Author: Tony Novak
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Best tax shelters for 2017
Will this be the year that you reduce or eliminate your federal income taxes? I help reduce taxes for clients with income income ranging from $50,000 to $4,300,000. There are plenty of legal and well-proven tax shelters available to taxpayers in every category. The top ten most common tax avoidance strategies are covered here. Tax…
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Update on Electoral College reform
Congressman John Conyers, Jr. of Michigan plans to lead actions aimed at reform of the Electoral College rules in the new 2017 Congress. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact calls for Electoral College delegates to pledge all of their electoral votes to the popular winner no matter who won in their states. So far the change…
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Crowdfunding update at year end 2016
Yesterday the National Law Review published a concise and useful update on Regulation CF crowdfunding written by Samuel Effron. The article summarized the results of the first six months of Regulation CF crowdfunding (July – December 2016). I exchanged emails with the author. We agree that crowdfunding is still in its infancy and we have too…
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Adios 2016 business disasters
No doubt 2016 was a tough year for me. Overall my business revenue dropped $17,600 despite my adding new accounting and planning clients at a healthy pace. I easily worked over 4500 hours at three different businesses. This means that my overall gross receipts were under $25 per hour and I had a net business loss…
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A new type of identity theft
I read another account this morning of a taxpayer using a professional’s credentials to file a fraudulent tax return. In this case the CPA prepared other late tax returns for the taxpayer but not this late-filed fraudulent return. CPA-prepared returns are afforded different treatment than self-prepared returns under IRS examination. Of course, the taxpayer had…
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Section 18001 of the 21st Century Cures Act (Small Business HRAs)
EXCEPTION FROM GROUP HEALTH PLAN REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALIFIED SMALL EMPLOYER HEALTH REIMBURSEMENT ARRANGEMENTS Section 18001. (Annotated) (a) Amendments To The Internal Revenue Code Of 1986 And The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9831 (excepted benefits) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following…
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Reduce your income taxes in 2017
Tax shelters and strategies that go beyond basic tax planning An accountant shared a story with his peers of a client who called recently to say “This year I really want to do whatever we can to slash my tax bill and pay the minimum”. The accountant replied “What do you think we’ve been doing…
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2017 real estate shakeup
Real estate ownership has long been one of the three primary wealth builders and tax reducing tools for businesses and individuals. I covered this topic in my blog yesterday. That may change radically in 2017 under tax reform proposals pushed by the new Republican leadership. The Congressional leadership in both houses and our new president…
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Trends in home ownership
The rate of individual home ownership is stuck at the lowest point in our lifetime. The trend will be further aggravated in 2017 as interest rates rise, real estate tax incentives diminish, and disposable income falls for the lower half of American households. Yet it remains unclear whether the homeownership issue indicates a serious underlying economic problem or a…
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Five things we know about tax reform in 2017
At this point, of course, there are more unknowns than knowns. But a few points seem clear enough that we can begin using some ideas for our planning purposes. Republican leaders are planning for federal tax reform plan in early 2017 that requires no Democratic support. That means than no compromises will be necessary to pass…