Friday, October 26, 2018

Tax-FREE retirement is winning the 'lottery'


Tax-FREE Roth 401k or Roth IRA?
If you are lucky enough to have the Roth 401k offered by your employer, you must understand the pros and cons of both Roth accounts. In both, you never pay tax on your retirement accumulations. So if you can aggressively fund your Roth 401k, you could easily reach $1 million tax free because your $100,000 total contributions over time can COMPOUND at 10% by age 67. If you can invest just $9 a day, $250 a month, you can still have $1 million tax free at age 67, you just have to start earlier. If you can’t do a Roth IRA because of limits, try a ‘back-door’ Roth. COMPOUNDING at the long-term stock market rate of 10% means your money doubles every 8-10 years. Look at the https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/roi-calculator.aspx. Most of your tax-free balance will be accumulated capital, not contributions: FREE MONEY.


Winning the $1 million ‘lottery’
$1 million tax free. You can spend it all—no taxes. Usually you must pay HALF your winnings to fed and state gov. $1 million can provide over $100,000 per year for life. Everyone who plays this ‘lottery’ will win. This $1 million lottery is not awarded every week. You must wait. Each week you buy $9 worth of ‘chances.’ You don’t win every week or month but you WILL win eventually. This lottery is a sure thing eventually because you actually are buying a piece of the profits of many successful companies. Some companies make a profit every year and some make a huge profit some years. Over time the ‘chances’ you buy get more valuable. Think about all those tickets of your past losses in the drawer. They are worthless because you did not win and every week you will lose—almost guaranteed. Thank god, you have a better chance of being hit by ‘lightning’ than winning any week. This lottery is not a lottery but a sure way to own $ million worth of all the companies you buy things from—groceries, electronics, toilet paper, electricity, cars, everything. You own Apple, Google, Microsoft, J&J, Facebook, Exxon, Morgan Chase,  Disney, and more. The value of your ‘chances’ go up and the profits the companies pay buy more ‘chances’. Buy from the largest ‘chance’ seller.

Are songs royalty streams right for you?
For those who have a crystal ball, buying the right to receive music royalties might be the alternative investment you have been looking for. Winning bidders typically get royalty payments on a quarterly basis, with a rate of return Royalty Exchange says is often in the double digits. The longevity of the royalty rights varies. Some royalty rights are limited to 10 years, while some offers include copyright ownership, which means the payments can last for decades. Some investors think royalties can never end. Royalty Exchange, the middleperson, launches three to five new auctions every week. Songwriters have a tax incentive for selling. Under the law, the money songwriters make from selling all or parts of their catalogs is treated as capital gains, taxed at 0, 15, or 20%. Royalty revenues, meanwhile, are treated as ordinary income, taxed as high as 39.6%. "There are people whose only real assets are their royalties," he said. "Their financial security is based around how they leverage those things."

Does your broker/advisor live in these states?
Connecticut, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and other states have passed laws or proposed regulations that mirror some of the federal rule's requirements to treat you with respect. Even though Trump cancelled the Fiduciary Rule—you receive advice/product that is BEST for you not for the institution—these states have or will protect you from outrageous commissions and fees, inappropriate products, and misleading information. Obama said without this law, you and I could give up thousands of dollars when we moved our retirement money (401k, 403b, IRA, pensions). My industry (financial:  http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/) can’t make $millions and $millions by giving you advise without putting our own high-cost products in front of you. In fact, most advisors and their firms don’t even carry the best products for you because they must make money to survive. Everything has changed in the last decade: discount brokerage, discount mutual funds, discount insurance, etc. My friends and I have left the old industry model.

