Why Bother with Tax Loopholes When the Same Code Has Legitimate Tax-Free Options?

Why Bother with Tax Loopholes When the Same Code Has Legitimate Tax-Free Options?


A couple Mondays ago, the IRS announced what it calls the 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI).  According to Commissioner Doug Shulman, this program, which runs from February 8 through August 31 of 2011, is the “last and best chance” for people who are hiding money in undisclosed offshore accounts to “get back into the U.S. tax system.”

The IRS is basically offering these individuals a deal whereby they come forward now, pay all the back taxes owing, an additional 25 percent penalty of the amount hidden, and interest for up to eight years, as well as, paying accuracy-related and/or delinquency penalties. In exchange, they will avoid criminal prosecutions for the illegal activity of hiding money in offshore accounts. Back in 2009, the IRS launched something almost identical, and according to what they tell us, about 15,000 individuals came clean at that time. However, according to the IRS, there are still a lot more folks hiding money, and this is the very last chance for them to even out, or else…

The only reason I can think of as to why people would hide money in offshore accounts is so that they can have the income on those investments, tax free. We all know that tax free is awesome, but it always amazes me to see the extent to which people are willing to go just so they will not pay the taxes they must pay. We’re not necessarily talking ultra-wealthy people here, because some of the folks who came forward back in 2009 had as little as $10,000 invested. Don’t we all hear about these offshore deals from time to time?

Here’s what really makes me wonder, and wonder again. Why in the world would people resort to loopholes, knowing very well (or should I say, they should have known?) that they are illegal, and could be closed any day? And on top of that, why would they risk jail time when, in fact, they don’t have to do so to achieve the SAME results???

Here’s the thing. Under those same tax laws, individuals can put away basically unlimited sums of nonqualified money, let it grow, and later access everything (including all the gains) without creating what the IRS calls a “taxable event,” thereby making it absolutely and completely free of any income taxes. We have clients who have been doing this for years! Seeing reports like these only strengthens my conviction that indeed a lot of people simply don’t know what they don’t know.

Not even one of Laser Financial Group’s valuable clients had ever had an IRS issue as a result of a strategy or advice they obtained from us, and I’m 100 percent certain that nothing like that will ever happen in the future! How can I be so sure? I know this for a fact because everything we do is based on existing tax laws, our clients are never at risk. We run as far away as we can from loopholes, and you should, too!
________________________
Call us today at 301.949.4449 or visit us on the Web to schedule your risk-free complimentary session to discuss the ways you can legally shield yourself from paying unnecessary taxes!