http://www.tax-planning-for-wealth.com Estate and Tax Planning Secrets that You Probably Won't Hear from Your Lawyer or CPA Wed, 21 May 2008 02:55:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If you want to read a recipe for a market disaster, take a look at the tax proposals of  Obama and Clinton.  In the 2008 presidential election, neither of the Democratic candidates has ever met a tax they don’t like. And even though they say they aren’t going to tax the ... http://www.tax-planning-for-wealth.com/obama-tax-plan-can-you-say-dow-at-7500/ “Italian Tax Police Bust Up Fake-Ferrari Ring” is the title of a WSJ article dated February 28, 2008. The article goes on to a ring of auto-body shops that were trafficking in one of the most high end counterfeit cars of all time. Imagine, “a sophisticated operation that was running ... http://www.tax-planning-for-wealth.com/the-tax-cops-cometh/ Let me give you a completely silly example of how tax impacts wealth accumulation. Suppose I gave you two choices. In your first choice, I would straight out write you a check for $10,000. Conversely, I would hand you a penny today, two pennies tomorrow, four pennies on the third ... http://www.tax-planning-for-wealth.com/the-evaporating-tax-riddle/ Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the most prosperous in the world, had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened? This list does not assume to be the complete ... http://www.tax-planning-for-wealth.com/how-the-government-takes-your-money-a-catalog/ In today’s WSJ was an opinion letter entitled “The Coming Tax Bomb” by John F. Cogan, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and R. Glenn Hubbard, Dean of Columbia Business School.  Both have held cabinet positions. The letter examines the virtually certain impact of the nearly consensus notion that taxes must ... http://www.tax-planning-for-wealth.com/the-coming-tax-bomb/ According to the April 4 Kiplinger Tax Letter, the opportunity to donate your IRA withdrawals to charity without tax affect will be reinstated retroactively to January 1, 2008.  Congress allowed this benefit to expire at the end of 2007.  This is good news for people who are taking their RMDs ... http://www.tax-planning-for-wealth.com/donate-from-your-ira/ Yesterday I extolled the virtues of tax efficient mutual funds.   These funds are generally preferable to those without the tax efficient overlay (the fund name will carry the words “tax efficient” in it) because it is designed for maximum after tax growth.  These funds generally won’t have unexpected capital gains ... http://www.tax-planning-for-wealth.com/exchange-traded-funds-etfs/ You are what you eat. We’ve all heard this old saying.  Regarding taxes, it’s sort of the same.  Our annual tax bill is a result of the nature of our income.  While certain foods are good for us and some, though seemingly delicious, aren’t so good for us.  Likewise, certain income ... http://www.tax-planning-for-wealth.com/choosing-tax-efficient-mutual-funds/ If I can say anything positive about tax code it is this: It sure makes charity rewarding. Charitable giving reduces not only your income tax burden, but also escapes the mother of all taxes, the estate tax. Most wise people I’ve met or read about, whether or not they are faith-based, ... http://www.tax-planning-for-wealth.com/charity-begins-in-the-heart/