July 1, 2015

What Goes Around Comes Around

Ask anyone what makes them happy. (Go ahead, see who's around and ask them.) We're pretty sure they didn't say "paying taxes." Most of us just grumble and pay up. But millions of citizens from all walks of life express their unhappiness by choosing not to pay. The IRS currently has over 12 million accounts in collections, with state and local governments managing millions more. That's a lot of money not getting paid.

Of course, tax collectors are hardly powerless to collect those debts. They can garnish wages to pay back taxes. And they can seize property. Usually, this means financial assets like bank accounts, investments, and retirement accounts. But it also includes physical assets like houses, cars, and boats they can sell to raise cash. The IRS has seized less obvious assets, too, such as the contents of an Alabama scofflaw's hair salon, a pair of Boston parking spaces that sold for $280,000 each, and even $2 million worth of annuity payments that used to be New York Mets slugger Darryl Strawberry's deferred salary.

Now we've learned that a Florida tax collector is taking aim at an even bigger target. Last month, Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley filed suit to seize the 200-foot-tall Skyview Ferris wheel, which has thrilled riders since 2013 near Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park.

The Ferris wheel features 42 climate-controlled gondolas, including a VIP car with leather seats and glass floors. And it's enjoyed a scenic ride of its own. It originally opened in Paris, across from the famed Louvre museum. Then it moved to Bern, Switzerland. Then it crossed the Alps and the Atlantic for a year-long stop in Pensacola, Florida before finally settling in "the ATL."

Here's where taxes step aboard. When the wheel landed in Pensacola, it became subject to Escambia County property tax. The county assessed the wheel's value at $11.4 million, then billed the ride's operator $237,000. That company, Expo 60 Ventures LLC, has since gone out of business and dissolved. However, Florida law lets the tax on tangible property follow the property, in addition to the owner, which makes the wheel itself still subject to seizure. What's worse, interest and penalties have rolled the bill up to $350,000!

The wheel's current operators are quick to defend Atlanta's newest overpriced tourist trap scenic attraction. A spokesman says "This is a vendetta by a public official who's up for re-election in Pensacola, Florida. Pensacola has always been angry that this wonderful icon left their city and came to Atlanta." Having said that, they also paid $50,000 towards the debt. "Our only contention is that they're charging some ridiculous penalties and interest and things like that on the taxes, and we're willing to pay those as soon as the court tells us that that's what we have to pay," he added. (Doesn't exactly sound "willing" when you put it like that!)

Of course, the county doesn't really want to take possession of the Ferris wheel, not any more than the IRS really wanted a couple of parking spots in Boston. They just want their money. (We can just imagine Pensacola's roughest, toughest repo man gulping in disbelief when he gets this assignment!)

Ferris wheels are fun, but in the end you just wind up back where you started. That's fine for a scenic ride, but it's not good enough when it comes to your taxes. What you need is a plan. Whether you're running a business, managing a portfolio, or just raising a family, we can give you that plan — and you can save the thrill rides for the amusement park, not the IRS!

Let's Talk! For a deeper conversation on our services, or to become a client, call Kenneth Hoffman at (954) 591-8290 Monday - Friday for a no cost consultation, or drop me a note.

Kenneth Hoffman of K.R. Hoffman & Co., LLC is a highly sought after tax and business counselor. As a trusted senior advisor and counselor working closely with Entrepreneurs, Professionals and Select Individuals, Mr. Hoffman provides counsel to his clients who are navigating through the complexity of today's business, tax, and accounting challenges.

Click here to schedule an appointment with Kenneth Hoffman.

If you found this article helpful, I invite you to leave a comment and please share it on twitter, facebook or your favorite social media site and with your friends, family and colleagues. Thank you.

I truly value your business and I appreciate your referrals. Refer your family, friends, acquaintances, and business colleagues to KR Hoffman & Co., LLC.

Follow us on Twitter at @TaxReturnCoach, and let us know how we're doing.

June 10, 2015

Who Won Most at Roland Garros?

by Kenneth Hoffman in Business Counsel, Tax Counsel

For two weeks every spring, the tennis world focuses its attention on Roland Garros, the Parisian center that hosts the French Open. This year, fans yawned as the dominant Serena Williams cruised to her 20th career major title in the 2015 French Open, defeating the 13th-ranked Czech Lucie Safarova. On the men's side, fans saw an actual contest, as the Swiss Stan Wawrinka used his devastating backhand to take his second major in four sets, upsetting top-ranked Novak Djokovic and denying him a career Grand Slam.