Vital steps to buy a house
Don’t even look for a house before you understand the process. No use frustrating your family if it can’t happen now. Offerings and loan rates change daily. First, check your credit scores at www.myfico.com and errors at www.annualcreditreport.com. Check rates on trial amounts at your bank and then shop around at www.bankrate.com and https://www.quickenloans.com. I used them—very fast and efficient. Big banks have 10 plus people handling your loan and it takes 3 times longer. Second, find out ‘how much can you borrow?’ The final answer depends on your income and the lender, but usually it is monthly costs (mortgage, insurance, and property taxes) can’t exceed 28% of your gross monthly income. Fannie Mae increased its maximum DTI ratio to 50 percent, up from 45 percent, in July 2017. Third, the standard down payment is 20% but you may find exceptions: Federal Housing Administration or the Veteran’s Administration. Fourth, your lender may want you to pay down debt or temporarily reduce spending. If your family helps with the down payment, let it ‘age’ in your account for a few months. Now you know what houses you can afford and can ‘lock in’ a rate/terms. I used www.realtor.com and found a 2 family to help me pay for the mortgage. Timing is everything. Get your loan approved BEFORE you shop so you can pounce.

Is tax lien investing right for you?
Risk you must understand for this kind of game of chance. When a property owner fails to pay property taxes, the municipality in which the property is located can sell its tax lien — the right to foreclose on a property when the owner has failed to pay taxes. So you can force payment plus costs plus profit by threatening to take your neighbor’s house away and sell it. Most tax liens purchased at auction are sold at rates between 3% and 7%. If the owner does not pay you, you get to foreclose which can cost over $10,000. “It’s complicated. You have to understand the details,” according to an observer. Each state is different, so buying and collecting on a lien is how amateurs fail. Compare alternative assets like owning diversified real estate funds: REITs.

Mandate to have health insurance still exists
If you have been without insurance this year because you heard Trump cancelled the mandate, surprise—the mandate penalty is subtracted from your refund unless you qualify for various exceptions. So if you are not owed a refund for 2018, there will never be any consequences for not paying the penalty tax. Trump won’t collect it now. Trump has dismissed comprehensive coverage in his special ‘short-term’ policies. He has made buying coverage without protections easier so that he can claim his plans are “cheaper and better.” Trump does not understand—he has always had it. It is not magic—his plans do NOT cover pre-existing conditions and have payout limits. You may be denied or cancelled. You may have premium increases. Most Americans like ACA now that they have it. If you are lucky, you live in a state that maintains the guarantees of ACA. Before ACA you could buy cheap policies—they were junk and didn’t cover you when you needed it. You can’t buy insurance after you get sick or have an accident. Like car and home insurance, it is a way to share the risk of a huge loss. You pay premiums all your life for a catastrophe you hope won’t happen. The alternative is bankruptcy or destitution.
You need full coverage: Trump has it, why not us?: https://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083

Consumer Reports: Most reliable vehicles
Your vehicle ratings by brand are not unusual but look closer at all brands for the type—SUVs popular still (even Porsche has one??). Some specific models were dropped from the CR list altogether. Biggest ranking drop: Honda, Chrysler, Volvo, and Tesla. Volvo is now Greely (Chinese), Chrysler is now Fiat and Tesla is still working out the kinks. Vehicles are now mobile entertainment units not transportation. If you need quality reliable transportation not TV screen gadgets, go for a 3 year old thoroughbred like 2016 Lexus or Toyota from $12,500 to $30,000.




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Make America, “The Don”, Great Again

Two Americas: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

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Trump breaks 1987 Reagan arms treaty to spend more on weapons of mass destruction.
GOP promises 2nd tax break as teaser for midterm election of more spendthrift GOP.

TX GOP closes voting sites-long lines and DEMs must take off work. Voting rights?


SCAMS/SPINS:
Chris R. Kubiakk, WI  stole $270,000 from clients’ accounts for personal use.
John G Schmidt OH caught stealing $1.6 million retirement funds from boomers.
Cash Express caught threatening loan collection it can’t make against consumers.

Christopher Faulkner, Breitling, stole $23.8 million promising oil/gas profits.

