Category: Taxes

  • Personal Goodwill: Surprising AUM Opportunities?

    Paul built his funeral parlor business over 44 years. Years ago, on his accountant’s advice, he incorporated and made an S-election, as do so many small businesses. Forty-four years later, Paul was ready to sell. His active interest was worth $6 million. His cost basis in the business was almost…

  • Did You Know This About Tariffs?

    Fewer than half of Americans even claim to understand how tariffs work. Do you? If not, please don’t feel bad. I sat through at least one class in graduate school (at Stanford) on the subject of tariffs. That’s more, I suspect, than most people. And yet, when President Trump put…

  • Taxes – Still Time (Not Much) to Plan

    Congress wants to lower your clients tax bill (it’s true)! For most high-net-worth clients, the best way to reduce their tax bill for 2024 is to employ one or more of the many tax-reducing techniques Congress has enacted to promote philanthropic activity. Ben Franklin said that only two things are…

  • State Death Taxes: Don’t Get Blindsided!

    Does your state impose a death tax, separate from estate taxes? All advisors to high net worth clients are aware that the US federal government imposes an estate tax on large estates. As of 2024, there is a lifetime exemption per person of $13.61 million. But not everyone is aware that 17…

  • Taxation of Complex Trusts

    A complex trust is any trust that does not meet the conditions to be a simple trust. Simple TrustsA simple trust is a trust that must distribute all its income in the same year it receives the income. A simple trust cannot accumulate income, cannot distribute out of corpus (also called principal), and it…

  • Grantor Trusts: What Good Are They?

    If you are not sure what grantor trusts are, or when they might be used, this article is for you. We’ll discuss what grantor trusts are, their most common uses, and how they can be used to help people avoid or minimize estate and gift taxes. For most purposes, the…

  • Money and the Making of America: The Secret Second Revolution

    Happy (almost) Independence Day! We all know the Fourth of July as the date upon which the Founders signed the Declaration of Independence, the official beginning of the United States of America.[1] History books emphasize the surprising fact that a ragtag band of British colonies gained independence from the British…

  • Are Taxes Killing Your Compounding?

    We were recently interviewed for a piece on CBS. We discussed the magic of compounding. Compounding is at the core of investing. One of the biggest enemies of compounding is taxes. Tax-Exempt AccountsYou know, and undoubtedly speak with clients, about the compounding benefits of tax-free accounts including IRAs, 401(k)s, in…

  • Tesla Without Musk? What Then?

    When we last blogged about Tesla almost a year ago,[1] we advised “If Tesla won’t own the world, consider selling your shares.” Tesla was then trading at $269 per share. And since then, it doesn’t look like Tesla will own the world. Tesla shares closed on Friday at $178 each.…

  • Beware This “Abusive” Tax-Planning Trap; What to Do Instead

    Recently we have talked to several advisors who have been pitched by promoters offering Deferred Sales Trusts – “DSTs” and Monetized Installment Sales – “MISTs.” Those are two names for basically the same scheme. The scheme (the IRS’ word, see below) is promoted as a tax deferral strategy. California has…