Both winners claimed €1.8 million, or about $2 million, in prize money. But does that mean they actually take home that much? Certainly not. You may have heard about this thing called "taxes" that eat into our bounty. So let's take a look at what happens to those purses to see who really comes out ahead.

Playing professional tennis isn't like signing a contract with a baseball or football team and collecting a guaranteed salary. It's more like running a small business whose "product" is winning tournaments. James Ward, currently ranked #101 in the world, put it well last year when he told International Business Times, "It's difficult . . . . You're paying your own expenses, your coach's, you're paying for your food, your hotel, your travel — for two people. And if you lose in the first round you're getting $300, minus tax. It's embarrassing. You've just got to win matches."

James is exaggerating a little bit — first round losers at the French Open get €27,000 in addition to their walk of shame. And in Williams's case, her coach is also her boyfriend, which brings down the cost of her entourage a bit. But still, if you want to get rich playing tennis, you've got to be very, very good. The real money, as with so many sports, is in the endorsements.

France takes the first slice at French Open winnings, and it's a big one. France's top tax rate is 45%, which is actually down, from 75% just two years ago. It's high enough that international athletes grumble about it publicly. In fact, last year Serena told Rolling Stone magazine, "Seventy-five percent doesn't seem legal. Nobody does anything because the government pays you to be broke. So why work?"

Then Williams comes home, and the IRS serves up a maximum rate of 39.6%, plus a Medicare tax of 3.8% on top of that. At least her home state of Florida doesn't impose an income tax.

As for Wawrinka, who ranks fourth in the world after this week's win, he wins the Tax Bracket Open. He pays a maximum federal income tax of just 11.5% on income over SFr700,000. (That's Swiss francs, for those of you keeping score at home — 700,000 Swiss francs equals about $658,000.) His home canton of Vaud (similar to a state government in Switzerland) and his home town of St. Barthélemy lob more taxes at him. Total tax burdens in Switzerland can reach 40% depending on where you live. Even so, Wawrinka squeaks out ahead of Williams. (He may not "love" paying them, but at least he gets to pay a bit less.)

When it comes to tennis, how hard you hit the ball is important. But it also matters where you hit it, too. It works the same way with taxes. How much you make is key. But how you make it and even where you make it are important, too. Serena Williams and Stan Wawrinka both have tennis coaches to help them win more tournaments. And they have tax coaches to help keep as much of what they win as possible. So don't risk double-faulting against the IRS. Call us for the plan you need!

Let's Talk! For a deeper conversation on our services, or to become a client, call Kenneth Hoffman at (954) 591-8290 Monday - Friday for a no cost consultation, or drop me a note.

April 22, 2015

Guaranteed Loser

by Kenneth Hoffman in Business Counsel, Tax Counsel

You've bought a lottery ticket or two in your time, right? The Powerball jackpot hits a bazillion dollars, and you realize you really can't win if you don't play. So you buy a ticket or two just to nurse that fantasy of champagne wishes and caviar dreams. Forget the reality that most lottery players never win, and even the ones who do make headlines usually seem to go bankrupt faster than a professional footballer who tears his ACL two games into his rookie season.

Most people who buy lottery tickets really do want to win. In fact, a 2006 study revealed that 21% of Americans believe playing the lottery was their best bet for financing retirement! (Really? That's not the same thing as counting on the lottery to retire, but it still doesn't say much about our financial planning smarts.) But would you believe there's a small group of Americans who pay top dollar for losing tickets? Why on earth would anyone ever do that? The answer, not surprisingly, lies in that financial cancer that we lovingly refer to as the Internal Revenue Code.

Start with the premise that gambling winnings are taxable income. That makes perfect sense, of course; the IRS doesn't really care how you make your living as long as they get their share. (Even illegal income is taxable — remember who finally nailed Al Capone?) And that stinks. Sure, winning a hundred million sounds like a lot, but you're lucky to be left with half of that after you take care of your Uncle Sam and all the rest of those greedy relatives who show up with their hands out as soon as they hear you've won.

The good news is, you can deduct your gambling losses from gambling winnings before the IRS takes their cut. You don't even have to net out your totals by contest — you can deduct casino losses against lottery wins, and vice versa. But deducting gambling losses creates its own problem. The lottery commission, casinos, and racetracks where you do your best "work" are happy to send the IRS a Form W2-G reporting your wins. So how do you show an auditor how much you lost?