23andMe’s health reports are dangerously incomplete, geneticist says.
Cancer care marketing misleading—big biz budgets add spin for profits.
Why drug prices keep going up—It costs $200 million to stop Congress from acting.

Trump to close all borders, ports, tourism, trade—any non-white immigrants.

Trump to pardon Charlottesville Nazis?? Neo-Nazi caught trying to flee from law

GA to suppress votes of 1 million ‘non-matching’ voters: aims to erase non-whites.


Saudis kill 100s every day in Yemen—Khashoggi is just a ‘fist fight’—hospital record?


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The Mob Boss can never go to jail: Trump has Kava as Supreme so no indictment.
‘No man is above the law’ … well up till now. Dictators nullify courts first, then votes.
Supremes protect Don’s mob -- Ross’s legal deposition canceled.
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Jobs:

Who owns your account now?
Trump defines gender from now on: you lose free choice—no 2nd Amendment for that.
DIY repair outlawed by GM, Deere, others: we buy it but they own circuits/algorithms.

You can’t uninstall—they own algorithms: track you after ‘uninstall’ Can’t cancel Uber.

Save $ HALF: Compare drug prices in your area: https://www.goodrx.com



Miracle:

Do we really want to keep immigrants out of US? We need new ‘blood’ to survive!

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ   07042
973.746.2014
Alerts

Friday, October 19, 2018

Did the Trump tax cut for corporations bring all profits home from overseas?


Did the Trump tax cut for corporations bring all profits home from overseas?
Most businesses are continuing with business as usual when it comes to their valuable intellectual property since the tax law’s provisions aren’t enticing enough for them to keep it at home, according to experts who advise large public companies. It means that other countries ultimately get to collect the billions of dollars of tax revenue generated by many U.S.-made innovations, including life-saving drugs, the algorithms that power social media networks, and the software running computers and smartphones. Apple for instance is still parking its profits in the tiny island off the coast of France. So Trump’s promise of bringing the tax revenue back the US to pay for the huge breaks to individuals like himself has not happened. In fact, all of Trump’s tax cuts have not spurred any growth in tax revenue—tax breaks DO NOT pay for themselves. We taxpayers, who do not have a way to dodge taxes by moving our assets to a foreign country, will have to pay for the wealthy tax breaks eventually. The average tax rates paid by the very wealthiest has fallen in recent years from a peak of 24.1% in 2013 to 22.9 on 2016. For the top 1%, the rate has fallen a full four percentage points below the 26.9%. The deficit is 18% greater than last year!! We can’t spend more than we make and survive.

  
What about your mental fitness—a gym for your brain?
Everyone gets in a rut. ‘Rut-living’ means brain power is reduced—your brain cells are not called to work and so they don’t stay fit. Result: Not Good. Remember the nun study—expanding mental tasks decreased the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Exercise of brain power is necessary just like physical exercise. Focus – avoiding distractions to the mind – seems the first step. I can’t learn how to do my own taxes or how to invest wisely (learn a new language) without FOCUS. Training the brain to stay on one task at a time is hard work like working up to a 10K run. I assume I will need all the brain power I can muster for the decisions about making my money last. First, I take small lists of things I want to do and put them on my calendar. Next, I break the job down into parts and tackle one at a time. No skipping ahead. I set a time. I don’t stop to answer the phone or check email/texts. I take courses that help me FOCUS on the goal. There are many around.

Younger generation does not need financial industry any more
Survey respondents were risk averse and skeptical of the financial planning and investment industries in a survey of 1,000 affluent millennials with at least $50,000 in net worth or $100,000 in annual income. Why? Affluent millennials are still most likely to be do-it-yourself investors, with 35% claiming that they make all their own financial decisions without any help or advice. Another 27% said they consult financial professionals for affirmation, but continue to make their own decisions. Only 15% of affluent millennials retain a professional money manager. According to the survey, 77% view the financial system as rigged to favor the rich and powerful at the expense of ordinary people like them. Millennials also don’t trust recommendations from advisors working on commission: 80% said that they were suspicious of the commission revenue model in the financial services industry. Things have changed since I worked—good!

