Archive for Schemes

Avoid Holiday Shopping Ho-Ho-Hoaxes

Barry Fowler, Tax Connections

Package Theft

You may find it hard to believe, but according to delivery services like the USPS and UPS, some 23 million recipients each year don’t get their holiday goodies because thieves steal them right off the doorsteps. There is an easy way to prevent this. Simply arrange for a delivery that requires a signature upon receipt. Other options include sending gifts to the recipient’s workplace or have them delivered to a pickup location operated by the carrier. For example purchases made through Amazon can be delivered to an Amazon Locker location and retrieved by using a pickup code. There’s no extra fee to use the service, which can be selected during checkout. Amazon has about 2000 secure locations in more than 50 cities. Read More

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Avoid Ponzi Schemes With This Professional Inside Scoop

There are several investments that turn out to be fraudulent schemes in which investors invest their hard earned funds and lose those funds because there was never in fact an actual investment that produced profits. Generally, those frauds are known as Ponzi Schemes.

Taxpayers who lose money in Ponzi Schemes may enjoy a tax advantage and recoup some of their lost funds by deducting their losses as financial theft losses. Deductions may be used against income that is being earned by the defrauded taxpayer, both before and after the fraud is discovered. There are several important rules that must be followed to enjoy this tax benefit.

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