That's where the losing lottery tickets come in. Just hop onto a website like Craigslist or Ebay, and look for folks with losing tickets to buy or rent! The sellers might try to disguise them as "memorabilia." But just between us, we know what they're really for. The Daily Beast even found one bold seller getting rid of $1,100 in losing tickets, for the bargain price of $500, "so ya don't look like a xxxxx :) come tax time"!

Wanna know what sort of financial genius cooked up such a great scheme? He was an accountant named Henry Daneault, and he used to work for the IRS! In 1985, his client Phillip Cappella won $2.7 million, paid out over 20 years, in the Massachusetts Megabucks. When tax time rolled around, Daneault and his client made up $65,000 in gambling losses to erase $20,000 in tax. Then his old employer the IRS came sniffing around. Uh oh, what now? He paid $500 to rent $200,000 worth of losing tickets for a month. It might have been a great idea if it had worked. Sadly, it did not, and Daneault and his client both wound up pleading guilty to fraud and serving time in jail.

So now you know how to be a guaranteed loser. Want to know how to guarantee a win? Call us for a plan to pay less tax, the right way. Our strategies are all court-tested and IRS-approved. You won't have to win the lottery — you'll just feel like you did!

Let's Talk! For a deeper conversation on our services, or to become a client, call Kenneth Hoffman at (954) 591-8290 Monday - Friday for a no cost consultation, or drop me a note.

February 11, 2015

Patriots 28, Seahawks 24, IRS Millions

by Kenneth Hoffman in Tax Counsel, Tax Planning

You probably thought the holiday season ended when the last Christmas lights finally came off the house. But then you would have forgotten the closest thing we have to a national fair. We're talking, of course, about the Super Bowl, our only nationally-televised event that makes people look forward to the commercials as much as the game!

This year's contest was another nail-biter that remained close until New England cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted a Seattle goal-line pass with just 20 seconds left on the clock. (If the Patriots want the rest of the NFL to take their "dynasty" seriously, they're going to have to learn how to blow someone out like the 1990s-era San Francisco 49ers used to do!) But while Pats fans may be cheering loudest, there's another group that's cheering too, and that's the team at the IRS.

New England quarterback Tom Brady became just the third NFL passer to take home a fourth Super Bowl ring. He also took home a $400,000 bonus for his effort. (Brady and his wife, supermodel Giselle Bundchen, had to scrape by on about $60 million last year, so the cash is probably welcome.) And General Motors gave him a loaded Chevy Colorado pickup truck worth $35,000 for winning the MVP trophy, too.

So . . . the IRS intercepts 39.6% for income tax and 3.8% for Medicare on Brady's $400,000. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue picks off 5.2% more, and you can see why the tax man leaves Brady so . . . deflated. (Sorry.) Multiply that by everyone on the Patriots roster, and now you know why the receivers at the IRS cheer for every Super Bowl winner!

Now, Brady is awfully glad that Malcolm Butler intercepted that pass. So instead of taking that Chevy truck for himself, he's giving it to Butler. But that creates a tax problem. You see, if Brady takes the prize himself, then laterals it to Butler, Brady pays the same federal and state income and Medicare taxes on the truck as he does on his $400,000 cash bonus — but then he has to contend with gift tax, too. Brady can give up to the $14,000 "annual exclusion" amount, free from tax, to as many people as he likes in a year. If Brady and his spouse Giselle make a gift together, they can double that amount to $28,000. Anything above that annual exclusion eats away at Brady's $5.43 million "unified credit" against gift and estate taxes. Any gifts he makes during his life that aren't sheltered by the annual exclusion or unified credit are subject to a 40% tax. (Don't worry if none of this makes any sense — understanding it all is why estate tax lawyers drive Jaguars.)

But nobody wants to see Brady get sacked with extra taxes. So instead of giving the truck to Brady (to give to Butler), Chevy is shotgunning the truck directly to Butler. That means the undrafted 24-year-old rookie, whose career highlights include passing thousands of battered chickens into the fryer at his hometown Popeyes, will pay the same income and Medicare taxes that Brady would have paid. But calling the audible on the transfer to Butler protects Brady from the gift tax blitz.

Brady's running a play called "tax planning." It's saving him thousands. And it's not even one of Coach Bill Belichek's clever tricks! Here's some more good news — you don't have to be Super Bowl MVP to run the same play yourself. Just call us when you're ready to suit up against the IRS. And remember, we're here for your teammates too!

Let's Talk! For a deeper conversation on our services, or to become a client, call Kenneth Hoffman at (954) 591-8290 Monday - Friday for a no cost consultation, or drop me a note.

