Friday, April 11, 2014

Lower your taxes with these tricks

Can you use these tricks to lower your taxes to $0?
While you are trying to figure out why you are paying income, SS, Medicare, UC, DI, etc taxes, you might find some of the techniques that companies use to pay NOTHING: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/23/big-companies-pay-no-taxes/2480281/ If you can’t, perhaps you should send your Congress persons $123,000 so you can get access to discuss how they can help you avoid paying taxes like the big guys. It worked for these companies, why not you?
And the nice thing is that now you don’t have to worry about breaking the law for bribing an official. The Supremes have just decided that when fat cats give legislators money, they don’t expect anything in return. WOW! Roberts, the chief justice, said:
“Spending large sums of money in connection with elections, but not in connection with an effort to control the exercise of an officeholder’s official duties, does not give rise to quid pro quo corruption. Nor does the possibility that an individual who spends large sums may garner “influence over or access to” elected officials or political parties.”
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-536_e1pf.pdf   RIGHT and what does Roberts smoke??

South FL insurer cuts homeowners as soon as the check clears
People’s Trust is canceling thousands of policies, abruptly cutting ties with many customers in Palm Beach County and other parts of South Florida less than 90 days after they signed up. People's Trust Insurance Co. is calling it "prudent exposure management," though it is infuriating customers who are losing coverage so close to hurricane season. One Palm Beach Gardens customer said," I smell a rat." Fewer than 5 percent of its more than 115,000 policies are affected, said a spokeswoman. Use your discounts: http://www.amazon.com/Homeowners-Insurance-Beware-Coverage-Policy/dp/1480100870/



Insurers raise prices on non shoppers
Consumer groups called upon regulators to stop insurance companies from using so-called “price optimization” techniques when setting rates and premiums. Price optimization is a data mining tool used by insurers to charge higher premiums to those consumers least likely to shop for a new policy in the face of a rate increase. The groups noted, in a letter sent to commissioners on March 28, 2014, that insurance companies appear to be using these techniques without disclosing that fact to state regulators.
“Price optimization is a new strategy to overcharge Americans who have to buy auto and home insurance policies,” said Bob Hunter, CFA’s Director of Insurance and former Texas Insurance Commissioner. Smart shoppers use discounts every two years: http://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Insurance-Beware-Double-Coverage/dp/1480027634/

CA regulators fighting health policy increases
Leading companies have poured $13.4 million into defeating a ballot initiative that would give California regulators the power to reject increases in health policy premiums. Health insurers stand to lose control over raising rates in the most populous state at a time of dramatic growth in the customer base. More than 1.2 million people have enrolled in private health insurance plans under Obamacare through the end of March, according to Covered California, the state’s health- insurance exchange. Buy only what you need:  http://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083/

Koch brothers take ObamaCare subsidies while paying for repeal!?/
Several big corporations have reaped millions of dollars from "Obamacare" even as they support GOP candidates who vow to repeal the law. Among the corporations is a familiar Democratic nemesis, Koch Industries, the giant conglomerate headed by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. They and some conservative allies are spending millions of dollars to hammer Democratic senators in North Carolina, AlaskaColoradoIowa and elsewhere, chiefly for backing President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Records show that Koch Industries received $1.4 million in early retiree subsidies. United Parcel Service received $37 million Union Pacific Railroad received $9.7 million in subsidies. Altria (Marlboro) received nearly $11 million in the early retiree subsidies. One of the biggest subsidy recipients was AT&T, at $213 million. They spent $54 million of it supporting opposition to ObamaCare. Hypocrites or what?

IRA contributions stop at age 70.5—Roth IRA contributions can become legacy
You must be under age 70½ at the end of the tax year to contribute to a traditional IRA. You, and/or your spouse if you file a joint return, must have taxable compensation, such as wages, salaries, commissions, tips, bonuses, or net income from self-employment. Taxable alimony and separate maintenance payments received by an individual are treated as compensation for IRA purposes.
You do not have to be under age 70½ to contribute to a Roth IRA however. This means that you may continue to build a tax-FREE legacy for your family when you no longer need your IRA income for expenses. Just pay the tax due on the IRA and move it to your Roth. Heirs will receive the accumulations with no income taxes due—just like life insurance.

Question your broker about ‘disclosure events’ in their record
Meyers Associates, a small New York broker-dealer with five times the industry average of registered reps with marks, or 'disclosure events' on their record. These are red flags of lack of candor. Check NOW: http://brokercheck.finra.org/Search/Search.aspx
Believe it or not, Bernie Madoff’s phony monthly trading reports listed trades on days the market was closed, or at prices that were far off the market, or in volumes that simply never existed. Yet Madoff’s scam continued for 36 years, from 1972 until 2008, as the SEC was incapable of discovering the truth, and Madoff’s clients never read their phoney monthly statements, since through bull and bear markets Madoff always turned in profits that were not real: http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Way-Seems-Wall-Street/dp/1492752916