Trump’s ‘advisor’ Jared paid little tax using the same shelter as The Don
How do you shield yourself from paying your fair share of tax? The Don’s son in law used the same method: tell the IRS you lost money on real estate ventures. The losses were driven by depreciation, a tax benefit that lets real estate investors deduct a portion of the cost of their buildings from their taxable income every year. In 2015, for example, Mr. Kushner took home $1.7 million in salary and investment gains. But those earnings were swamped by $8.3 million of ‘losses’, largely because of “significant depreciation” that Mr. Kushner and his company took on their real estate, according to the documents reviewed by The Times. Not illegal now but the depreciation deduction often represents a lucrative giveaway to developers like Mr. Trump and Mr. Kushner. Its enormous flexibility allows real estate investors to determine their own tax bills. They pay nothing! 

Why are some states restricting voting?
Why do some in GOP want to stop people voting?  Democracy is about voting, isn’t it? GA is stopping 53,000 people from registering. Since the 2010 election, 23 states have adopted new restrictions on voting, such as stricter voter ID laws, cutbacks to early voting, and aggressive purging of voter rolls. This week, the Supreme Court upheld a voter ID law in North Dakota that could prevent thousands of Native Americans from voting, and the Associated Press reported that Georgia is blocking 53,000 voter registration applications, 70% of which are from African Americans. Some states are making it easier for people to vote and harder for states to gerrymander political districts. There are more Dems than GOP so I assume GOP wants to keep the Dems from voting like in GA. TX has gerrymandered districts so all the Dems are in a few districts.
Make America democratic again! Vote for your future, not the past.

Are your 401k or 403b fees taking 63% of your future nest egg?
You may be giving up more than HALF your future retirement income to fees your employer loads into your retirement plan. Some have even been taking kickbacks from the company that runs your mutual fund choices. Some even go to the head of the company alone. Unfortunately, Washington University in St. Louis has beaten a lawsuit by employees participating in the school's 403(b) plan. One analysis shows that if you pay excessive fees for record keeping and investment management you can give up 63% of your potential total savings over time. WOW that is a lot. The answer is switch to an IRA at a low-cost mutual fund firm. You could earn 10-12% instead of 6-8%.

Make your tax refund larger BEFORE December 31
Tax changes you need to know before end of year MAY help increase your refund. You can no longer deduct alimony if divorced after Jan 2019 so finish by Dec so your future payments remain deductible to payer and income to recipient. Medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of AGI are generally deductible. Beginning in 2019, qualified medical expenses will have to exceed 10% of AGI to be deductible. You might want to prepay in 2018 to take the full deduction. Many middle income folks will not itemize since the standard deduction doubled. There is no penalty for canceling medical insurance, so more and more healthy people choose to be uninsured as premiums escalate. The result may be more bankruptcies from medical bills when a illness or accident strikes. If you are one who decides to go ‘naked’ find a bare bones comprehensive policy to avoid the worst disaster.



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Make America, “The Don”, Great Again

Two Americas: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

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Trump snags 1 of 5.7 millionillegal’ voters and nets $200; costs $6,000 to prosecute.
Governments blame each other for lack of help to Michael victims: water sits in PR dock


SCAMS/SPINS:

Fidelity sued by 401k participants: excessive fees and poor returns.
Bank fees devastating to some workers: $2,000 out of pay of $30,000 is excessive.

Bruce Fixelle NJ Aurora caught promising safe new company trading stole $3 million.
Dawn Bennett stole $20 million in Ponzi ‘hoodoo spell’ scheme gets 20 years.
Decoding the electric car sales pitch—what works and what doesn’t in electrics.

Drug prices: 5 common generics—SHOP and SAVE either $66 or $928.  

