Don't Mess With Taxes

Americans are a mobile group. We tend to move a lot. But a lot more of us are moving out of the country, and doing so for good. You've heard the proclamations. "If he's elected, I'm out of here!" Folks across the political spectrum angrily declare this intention every U.S. presidential election year. Few, however, follow through. "When I win the lottery, I'm moving to Italy." Or France or Brazil or Australia. This is my mantra. Most of the time, though, folks just take nice long vacations to those foreign locales. I promise to at least buy a second home... Read more →

Great Britain is trying a new tax collection technique: Shame. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the United Kingdom's equivalent of the Internal Revenue Service, wants to embarrass folks who are utilizing (or utilising if you use England's spelling) very aggressive tax shelters into paying more. The idea was sparked by revelations that many of wealthy U.K. residents are using tax loopholes to legally avoid paying HMRC. One estimate is that the country has missed out on up to 14 percent -- or around £5 billion; that's more than $7.7 billion in U.S. currency -- in uncollected taxes. Image courtesy... Read more →

Tax breaks. We all want them. But sometimes things don't quite work out as planned. That tax discconect was a recurring theme in my posts last week at my other tax blog. Some taxpayers who this year started paying back the original first-time homebuyer credit -- that's the $7,500 one for the 2008 tax year -- have found the tax break has turned into even more trouble. They've been waiting, some for months, for refunds. The IRS is having difficulty processing this tax provision. And the reasons for such problems and subsequent refund delays are not satisfying affected filers. They've... Read more →

That got your attention, didn't it? That's why the series on 11 perfectly legal tax shelters, dodges and rolls used by America's wealthiest people is the April 11 cover at Bloomberg Businsessweek. The magazine says that April 18 could be the best Tax Day for America's well-off since the early 1930s. I'll leave the specifics for you to peruse at your leisure, but here's the list of no-tax strategies regularly employed by the wealthy to ease their tax troubles: The 'No Sale' Sale The Skyscraper Shuffle The Estate Tax Eliminator The Trust Freeze The Option Option The Bountiful Loss The... Read more →