Tax Planning
United States Supreme Court Justice Learned Hand wrote the basic law of tax planning in Helvering v. Gregory, 60 Fed 2d, 809:
“Anyone may arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes. Over and over again the courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible, everyone does it, rich and poor alike and all do right; for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands. Taxes are enforceable exaction, not a voluntary contribution.”
At the time, Mr. Helvering was the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and had brought action against Mr. Gregory, through the Department of Justice (it’s just a name, not reality), at the behest of the IRS for arranging his affairs so that he would pay less tax than if he hadn’t made arrangements to do so. The IRS lost. From that day to this, it has been the cause of many practitioners to help you do just that. These are some discussions of various types of planning. Enjoy.
American Serfdom. Our governments are in the same business that governments have been in since Sodom and Gomorrah: taking the product of your labor and spending it on themselves, first, in the name of “helping” its citizens. Some Tax Planning devices include: partnerships, corporations, LLC’s, Charitable Family Limited Partnerships, non-distributions from IRA accounts, etc.
Let us know if we can help you use these tax strategies.