial advisory services, insurance needs, etc. These strategic partners specialize in their niche area of expertise and thus are able to meet the needs of our clients.

So you need to ask yourself, [Read more…] about HOW MANY MAGIC TRICKS DO YOU KNOW?

FEAR OF RUNNING OUT OF MONEY IN RETIRMENT?

July 21, 2015 by Frank

Our November 18, 2014 blog discussed why living a long life creates retirement problems. Thus, it is important to plan for your retirement as early in life as possible (and there is no better time than today!).

The Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) recently broadcasted a session hosted by a very prominent Individual Retirement Account (IRA) consultant whom I respect very much for his IRA tax law knowledge. His message during this PBS broadcast was that the American public needs to realize that their traditional IRAs do not belong solely to them, but also belong to the IRS. This statement is true since the distributions from a traditional IRA are subject to income tax when withdrawn. He also stressed that Americans need to realize that they have tax deferred accounts (such as the traditional IRA), but can also own tax-free accounts. The tax-free accounts included Roth IRAs and permanent life insurance. This too is sound advice. Where we parted ways with the host was his message that taxpayers should be converting their traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs and investing in permanent life insurance. And if your tax professional is not recommending this strategy, [Read more…] about FEAR OF RUNNING OUT OF MONEY IN RETIRMENT?

IS YOUR TAX PREPARER QUALIFIED?

July 14, 2015 by Frank

Accountingtoday.com reported Click Here to Read Full Article that a seasonal tax preparer hired by Liberty Tax in Bigfork, MT received a five-year sentence which will be served with the Montana Department of Corrections. The preparer, using information obtained as a tax preparer, illegally transferred thousands of dollars from a Liberty Tax customer’s account to her own account.

Why is this relevant tax news? Individual taxpayers need to do their due diligence when hiring a tax preparer. First, the big tax preparation firms hire seasonal tax preparers to prepare tax returns during the height of the tax season. How these seasonal preparers become knowledgeable about the complex Internal Revenue Code during their 2-3 week part-time training sessions is beyond our imagination. And yet, millions of taxpayers have their returns prepared by these large franchise firms. What is the attraction? Is it the perceived low tax preparation cost? Is it the mass marketing? Second, do you know who is preparing your tax return and [Read more…] about IS YOUR TAX PREPARER QUALIFIED?

TAX PRACTITIONER BILL OF RIGHTS

July 7, 2015 by Frank

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has on its website a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The National Society of Accountants (NSA) has proposed a Tax Practitioners Bill of Rights. The NSA, in the wake of a proposed $838 million budget cut for the IRS, hopes this proposed Bill of Rights will establish timely enactment of tax laws and regulations and reasonable levels of IRS service for tax practitioners, who file 60 percent of the tax returns received by the IRS each year. Thus with the majority of taxpayers depending upon the tax preparation services or tax planning strategies of tax professionals, it is important that the IRS works closely with tax professionals to better serve the American taxpayer.

The NSA Tax Practitioners Bill of Rights includes the following (Be sure to read more as this bill of rights affects you, the individual taxpayer): [Read more…] about TAX PRACTITIONER BILL OF RIGHTS