January 28, 2015

Some Modest Proposals

by Kenneth Hoffman in Tax Counsel, Tax Planning

Here in America, most of our tax debates center on "income." How do we define it? How do we count it? What do we get to exclude from it, deduct from it, or credit towards it. And finally, how much of it do we take, to make sure everyone pays their "fair" share. The end result is our tax code, a many-headed hydra that several wags have noted contains twice as many words as the Bible, but with none of the good news.

Of course, income isn't the only thing we tax. Uncle Sam and most states tax sales. They tax estates and inheritances. They tax medical devices. They tax booze and cigarettes to discourage consumption. (Of course, the real addicts are the governments who count on that revenue!) Politicians of both parties have even proposed taxing carbon emissions and financial transactions.

So, that got us to thinking . . . what else could clever politicians think of to tax? Who would be the winners under the new rules? And who would be the losers?

Excuses. They say excuses are like . . . well, you know — everyone's got one. Here's the thing. Nobody likes hearing excuses, but it's hard to make it through the day without making at least one or two. That makes them perfect for taxing! Big winners under an "excuse tax" include every annoying perfectionist you've ever known in your life, who skates by without ever paying the tax. Big losers would include the quarterback who throws the game-losing interception, the actor who releases the latest Hollywood bomb, and all 535 members of the United States Congress!
Showing Up Late. We all know how irritating it is to work hard to be ready on time, then sit around waiting for someone else to show up. So why not tax it instead of just grumbling? A "tardy tax" would raise millions, at least in theory. The hard part, of course, would be waiting for people to actually pay it. (Hmmmm, maybe not such a good idea after all.)
Snooze Buttons. Pretty soon we'll reach a point when everything we own is wired to the internet — even our alarm clocks! That will make it easy to impose a snooze button tax. Hit the button for nine more blessed minutes of sleep, and the IRS automatically "dings" your iTunes account for a buck or two. But just watch those collections grow! Clearly, the Monday after the Super Bowl will be the most lucrative day in government history!
Screaming Children. Whitney Houston sang "I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way." Kinda makes you wonder if she ever had to sit through a four-hour flight with a toddler screaming her head off about a toy, a snack, or a loaded diaper. (Hint: it's not really "First Class" if there's someone else's baby throwing a fit across the aisle from you!) Look, we know our kids are always adorable little angels — but wouldn't it be great if we could make a little tax revenue from someone else's screaming brat?

What do you think? Let us know what you'd like to see taxed, and maybe we'll compile them for a future email.

In the meantime, of course, we're still stuck paying traditional income taxes, and still stuck wishing we could pay less. And the best way to do that is to make a plan. So stop making excuses, stop hitting that snooze button, and call us for your plan!

Let's Talk! For a deeper conversation on our services, or to become a client, call Kenneth Hoffman at (954) 591-8290 Monday - Friday for a no cost consultation, or drop me a note.

Kenneth Hoffman of K.R. Hoffman & Co., LLC is a highly sought after tax and business counselor. As a trusted senior advisor and counselor working closely with Entrepreneurs, Professionals and Select Individuals, Mr. Hoffman provides counsel to his clients who are navigating through the complexity of today's business, tax, and accounting challenges.

Click here to schedule an appointment with Kenneth Hoffman.

January 18, 2015

Ten Issues for Bussinesses in 2015

by Kenneth Hoffman in Business Counsel, Tax Counsel

With the New Year in full swing, small business owners are focused on implementing their strategic plans for 2015. An important component of those plans should include monitoring potential regulatory changes and understanding how they may impact the small business landscape.

Staying up-to-date with the ever-changing regulatory environment can be the difference between your business maintaining compliance and potentially facing steep IRS penalties. K.R. Hoffman Co., LLC keeps a close eye on regulatory issues to help business owners plan for changes that may be required in the New Year.

Kenneth Hoffman, managing member of K.R. Hoffman & Co., LLC, a highly sought after tax and business counselor to entrepreneurs, professionals and select individuals, has offered his list of the top 10 regulatory issues that small business owners need to be aware of in 2015.

1. Tax Extenders and Tax Reform. On December 19, 2014, President Obama signed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 into law. Approximately 50 tax breaks, known as “tax extenders,” were retroactively expanded through December 31, 2014. Some of these, such as bonus depreciation and accelerated expensing of certain asset purchases, are particularly beneficial to small businesses. IRS leadership has noted that despite the delay in the initial passage of the extenders, the tax filing season will start on time; however, due to budget constraints, the processing of returns and refunds may be affected. Additionally, the short-term extension could complicate a possible rewrite of the tax code in 2015. Business owners will want to monitor any tax reform developments for potential ramifications.