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The Mob Boss can never go to jail: Trump has Kava as Supreme so no indictment.
‘No man is above the law’ … well up till now. Dictators nullify courts first, then votes.
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Jobs:

Who owns your account now?

Miracle:

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ   07042
973.746.2014
Alerts

Friday, October 12, 2018

Which tax-advantaged account is best?


Which tax-advantaged account is best?
IRA postpones your income tax until age 70.5 Roth IRA allows after-tax income to grow with no tax ever. Which is best for you? Clearly, if you begin with your first job, say age 20, you can end up with a lot more if you invest in stocks with no taxes. The long-term growth of your low-cost stock index fund is 10-12%. Assuming you invest $250 a month for 50 years, you will have over $6.5 million. Of course inflation will reduce that to about $2 million in today’s value. But $2 million tax-free is worth another 22% because you avoid income taxes. You spend all the money. Traditional 401ks and IRAs let you avoid taxes now but your income is lower now so it hurts less. Plus as the deficit gets larger income taxes will only go up. Unless you have your legal tax avoidance strategy, we working folks will pay for it. If you have IRAs already, you can convert part of them as you go paying taxes as you can afford it.

How do you save for the future?
Only 14% of all employers offer a 401(k) or defined contribution plan to their workers. That 14% includes a huge swath of small employers with fewer than ten employees, according to 2017 research from the U.S. Census Bureau. Among the 1,825 employers surveyed by Transamerica, 1,512 companies employed 10 or more people and 72% offered a 401(k) or similar plan. So if you do not have a tax-advantaged plan at work, what can you use to save for the future? As with a 401k, you can have your contributions go automatically to your tax-advantaged account. This makes saving a ‘no brainer’—the trustee of your account makes the investments for you. In fact, with certain mutual fund trustee companies, you can avoid the high-cost funds your employer may offer. And you can choose to have your savings avoid taxes now or later when you retire. And you save without a brokerage fee—you buy directly from the largest providers of employer plans. You don’t need a salesperson since you are using Warren Buffett’s advice.

Your legal will doesn’t tell where most of your assets go
When we die, most of our money goes to those NOT specified in our will. That’s right, all of our common documents: life insurance policies, bank accounts, brokerage firm accounts, retirement accounts, and home go to those designated in the documents years ago. Better check them NOW before you die and the wrong folks get your money.That is why many people don’t have a will. Some assets like your home, bank accounts and brokerage accounts are held jointly. In fact, brokerage accounts are titled joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTWROS). When one co-owner dies, the survivor inherits. Life insurance and retirement accounts have a primary beneficiary or many prime ‘benes.’ If that person or entity is not around, the ‘contingent’ inherits. The money does NOT go to those named in the will. Retirement accounts have complicated rules after the owner’s death. The IRS has a book on it: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590b.pdf

Tax law changes mean check NOW before 2019
Trump’s new tax breaks for the rich mean you need to take advantage of what you can before the end of the year. For instance, if you must take an RMD by year-end and you don’t get to itemize anymore, you can use the qualified charitable distribution (QCD) provision and make your contribution directly from your IRA and still take the tax benefit as a reduction of income. This could put you in a lower tax bracket. A Roth conversion gets money out of your IRA but it must be done by year’s end. The conversion taxes this year may save you future tax headaches. Converting when your taxes are low means no tax when your nest egg grows huge. For your business, check the effect a conversion of a Roth might have on the new 20% deduction for qualified business income. You can avoid your tax due in April (possible penalty) if you have withholding taken from your year-end RMD distribution. You also avoid the 4 quarter estimated payment burden.

Are you moving money to try to time the end of the Bull?
Legendary investor Peter Lynch said: Far more money has been lost by investors trying to anticipate corrections, than has been lost in the corrections themselves.” Those who exited the markets in 2007-8 are unhappy they missed the run so far. Depending on where you are in your retirement saving or spending, you should “take the fork in the road”: do both. Instead of trying to time the market, own the whole thing—growth and income stocks and bonds. How? Take Warren Buffett’s advice: His advice when the future is NOT certain: ‘buy hold’ 2 low-cost funds. No timing, trading, sector rotation, no BS.