Employers still shifting health benefit costs to workers
The number of health plans with out-of-pocket limits of more than $5,000 increased to 32% last year, up from 20% in 2012, as more employers continued to shift costs to employees, according to a report by Zywave. Buy only what you need: http://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083/

States Challenging Wealthy Taxpayers Who Claim FL Residency
In many cases, these states are going after residents they think should still be paying their taxes. And the states are winning. One snow bird kept travel logs but they showed that he was not in Florida for the requisite six months and a day, his home state court found. The fact that he held on to a 10,600-square-foot home he'd built in Afton, Minn., used a Minnesota bank account, and kept three out of his four cars in the state, were among the signs the court pointed to when it said he didn't prove he really became a Florida resident.
This snow bird said it has cost him thousands in back taxes, interest and legal fees. "It's been horrible for my wife and me," he said. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone." Florida ranks first in the nation for individual income tax; sixth for unemployment insurance tax, 13th for corporate tax; 16th for property tax and 18th for sales tax. Overall, it ranks fifth as the best state to live and do business from a tax standpoint, the foundation found, after WyomingSouth DakotaNevada and Alaska. The heaviest tax burdens are generally in northern states, including New YorkNew JerseyRhode Island, Vermont and Connecticut, and Maryland, as well as some Midwestern ones like Minnesota and Wisconsin. A better alternative is the Roth IRA—Tax-FREE of fed and state income tax. This can lower your overall tax burden since SS benefits are also taxed for higher income couples. Use the tax code benefits to live tax-FREE:  http://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Retirement-code-lifetime-income/dp/1475206976/

You only get one IRA rollover a year—not one per account
Tax court decided a taxpayer can perform only one tax-free "rollover" of an individual retirement account each year — regardless of how many IRAs they may have. This differs greatly from the widespread perception that a taxpayer can roll over as many IRAs as they want, and that the one-year cooling-off period applied to each individual fund. You may be better asking Vanguard licensed staff to help you keep track of your pensions, brokerage, ETFs, regular IRAs and Roth IRAs. Buffett suggested Vanguard for his trustee: http://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592


More market manipulations
Joseph Dondero, a co-owner of Visionary Trading LLC, repeatedly used a fake order strategy to induce other market participants to trade in a stock, the SEC says. Lightspeed Trading LLC is charged with aiding and abetting the registration violations and its former chief operating officer, Andrew Actman, is charged with failing to supervise one of the Visionary owners. Fake orders create illusion of demand for a stock. Trading only helps the sellers. Invest without commissions: http://www.amazon.com/your-Wall-Street-Stock-traders/dp/1490533273/

GM SUVs got the highest rating in crash tests
The Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, both made by General Motors, received the highest "good" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Toyota Highlander got the second-best "acceptable" rating in tests of 2014 models.
But the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner and Ford Explorer got "marginal" ratings, while the Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-9 and Honda Pilot all were rated "poor."


SCAMS           Why are we still paying $700 Billion a year for WWII deployments?
We are paying for 164,253 of our active-duty armed personnel to be in 150 countries around the world. We have about 50,000 in Japan and 50,000 in Germany.
Are we preparing for WWII again? There are 1,208,083[1] armed personnel in the United States. Our taxes pay for about HALF of the WORLD’s military expenditures every year.
We just can’t afford to pay for everyone else’s defenses anymore.
DoD head Hagel proposes budget cut but still pay for Lockheed F35 plane failures.

Lobbyists using Washington trick to deceive us
Obama ex-staff hired to lobby for Canada pipeline are claiming they are not lobbyists but “policy advisors.” “The influence industry is moving underground,” says Sarah Bryner, research director of the Center for Responsive Politics. The group counts 46 former Obama officials who have registered with the federal government as lobbyists. An additional 86 are what it calls “unlobbyists,” who use their connections in Congress and the White House to press for changes in laws and federal policy but who aren’t registered. “We still have many people leaving government and taking jobs that in the past would have resulted in them registering,” Bryner says. Now they are “skirting the disclosure requirements.”

We (Medicare) paid one eye doctor $21 million in 2012
Medicare paid a tiny group of doctors $3 million or more apiece in 2012. One got nearly $21 million. Topping Medicare's list was Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, whose relationship with Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., made headlines last year after news broke that the lawmaker used the doctor's personal jet for trips to the Dominican Republic. Medicare paid Melgen $20.8 million. About 1 in 4 of the top-paid doctors — 87 of them — practice in Florida, a state known both for high Medicare spending and widespread fraud. Menendez has received more than $700,000 in direct and indirect campaign help from Melgen. Agents from the FBI and federal Department of Health and Human Services raided his West Palm Beach office in 2013 and hauled away dozens of boxes of materials.

Buyout firms cheating investors
More than half of about 400 private-equity firms that SEC staff has examined have charged unjustified fees and expenses without notifying investors, according to a person with knowledge of the SEC’s findings who asked not to be named because the results aren’t public. While some of the problems appear to have resulted from error, some may have been deliberate, the person said. Find out how they do it: http://people.hofstra.edu/daniel_j_greenwood/pdf/Looting.pdf


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