PAUL’S TAX BLOG

One of the reasons I love the 4th of July is the open display of defiance to overregulation by the use of illegal fireworks. You can drive through some areas of town and see ample evidence of civil disobedience, despite threats of heavy fines by local governments. Pushing back against overregulation and taxation is what caused us to become independent in the first place, and the use of illegal fireworks is just a small reminder of that spirit. But earlier in the week our political class was very busy pushing their own agenda. At the Federal level a new tax...

It’s pretty unlikely that I’ll ever be asked to speak at a commencement ceremony. I don’t have great academic accomplishments or a particularly storied Resume. I don’t even have a fancy robe with colored sashes and tassels. I guess I’ll never rise to that level of wisdom. But frequently I am asked for advice and guidance.  Sometimes that advice is regarding investments, which I see quite a lot of. We have clients who invest in a lot of different types of investments, from commercial real estate to iron ore trusts, from hedge funds to options, from stocks and bonds to...

Based upon all the TV ads for H&R Block and Turbo Tax, I guess it must mean we are in tax season again. That would explain the piles of files on my desk and the weekends my team is putting in here at the office! So far, a couple trends are starting to appear. First, people aren’t nearly as eager to get their tax filings done this year as they were last year. Across the board we are seeing people and businesses coming in later with their information. Perhaps its fear of the unknown, or maybe they know what lies...

On this national day of love, hearts, flowers, and candy that we use to acknowledge those who are close to us, I want to encourage everyone to think about the one thing that ties it all together and makes this day meaningful for many – Cybersecurity! (What else??) The reason I used this tortured segue is because of a statistic I recently came across that stated that fully one out of every four personal profiles on dating sites are scammers.  One out of four! When I read that, I reflected on the amount of computer breach attempts we receive here...

Do you, or someone you know, have a life insurance policy that you are paying premiums on but the insured could really use some cash now? One little noticed nuance about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) was a provision that changes the treatment of sales of life insurance contracts. Previously, if you owned a life insurance policy and sold it before it matured, (more bluntly, death) then there would likely be a taxable event measured by the amount of proceeds received versus the payments made on the policy, reduced by the value of insurance coverage during...

For you over-achievers out there who are chomping at the bit to file 2018 tax returns, you may have to cool your jets for a while. While the Federal shutdown has not changed anticipated filing dates, there may still be some impact on you. IRS has furloughed 87% of their employees and many areas are impacted. As of today here are a few areas where the IRS is still functioning (and not) and what you can expect: IRS has stated that the tax filing season will begin on January 28. They will not process tax returns until then. Even if...