2. The Affordable Care Act. The New Year brings additional responsibilities for businesses defined as Applicable Large Employers in the Employer Shared Responsibility (ESR) provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Applicable Large Employers will need to be prepared to meet new IRS mandates to file annual information returns with the IRS and provide statements to their full-time employees about the health insurance coverage the employer offers in 2015.

3. Taxation of Online Sales. Taxation of online sales is likely to be an issue affecting many businesses this year. To level the playing field between brick and mortar retailers and online merchants, and respond to state concerns about lost revenue, the U.S. Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act in May 2013, which would have allowed states to collect sales tax on purchases made by state residents regardless of where the seller is located. The bill stalled in the 2014 session of Congress. Because of the amount of tax revenue at stake, businesses should expect this legislation to be resurrected this year.

4. Immigration Reform. President Obama announced late in 2014 his plan to use his executive authority to make changes to our nation’s immigration laws. Federal agencies are currently moving forward to implement the president’s plan. Employers will need to continue to monitor changes to the immigration system that may impact their internal hiring and staffing procedures, particularly in terms of Form I-9 procedures and work authorization documentation, as well as address potential labor gaps should newly authorized workers decide to look for higher paying positions.

5. Overtime Regulations. The U.S. Department of Labor is expected to release proposed guidelines in the first quarter of the year to modernize and streamline the existing overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The revised regulations are expected to expand the number of workers eligible for overtime pay by increasing the minimum salary levels required for exempt status employees, and by expanding the duties defining “administrative” employees exempt from overtime pay. In the interim, employers are encouraged to review their employee classifications, focusing on job duties and salary levels for those workers classified as exempt. Employers should anticipate the potential need to track and pay overtime rates where applicable.

6. Employment-Related Legislation. Employers will need to remain diligent in their efforts to comply with new legislation in their jurisdictions this year. The trend of local and state governments passing minimum wage increases is expected to continue. In addition, hiring procedures and employment applications will need to be revised for employers in jurisdictions covered by “ban-the-box” laws that prohibit pre-employment inquiries into applicants’ criminal histories. Lastly, paid sick leaves and the tracking and notice requirements that go along with this benefit will require employers to review current sick day benefits and comply with what can be complex provisions in order to avoid violations.

7. Privacy. After some have called 2014 “The Year of the Data Breach,” there is a greater likelihood that in the upcoming 2015 legislative session, Congress will look to pass baseline cybersecurity legislation. Businesses should begin analyzing the relationships between technology and their customers’ personal data. Customer privacy should be appropriately protected through such means as secure networks, timely detection of malware, enhanced credit card security, and strong encryption. Businesses can expect increasingly vigorous enforcement actions from agency regulators following violations of Federal and state privacy laws.

8. Retirement. There are a number of developments coming, or currently under consideration, which may impact small business owners who currently offer a retirement plan to their employees, or are thinking about offering one. The U.S. Treasury in 2015 will more broadly introduce its non-mandatory workplace savings program – myRA – which will allow employees to place deferred funds into a program that is similar to a Roth IRA. Additionally, 14 states have proposed legislation that would create workplace savings programs through employers not currently offering a retirement plan for their employees. Other proposed legislation would offer further incentives to small businesses to open retirement plans, provide for lifetime income information on plan statements, and require further disclosures around target-date funds included as plan investment options.

9. FUTA Credit Reduction. Some states continue to have outstanding federal unemployment loans in 2015. Employers in these states will continue to have their FUTA credit amount reduced as a way to pay back the outstanding debt. The final list of credit reduction states was published by the Department of Labor in November. Employers in the impacted states should plan to pay higher FUTA taxes for tax year 2015, due in January 2016, and may want to consider planning for the additional tax amount early in order to avoid an unexpected tax expense at the end of the year.

10. Banking Developments. With the surge in use of mobile payment applications such as Apple Pay™, businesses will also see the parallel move toward increased payment security and mobile payment acceptance. Small businesses should consider implementing technology that will allow them to accommodate these trends. Additionally, heightened regulatory pressures on banks to know the parties they are dealing with may result in increased requests for data from business owners or extended account-opening procedures. Payroll cards will also continue to be an area of focus in 2015, as several states are expected to introduce legislation relating to this popular method of pay. Employers should ensure their payroll card provider is up to speed on the evolving regulations in this area.

