Taxes & Other Disasters - Registered Investment Advisor

Searching for the Ultimate Income Portfolio

By Scott Burns Finding investment income is difficult. But it isn’t impossible. The search will demand that many investors leave their comfort zone well behind. If you are a CD investor, for instance, you’ll be hard pressed to find yields...

Posted Aug 20 2010, 03:00 PM by admin with | with no comments

Filed under: Index & ETF Investing, Taxes & Other Disasters, Government, Economy

Deferring Income Can Be Tax-wise

By Scott Burns Q. My wife and I are 66. I have a $56,000 IRA. She has a $37,000 IRA (total $93,000). Both are in CDs at 2.5 percent. In 4 years we must start mandatory withdrawals. We now get about $70,000 a year from Social Security, her pension and...

Posted Jul 28 2010, 03:00 PM by admin with | with no comments

Filed under: Q&A (from print), Taxes & Other Disasters

A Tale of Three (Or Maybe Four) Tax Bills

By Scott Burns Which of these tax bills would you rather pay? a. $0 b. $610 c. $2,004 This is not a trick question. The historical role of taxes as the price of civilization notwithstanding, most people will go for answer (a) because most of us have a...

Posted May 21 2010, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 3 comment(s)

Filed under: Social Security, Taxes & Other Disasters, Government

The Involuntary (But Happy) Investor Tax Holiday

By Scott Burns Life is full of perverse surprises. A candidate for president of the United States runs on the idea that people with more money should pay more taxes. They should, he says, pay higher taxes on capital gains. They should also pay higher...

Posted Sep 11 2009, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 2 comment(s)

Filed under: Taxes & Other Disasters

Examining the Health Care Elephant

By Scott Burns The health care discussion, if it can be called that, is the closest thing I’ve seen to public hysteria in years. It is a coupling of pure emotion with a remarkable lack of knowledge about medical care in America. The knowledge deficiency...

Posted Aug 28 2009, 03:00 PM by admin with | with no comments

Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Taxes & Other Disasters, Government

Representation Without Taxation

By Scott Burns "No taxation without representation!" That verbal tinder started the fires of our revolt against British rule more than 200 years ago. Today we are disastrously living with the opposite — representation without taxation...

Posted Aug 07 2009, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 1 comment(s)

Filed under: Taxes & Other Disasters

My Favorite Tax

By Scott Burns Everyone smile now! It’s time to name your favorite tax. For extra credit, you can write essays about why your favorite tax is beloved. (Sorry, you can’t exchange your extra credit for lower taxes.) My favorite tax is: The income...

Posted Jul 31 2009, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 2 comment(s)

Filed under: Taxes & Other Disasters

The Financial Services "Tax"

By Scott Burns If we consider financial service fees as a “tax” on the earning power of our money, millions of savers are now paying at a rate of 90 percent. Some are paying more. This means the financial services industry can take 90 percent...

Posted Jul 24 2009, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 4 comment(s)

Filed under: Income Investing, Taxes & Other Disasters

Taxes on Working Senior Citizens Can Be Very High

By Scott Burns Q. I am 73 years old, on Social Security and working part time. Am I required to have payroll taxes deducted from my paychecks? ---O.N., by email from San Antonio, TX A. Yes, the payroll tax, which is often called the employment tax, will...

Posted Mar 18 2009, 03:00 PM by admin with | with no comments

Filed under: Social Security, Taxes & Other Disasters, Government

Bernard Madoff and the Full-Time Equivalent of Murder

By Scott Burns Roy Bean, the famous “hanging judge” of Texas, would be disappointed. Most of the 3,000 readers who wrote in response to my recent column said that hanging is too good for Bernard Madoff. The same column asked readers to suggest the appropriate...

Posted Jan 16 2009, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 3 comment(s)

Filed under: Taxes & Other Disasters

Reading the New Map

By Scott Burns It takes a lot of smoke and rubble to make things clear, but this week brought crystal clarity to a new level. Wall Street bet the ranch. Wall Street lost the ranch. As we see the household names crumble and fall, the landscape of American...

Posted Sep 19 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 5 comment(s)

Filed under: Taxes & Other Disasters, Government

Medicare, the Biggest Threat to Our Retirement Standard of Living

By Scott Burns and Laurence J. Kotlikoff A recent column predicted that seniors would get the largest Social Security benefit increase in 25 years next January--- about 6 percent. It quickly drew fire from older readers. The 6 percent increase, they pointed...

Posted Sep 12 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 2 comment(s)

Filed under: Medicare & Generational Storm, Retirement, Taxes & Other Disasters

Meet the Diabolical Tax, the Alternative Minimum Tax for the Retired

By Scott Burns Q. What triggers taxation of Social Security benefits and what does not? Can the tax be avoided? ---L.M, by email A. The only proven way to avoid the tax is to have little or no income beyond Social Security benefits. I call this the Diabolical...

Posted Aug 06 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 2 comment(s)

Filed under: Q&A (from print), Taxes & Other Disasters, Government

The Rush for Safety Has Reduced Yields

By Scott Burns Q. Would you give us retirees your view as to the safest place for our hard-earned savings while we are having bank failures? ---H.V., by email (one of many asking the same question) A. For most people, the $100,000 FDIC insurance limit...

Posted Jul 30 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with no comments

Filed under: Retirement, Taxes & Other Disasters, Government

Death, Taxes and Required Minimum Distributions

By Scott Burns Q. When I started taking required minimum distributions from my IRAs, I used a withdrawal formula based on dividing the value of my IRA by 27.4. I understood that this value would have to be withdrawn annually until the IRA was depleted...

Posted Jun 04 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with no comments

Filed under: Q&A (from print), Taxes & Other Disasters

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Registered Investment Advisor

Searching for the Ultimate Income Portfolio

Deferring Income Can Be Tax-wise

A Tale of Three (Or Maybe Four) Tax Bills

The Involuntary (But Happy) Investor Tax Holiday

Examining the Health Care Elephant

Representation Without Taxation

My Favorite Tax

The Financial Services "Tax"

Taxes on Working Senior Citizens Can Be Very High

Bernard Madoff and the Full-Time Equivalent of Murder

Reading the New Map

Medicare, the Biggest Threat to Our Retirement Standard of Living

Meet the Diabolical Tax, the Alternative Minimum Tax for the Retired

The Rush for Safety Has Reduced Yields

Death, Taxes and Required Minimum Distributions

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