As result of the special runoff in Georgia for their two senate seats, the Democrats will now hold power in the Senate, the House, and the Presidency following President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20th. With the Democrats controlling the Presidency, the House, and the Senate, many have started to wonder what tax changes may…
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INTRODUCTION In a prior article, Charles J. Allen previously discussed the tax plans of the democratic presidential candidates, while Josh Sage discussed some of Biden’s potential changes here. With the Associated Press calling the presidential race for former vice president Joe Biden on November 7th, time is running short for many taxpayers to take advantage…
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Introduction Generally, a taxpayer may deduct the fair market value of appreciated property donated to a qualified charitable organization.[1] This provision expands the benefits available to taxpayers with respect to charitable deductions. The result, in effect, is that a taxpayer may gift an appreciated asset in lieu of selling the asset, paying tax, and then…
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Anyone looking outside their window (or watching TV) recently knows that we are in a volatile time. Among other things, current volatility results from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an uncertain economy,[1] and upcoming elections. The effects of this include large amounts of government spending,[2] low interest rates,[3] and a reduction of the value of a…
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Here we are coming upon the fourth anniversary of the one of the most shocking nights of our country since perhaps the Battle of Saratoga and one of the largest cash outlays by our government ever known by means of the CARES Act. On the heels of these events Democrats are setting the stage to…
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In trust planning, it is common that a trust beneficiary is appointed as trustee. A lot of confusion surrounds the consequences of appointing a beneficiary as his or her own trustee. On one hand, I have heard people say it is not allowed to have a beneficiary serve as trustee. On the other hand, I…
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The income taxation of life insurance death benefits seems fairly simple initially. Many people know the general rule that death benefits are not subject to income tax. However, there are exceptions that can apply which will cause the beneficiary to owe income tax on the receipt of death benefits. This article describes certain of these…
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