Kenneth Hoffman is a trusted senior tax advisor and counselor working closely with Entrepreneurs, Professionals and Select Individuals, Mr. Hoffman provides counsel to his clients who are navigating through the complexity of today's business, tax, and accounting challenges. To have a conversation on how Mr. Hoffman can protect you and your business from the IRS, contact him at 954-591-8290 or info@krhoffman.com.

January 14, 2015

Trick Play Backfires; Team Thrown for a Loss

by Kenneth Hoffman in Business Counsel, Tax Counsel

College football fans have been crying for a season-ending playoff tournament for years, to replace the invitational "bowl championship" series that usually prompted as many questions as it answered. Monday night they got their wish, as the third-string quarterback Cardale Jones and the Ohio State Buckeyes overcame four turnovers to stun the Oregon Ducks, 42-20, in the very first College Football Playoff Championship Game.

Somewhere lower in the college football hierarchy, the University of South Dakota Coyotes aren't anyone's idea of national champions. They didn't even play Division I ball until 2008, when they joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference. This year's squad eked out just two wins, against William Penn's Statesmen and Northern Arizona's Lumberjacks. But one group of players took an even tougher hit. And their opponents weren't even wearing pads or cleats! What happened? Well, they challenged the team at the IRS — and they got thrown for a big loss.

Alphonso "Rico" Valdez grew up in Tampa, Florida, and graduated from Chamberlain High School before heading to the prairie to play cornerback for the 'Yotes. Maybe he felt exploited, playing for scholarship money instead of cold hard cash. But he didn't have the chops to go pro. So he recruited his own team of 11 conspirators, picking up some of his USD teammates, a former student government president who had been impeached for misusing student funds, and some friends from back home. Together, the group collected random names, addresses, and Social Security numbers, then used that information to file false tax returns on behalf of the victims and request fraudulent refunds in the form of prepaid debit cards.

We're not sure if any of the conspirators majored in accounting or not, but either way, pre-law probably would have been a smarter choice. The scheme came to light on a warm April day in 2012, when the criminal mastermind Valdez traded his helmet for sunglasses and a stocking cap, then made trip after trip to an ATM to convert those cards into cash. A concerned citizen noticed his unsportsmanlike conduct and called local police, who used surveillance video to pull the first string that eventually unwound the entire scheme.

The team scored $421,000 over the course of their "season" before officials threw a flag. Prosecutors don't know what happened to the money — they say there were no Mercedes-Benzes, no Louis Vuitton, and no Tiffany jewelry. USD athletic director Dave Herbster said "I'm not even sure that any of them had a car while they were here, and if they did, it probably wasn't a nice one."

At least they had the good sense to plead guilty to various charges of conspiracy and identity theft, and save real taxpayers the cost of a trial. They're even saying they're sorry! Valdez wants to become a high school football coach and show children they can further their education despite their mistakes. His girlfriend, Melissa Dinataly, said "the world is corrupt enough as it is. I shouldn't have done this." Of course, these aren't five-yard penalties — the whole team is headed to jail, for terms ranging from two to five years. They say prison life is structured — more than some people care for! So we'll see if the same discipline that helped Valdez excel on the field helps him excel in the yard.

Let's Talk! For a deeper conversation on our services, or to become a client, call Kenneth Hoffman at (954) 591-8290 Monday - Friday for a no cost consultation, or drop me a note.

If you found this article helpful, I invite you to leave a comment and please share it on twitter, facebook or your favorite social media site and with your friends, family and colleagues. Thank you.

I truly value your business and I appreciate your referrals. Refer your family, friends, acquaintances, and business colleagues to KR Hoffman & Co., LLC.

Follow us on Twitter at @TaxReturnCoach, and let us know how we're doing.

January 7, 2015

A Royal Mess!

by Kenneth Hoffman in Tax Counsel, Tax Planning

Most of us don't get to choose our parents. And while we're usually grateful for the ones we have, we've also dreamed of lives that might have been. What little girl hasn't dreamed of growing up a princess, living in a palace, riding in a horse-drawn carriage, wearing a tiara? And don't forget marrying a handsome prince!

Infanta Cristina de Borbon, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, is the sister of Spain's King Felipe VI and sixth in line to the Monarquía Hispánica. The Infanta grew up in the Royal Palace of Madrid, where she probably logged a ride or two in a carriage. And yes, she wore her mother's diamond-crusted floral tiara at her wedding. But she chose a thoroughly modern career, graduating from college, earning a master's degree in international relations at New York University, and working for UNESCO in Paris. Today she's a working mom of four children. She's also — if you believe Spanish judge Jose Castro — a tax cheat, named in a corruption scandal that's rocking Spanish society.

