Apple, the world’s most profitable technology company, was able to save billions in taxes using a complicated web of shelters around the world, going beyond anything most tax experts had ever seen. According to an article in The New York Times, investigators said that some of Apple’s subsidiaries had no employees and were run from [...]
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Although legislation was passed this year on the estate tax, limiting the top tax to 40 percent, with only estates worth over $5.25 million subject to the tax, President Obama’s budget still wants to return to the 2009 levels starting in 2018. Under the proposal, starting in 2018, the top estate, gift and generation skipping [...]
It happens all the time, right? People are always moving to avoid high taxes. Either they are moving out of the country or from one state to another. Well, not really. Recently, French actor Gerard Depardieu said he might move to Russia because of its low 13 percent flat tax on personal income. And golfer [...]
The 2012 Presidential election was all about taxes — the Democrats said the rich were not paying their fair share and the nation agreed. During the campaign, Warren Buffett, one of the world’s richest men, complained that he paid a lower rate than his secretary. Now, taxes on the rich have inched upwards as part [...]
Some people complain that family wealth is a curse. Kids get too much too soon. They lose motivation. Family members focus on money to the exclusion of all else. And it can lead to low self-esteem, since you inherited the money and didn’t make it yourself. All that can be true. But an article in [...]
Forbes blogger Deborah Jacobs has written a book that will tell you everything you need to know about estate planning. It is called “Estate Planning Smarts” and it is described as a “user friendly, action oriented guide” to estate planning. It has been updated to reflect the latest changes to estate tax policy. It is [...]
Now that the confusion over the federal estate tax is resolved — the $5 million exemption is now permanent — you may think that’s the last you’ll have to worry about estate taxes and exemptions. Wrong. Each state has its own estate tax laws. So depending on where you live, your estate may not be [...]
It’s a fact: married people are generally wealthier than singles. Of course, that may seem obvious. Two people can live more cheaply together than apart. But a study done at Ohio State University found that, over and above that obvious fact, married people had 93 percent more wealth per person than single people. They found [...]
Most people know that a bad investment can have an upside — the losses can offset other gains. But you don’t get such a break when you cash out a life insurance policy at a loss. There is, however, a little-known technique that can enable you to use your life insurance losses to save thousands [...]