Author Archives: Russ

The Next California Bomb: Pensions

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Russ

From Mish comes a report of problems with pensions in California. This isn’t a surprise; our liberal state legislature increased pension benefits when times were good. Unfortunately, things aren’t so good today. “I don’t want to sugarcoat anything,” Ron Seeling, … Continue reading →

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Getting a Bang for the Buck

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Russ

I’m not a fan of earmarks, but it’s how Washington works (unfortunately). Taxpayers for Common Sense and opensecrets.org have provided a list of earmarks out of this Congress. For those who lobby, some got lots for their bucks. The University … Continue reading →

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Death of Global Prosperity

Posted on August 16, 2009 by Russ

No, I’m not implying by the title of this post that we won’t return to good economic times. Rather, I’m commenting on the death of an outrageous tax fraud scheme. Back in November 2007 I wrote about the conviction of … Continue reading →

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Fake Employers Leads to Real Prison

Posted on August 16, 2009 by Russ

I try to save my clients money on their tax returns by finding legitimate deductions that they’re entitled to. Unfortunately, not everyone in my profession cares about legitimate. I wrote about Anthony Pendleton last February. Mr. Pendleton’s clients did get … Continue reading →

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A Golden Evasion

Posted on August 16, 2009 by Russ

You are allowed to pay your employees in cash. But if you do that you still must withhold (and pay) your Trust Fund (payroll) taxes. One enterprising individual came up with the idea of paying employees in gold and silver … Continue reading →

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A Ponzi Gamble

Posted on August 16, 2009 by Russ

Jeffery Tuggle, of Lynchburg, Virginia, promised investors returns of between 30 and 40 percent. That in itself should have been a warning to investors. But it apparently wasn’t. Supposedly the money came from paying attorney’s clients their settlement monies early; … Continue reading →

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What’s $200 Billion Among Friends

Posted on August 16, 2009 by Russ

California has a budget. Unfortunately, there’s a probable deficit of around $8 billion. A State Assemblyman, Juan Arambula, wondered what the total liabilities of the state are. So he wrote the Legislative Analysts Office. Their response: $200 Billion. The Legislative … Continue reading →

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Tax Fraud Night at the Local Ballpark

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Russ

Minor league baseball teams have all sorts of promotions. Back in June I went to a Las Vegas 51s game on $1 beer night. On that night, the 51s drew a good-sized crowd. Of course, some promotions aren’t so successful. … Continue reading →

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A Statute of Basis

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Russ

An interesting Tax Court decision came down today in the case of Beard v. Commissioner. The taxpayer sells a business and correctly notes the gross income. However, he may have made a major error in calculating his basis (generally, the … Continue reading →

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Not Taking No for an Answer

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Russ

No means no. Well, to most of us it does. But not so for Jean Marie Boursiquot, recently of Deltona, Florida but soon to be residing at ClubFed. Mr. Boursiquot was a professional tax preparer (part of the Bozo wing … Continue reading →

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