Cristina's husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, isn't a prince. But he's a former pro handball player and Olympian. (That's close, right?) Urdangarin, who was named Duke of Mallorca upon his marriage, is accused of embezzling €6 million ($7.4 million) in public funds through the Instituto Nóos, a charitable foundation he ran. Prosecutors say that he organized a series of sporting events for the regional governments of the Balearic Islands and Valencia — and hugely overcharged them.

Cristina hasn't been accused of participating directly in the fraud. However, she and her husband co-owned a company called Aizoon that received €1 million from the sports foundation, money that she and her husband used for personal expenses like furniture for their house in Barcelona, salsa lessons, and pricey hotel stays. Naturally, there were no taxes paid on those funds. The judge says "There are many indications that Cristina profited from illegal funds on her own behalf, and also helped her husband to do so, through silent cooperation and a 50% stake in his business." The judge also says that letting Cristina off the hook "would leave the question open and discredit the notion that justice is equal for all."

So now Cristina faces charges of failing to pay her taxes — quite a comedown for a member of a royal family that used to collect them rather than pay them! If she's convicted, she could spend the next few years in considerably "common" quarters — no palace, no carriage, and certainly no tiaras. (Of course, that's less punishment than a misbehaving royal might have gotten a few hundred years ago. Britain's Henry VIII never bothered imprisoning his ex-wives, he just beheaded them!)

Spain's monarchy has already suffered a series of PR hits after Cristina's father, King Juan Carlos, took a lavish trip to hunt elephants in Botswana at a time when Spanish unemployment was topping 25%. So what do they think of all this? Well, back in 2011, when the scandal first broke, they gave the Duke the royal boot from official events. In 2013, they cut Cristina off from the household budget and excised the Duke's biography from their official website. Most recently, after learning of the indictment, they declared their "complete respect for the independence" of Spain's judiciary. You'd like to believe the royals are too classy to throw someone under something as plebian as a bus, per se — but that sure sounds like what's happening!

Stories about princesses always ends with a moral, and this one is pretty simple. Being a princess isn't all it's cracked up to be, and there isn't always a happy ending! So if you want to pay less tax, do it right and call us for a plan. And call your mother! Yes, the holidays are over, but she'd still love to hear from you!

Let's Talk! For a deeper conversation on our services, or to become a client, call Kenneth Hoffman at (954) 591-8290 Monday - Friday for a no cost consultation, or drop me a note.

December 31, 2014

Decoding the Tax Code

by Kenneth Hoffman in Tax Counsel, Tax Planning

The Imitation Game is the critically acclaimed story of Alan Turing, a British mathematician who is widely credited as being the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Turing, whose work in cracking Nazi Germany's "ENIGMA" code helped lift the Allies to victory in World War II.

Seventy years later, retiring Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has picked up the code-breaking bug. But Coburn has decided to take on something even more twisted and fiendish than Nazi ciphers. That's right — he's just issued a 312-page "Tax Decoder" taking on our tax system. (Read it at your peril — if decoding takes 312 pages, just imagine what the encrypted version looks like!)

Coburn's goal is to give us "an educational reference guide designed to equip taxpayers and lawmakers with the details needed to thoughtfully reconsider many aspects of the existing tax code." We're not sure why Coburn thought he needed 312 pages to make his case — anyone who's ever seen their first paycheck and wondered "what's FICA?" knows the system is a mess. Still, here are some highlights:

Our tax system has metastasized like a glioblastoma. "In 2012, the Internal Revenue Code contained over 4 million words, enough to fill 9,000 pages. By way of comparison, a pamphlet with the original 1913 income tax required only 27 pages for the full text of the statute."
Our friends at the IRS really do want to help, but they're just underfinanced, understaffed, and underfed. "From FY 2004 to FY 2012, the number of calls the IRS received from taxpayers on its Accounts Management phone lines increased from 71 million to 108 million, yet the number of calls answered by telephone assistors declined from 36 million to 31 million."
The law is full of inappropriate and wasteful giveaways benefiting taxpayers who would do just fine without them. "There is no shortage of tax subsidies for the rich and famous, such as credits to renovate vacation homes and purchase luxury cars and deductions for yachts. McDonald's even received tax breaks to sell Chicken McNuggets overseas."
Too many "not-for-profit" groups serve their own interests instead of the public interest. "Lady Gaga's 501(c)(3) Born This Way Foundation is advertised as an organization that connects youth with antibullying, mental health, and other community resources, but its main activity appears to be throwing free pre-concert tailgate parties for fans."