Younger generation does not need financial industry any more
Survey respondents were risk averse and skeptical of the financial planning and investment industries in a survey of 1,000 affluent millennials with at least $50,000 in net worth or $100,000 in annual income. Why? Affluent millennials are still most likely to be do-it-yourself investors, with 35% claiming that they make all their own financial decisions without any help or advice. Another 27% said they consult financial professionals for affirmation, but continue to make their own decisions. Only 15% of affluent millennials retain a professional money manager. According to the survey, 77% view the financial system as rigged to favor the rich and powerful at the expense of ordinary people like them. Millennials also don’t trust recommendations from advisors working on commission: 80% said that they were suspicious of the commission revenue model in the financial services industry. Things have changed since I was at firm—good!

Manage your money stress easily
You getting nickel d and dime d at your bank? Consider $0 fees at a Credit union. $0 fees require you to plan purchases so there is no panic at the unexpected. You can learn to manage money without the stress. No sweat money is now being taught to bank employees because they have to give customers confidence. Once you know what your plan is—how much to save, invest, spend, charge on credit, and hold as reserve, you can make decisions without the stress. Leah learned to manage her own money by living on a small income in New York City. When money obligations are tight, she learned to plan ahead—get money at the bank in advance so no ATM fees. Use the free services by smart phone. Put money aside in time for special expenses like courses. She learned that credit cards are the convenient way to fall into the debt hole that’s hard to climb out of.

How much does that 401k LOAN really cost?
40% of 401(k) plan participants have taken advantage of a loan to finance their current consumption. Approximately 10% of 401(k) loans default each year on average. That means $ TRILLIONS lost in potential future retirement money. Everyone needs emergency money in a hurry and we don’t all qualify for a loan. However, we usually don’t calculate what we are giving up when we take money from our future. A $20,000 loan from your retirement account means you will have $400,000 (stock fund) less 30 years later when you need it. If you are smart and pay it back within 10 years, you still will have about $150,000 in 20 years. But that is a huge bite out of your future--$20,000 now costs you $250,000 later. You may have to work longer when you don’t want to. Also business is changing so fast, you may not be able to work. https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/smart-money/easy-ways-to-discover-extra-cash

Grieving spouse—what this woman learned in re-making her life
Many spouses have no firm hold on family finances so when the money-conscious spouse passes, there is a crisis. “There were dozens of little things concerning our finances that we never discussed.” Life happens and all of a sudden, you have no idea how to deal. A lawyer can’t help you find passwords or legal paperwork in your home. Do you know what happens to your credit and ownership accounts? Can you answer the 10 steps for spouse questions?



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Make America, “The Don”, Great Again

Two Americas: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

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Congress does believe in warming: funds to safeguard bases from climate change

SCAMS/SPINS:
Caller scam claims they need your PIN to fix your account then takes your money
Guaranteed 15% interest multiplier helps power your retirement goals’

TrumpCare not really working out GOP discovers while talking to their voters.
Record 3.4 billion robocalls were placed in April of 2018. Don’t answer your phone.

Why do scammers call you? How much do they profit? The easy answer to scam calls.

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The Mob Boss can never go to jail: Trump has Kava as Supreme so no indicted.
‘No man is above the law’ … well up till now. Dictators nullify courts first, then votes.
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Jobs:
Women business owners thrive but have to work hard. Immigrants work harder.


Who owns your account now?
Medicare open enrollment runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7: Pick your best choice.


Miracle:
She has an extended ‘family’ now. Quick action saves a life.


IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ   07042
973.746.2014
Alerts

Friday, October 5, 2018

Is your portfolio balanced for the future market?


