There are several techniques to insure that accumulated wealth and income earned prior to becoming a United States taxpayer can be protected from United States taxes. This requires planning in advance by nonresident alien individuals who will become United States taxpayers.

Have a question? Contact Richard Lehman. Your comments are always welcome!

CFO Wanted With REIT Expertise (Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas)

We are currently conducting a search for a CFO who will be accountable for the administrative, financial, and risk management operations of the company, to include the development of a financial and operational strategy, metrics tied to that strategy, and the ongoing development and monitoring of control systems designed to preserve company assets and report accurate financial results. Principal accountabilities are:

Planning

1. Assist in formulating the company’s future direction and supporting tactical initiatives Read More

“The foundation of life insurance is the recognition of the value of a human life & the possibility of indemnification for the loss of that value.” In translation, it means someone pays a premium to an insurance company for someone else to receive a a sum of money on his/her death. The contract can also include a terminal or critical illness. Some life insurance contracts are only for a specified term.

Many people know that having life insurance is important, however are not so sure about the proceeds that are distributed and the tax consequences of such distribution. This post seeks to clear up some of those common myths.

The question, “Are life insurance proceeds taxable?”, elicits the favorite answer of Read More

iStock_000009598906XSmallNote: An Article Written By Justin P. Ransome, J.D., MBA, CPA, and Frances Schafer, J.D, in the AICPA, The Tax Advise on 9/1/13 and was reviewed, edited and posted by Harold Goedde Ph.D on TaxConnections Worldwide Tax Blogs.

The uncertainty about transfer-tax rates and exemption amounts that has plagued taxpayers and practitioners since 2001 was finally settled in 2013. On Jan. 2, 2013, President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA [1]. For estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax purposes it makes permanent the following: (a) certain income and transfer-tax provisions in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) [2], (b) income tax provisions in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA) [3], income and certain transfer-tax provisions in the Tax Relief,

(d) Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (2010 Tax Act). [4]

In most instances the effective date of the act is Jan. 1, 2013. Read More