Coburn's solution probably won't surprise you. Ideally, throw it all out and start over. At the very least, make it simpler, flatter, and fairer. "The tax code should be simple enough that everyone — including members of Congress — is capable of filling out their own tax return." (We'll let you decide if that means an easier tax system or smarter members of Congress!)

Still, there is some good news that we can help you put to work — and you'll find it on the very first page. "Due to the code's complexity, your taxes are not a simple calculation of earnings and obligations. Instead, taxes are determined by how well you can take advantage of the hundreds of tax credits, deductions, exclusions, and carve-outs tucked into the code." In other words, all that complexity creates opportunity — and the more complicated your taxes are, the more likely we can help. So, if you're looking for a New Year's resolution to kick off 2015, call us and resolve not to waste any more money on taxes you don't have to pay!

Let's Talk! For a deeper conversation on our services, or to become a client, call Kenneth Hoffman at (954) 591-8290 Monday - Friday for a no cost consultation, or drop me a note.

November 12, 2014

Deduct the Alamo!

by Kenneth Hoffman in Business Counsel, Tax Planning, Tax Counsel

In 1836, Mexican General Santa Anna and 1,500 troops laid seige against 182 Texans garrisoned at the Alamo, a Spanish mission designed to resist attack from native tribes. Thirteen days later, the Mexicans stormed the walls and killed every last man inside, including Commander William Travis and frontiersmen Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie. Santa Anna's cruelty inspired Texans to join their army to seek revenge, crying "Remember the Alamo!" on their way to crushing the Mexicans at the Battle of San Jacinto.

Remembering the Alamo has become a central part of Texas history. So, which Texas musician just offered a tax-planning lesson by donating his collection of Alamo artifacts to the Texas Land Office? Was it rock 'n' roll pioneer Roy Orbison, hailing from lonely Vernon near the Oklahoma border? Perhaps it was country legend Willie Nelson, born an hour south of Fort Worth? Wait, wait . . . was it Tejano accordionist Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez from San Antonio? No, no, and no. The answer, of course, is English singer and drummer Phil Collins, hailing from the London suburb of Chiswick!

Collins fell in love with the Alamo legend at age 5, watching actor Fess Parker play the "King of the Wild Frontier" Davey Crockett. According to Texas Monthly, the rocker's collection includes hundreds of documents, "plus artifacts like uniforms and Brown Bess muskets that belonged to Mexican soldiers, a sword belt believed to have been worn by Travis when he died atop the northern wall, and a shot pouch that Crockett is thought to have given a Mexican soldier just before he was executed." For years, they sat in his basement in Switzerland. But last month, Collins donated over 200 of his pieces to go on display in a new Alamo Visitors' Center.

Collins grudgingly admits to spending "seven figures" building his collection. Today it's said to be worth as much as $15 million. That sort of appreciation would seem to invite attack from the troops at the IRS. (And collectibles like the Alamo artifacts are even subject to a special 28% rate, 8% higher than the regular 20% for regular long-term gains). But there's an easy way for donors like Collins to avoid that tax, and get an even bigger charitable deduction for their gifts.

Let's say you spend $5 million building a collection that grows to be worth $15 million. Then you decide you want it to go to a museum. If you sell it to the museum, you'll owe $2.8 million in capital gains tax, plus $380,000 in "net investment income tax" on your $10 million gain. That's probably not as bad as being overrun by 1,500 soldiers — but it still leaves you with just $6,820,000 of after-tax gain.

Now let's say that instead of selling your collection to the museum, you donate it. Now you won't pay any tax at all. (Why should you? You never really "realize" your gain.) And, because you're making a charitable gift, you get to take a charitable deduction for the full $15 million value of your donation!

That same strategy works for any sort of appreciated property. Let's say you paid $1 million for a piece of property, which is now worth $3 million. Now you want your alma mater to have that $3 million, even though you know they can't use the property itself. You could sell the property, donate the after-tax proceeds, and take a deduction for your after-tax gift. Or, you could just donate the property and let the school sell it. That would avoid the tax on the gain and give you a deduction for the full pre-tax value!

Tax planning couldn't save the Texans at the Alamo. But it can save you from the IRS artillery. So if your year-end plans include charitable gifts, call us. We can help you with ideas to make the most of those gifts, even if you're not deducting the Alamo.

Let's Talk! For a deeper conversation on our services, or to become a client, call Kenneth Hoffman at (954) 591-8290 Monday - Friday for a no cost consultation, or drop me a note.