Is your portfolio balanced for the future market?
Every financial planner has in mind a combo of stocks and bonds and some ‘alternative’ assets for average investors at any age. When thinking of the long-term returns—more than 10 years—most use a software program that takes your current portfolio totals for each asset class (stock, bond, other) and estimates how it will grow (inflation-adjusted) over time using a 1000 past stock and bond market scenarios. It adds your other income (pension and SS) and expenses and provides a range of portfolio totals you will have by age. Most programs estimate your income/expenses annually with a probability of making it all the way to age 95. So for most people a 45% stock 55% bond portfolio provides the best chance (97%) of making it through 25-30 years in retirement. Actually, this combo turns out to be fairly good one for most risk-averse investors of any age. More aggressive investors tilt the combo to stocks at an early age, like target date funds. The ratio of stocks, bonds, other is called asset allocation. Over time, stocks beat inflation but bond interest can offset a temporary stock price drop. A balanced fund like Vanguard Balanced Index Fund had only 1 year of negative returns. 


Trump is recouping his tax cuts to the rich with tariffs we pay!
Many retail outlets are now raising prices to make us pay for Trump’s tax cuts to the wealthy. We knew we would have to pay eventually since Trump’s class has already figured out how to avoid taxes themselves. He gave them more help for the next 10 years. We will pay the higher prices and see our middle-class tax break of $4,000 (Trump promised) slip thru our fingers. He planned the tariffs before the tax breaks knowing that his class doesn’t shop at Walmart, Target, Mays, etc and thus won’t have to pay. The corporations were never going to use their breaks to build new factories for jobs. They have given the money to the owners and senior management. Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor.

IRS cuts audits by 1/4 so Breath easy
The IRS’s criminal division brought 795 cases in which tax fraud was the primary crime last year, a decline of a quarter since 2010. Republicans in Congress have repeatedly cut the agency's budget since 2011, slashing the enforcement staff by a third. “Over time, crimes only tangentially related to taxes, such as drug trafficking and money laundering, have come to account for most of the agency’s cases.” Tax avoiders have a friend in high places so it is unlikely they will be caught. Even if they are found, they pay up. They hardly ever go to jail. Philip Falcone caught avoiding taxes overseas is an example of rich who don’t go to jail. They pay a deductible fine. Good auditors don’t work for the IRS; they work for the avoiders to find tiny exceptions in the code to avoid taxes.

Check your broker/advisor’s charges when rollover used
Regulators are taking a second look at the transactions when you are moving large assets to another type of account. The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking more closely at IRA rollovers. Examiners will not only be sifting through rollovers from retirement plans but from other IRAs, annuities and commissionable products. They want to ensure that your product offerings, fees and commissions are justified. If your salesperson fails to justify the recommendations and fees for rollovers, they may trigger an SEC examination. “This is the most aggressive we’ve seen the SEC in years with respect to enforcement on the fiduciary side” a researcher said. Fees above 1% will have to be justified. Since a 1% total charge may make a sales quota (1% of $250,000) $2,500 is a lot for a simple fill-in form. Consider the new product on-going fees, charges, commissions before you sign. There are alternatives that are better for you!

Another way the wealthy leave us with their tax bills
Wealthy people often accumulate huge value in their assets. For instance, Trump’s father gave him at least $413 million. If The Don had just put that in stocks, he would have $8.2 Billion now. 20% taxes would be due when the stocks are sold. If those assets were contributed to a donor advised fund (DAF), they would yields a huge deduction, which can offset as much as 30 percent of their income (AGI). This deduction can be carried forward five years so they may never pay regular income taxes (as The Don did in 1995 onward). Since the DAF is a public charity, the donor pays no capital gains tax -- and neither does the DAF when it sells the assets.
Of course this strategy is not as complicated as the ones used by the Trump family to avoid paying their fair share. New York State has opened an investigation into the alleged fraud committed so the family estate did not pay $ millions in taxes.

Tax law changes require you to prepare now
Tax changes mean you may actually owe tax this year. Check your 2017 return. First, the new standard deduction is $12,000 single; $18,000 head household; $24,000 joint returns. But you can’t claim a personal exemption deduction for yourself, your spouse, or your dependents. So if you claimed 3 or more exemptions, you lose at least the $12,150 deduction on line 42. If your family is large this can hurt (3 kids means $20,250 added to your taxable income line 43. This may increase your tax by $4,000. Also you are limited in the deductions for property and state income taxes to $10,000 as well as other items. To avoid any penalty, increase the amount of federal withholding at work using form W-4 to DECREASE your ‘allowances’ on line 5: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf. Or pay the full amount of shortage by Jan 15, 2019. Page 9: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf/. On the other hand, if you can bunch 2-3 years of charity gifts, you can lessen the damage. Some states will let you pay state taxes to a charity to work around this tax increase. If you are head a small business, your tax bill will probably fall but see your accountant for details.

How much to withdrawal from your nest egg?
Stanford Center on Longevity evaluated 292 strategies on generating retirement income, and the “Spend Safely In Retirement” strategy is one that it believes can work well for most clients. Retirement paychecks are SS and RMD from IRAs. These are guaranteed to last the rest of your life, no matter how long you live, and they don’t go down in stock market crashes. Use these to cover your basic living expenses, food, a roof over your head, medical premiums, utilities. Retirement bonuses. These typically come from invested assets or salaries from working. Use these to cover your discretionary living expenses, like travel, hobbies and gifts for grandchildren. Cash stash. This money covers emergencies so you don’t have to dip into your savings.

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Make America, “The Don”, Great Again

Two Americas: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

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Opioid addiction treatment money and drug firms push millions of pills into addicts.
Trump to fight CA on open internet: he wants us to pay more for faster service.


SCAMS/SPINS:
Tariffs are the NEW tax and employment would fall by 459,816.
Roca Labs diet supplement lies exposed are protected from suit
AmerisourceBergen, drug middleman, caught fraud, doctor kickbacks, no jail time.

Philip Falcone caught avoiding taxes overseas—rich don’t go to jail; pay deductible fine.
Lending Club and CEO caught cooking the books to make it look better.
Top scams and frauds complaints: $2 billion recovered but be on your guard with these.

Charles Rettig, Trump’s new IRS chief may ignore tax cheating by Trump family.

Shopper’s loan—high-cost loans for those who can’t get credit. Too easy default.


Suicide by cop: Everyday people with guns kill co-workers and get cops to kill them.

CA gun buy now requires age 21—will it cut mass shootings?

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You’d be a billionaire too with $413 million and 1,032 apartments to start your career.

Why do women attacked by rich men NOT report? Living proof with CongressMen!
So when you are being attacked, you must bring a lawyer with you to observe & testify.
Trump said #MeToo Movement women are a threat to his class of rich men who prey on women because of their power. Trump claims he can’t stop himself from sexually attacking women. Trump has no morals or self-control. Hedonist!
Trump tape: “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Whatever you want. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”
Trump knows from his experience: He defends himself using the media to attack the victim’s credibility and honor. And sometimes punish them with legal force.  

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Jobs:
Trump ends entrepreneur visas so jobs go to Estonia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, etc.
Scammers posing as potential employers who send fake check; you buy real cash cards.

Get college degree FREE so jobs become available in future.
TX to get FIRST robot sex dolls at Galleria Houston.
Jobs galore: Unemployment rate at lowest level in 50 years

Who owns your account now?
Merrill restrictions on penny-stock trading, adding to new rules for the higher-risk items.
NJ brokers will have fiduciary duty similar to Obama’s rule that Trump reversed.

50 million Facebook accounts security breach: hackers take over users’ account data.
Earn 5% on Amazon purchases: Must be Prime member $119; covered with $200/month.


Miracle:

IAN
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