European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse He King of credits Jeff Schnepper makes his living telling How to beat the tax Man b Ron Jensen stiff writer the irony of the tax system in the United states is that Only the Rich can afford not to pay taxes. This fact of life provides Jeff a. Schnepper with a livelihood. As a tax lawyer in new Jersey he collects Large fees from wealthy clients who want to keep their tax Bill As Low As possible. Is he any Good Well he has written a dozen textbooks and More than 100 Magazine articles on taxation. Most telling however n that prior to the1986 revision of the tax code Schnec ppr s salary was in the High six and he paid no taxes. Schnec ppr is the author of How to pay Zero a Book that takes the Reader step by St through the Maze of deductions tax shelters credits and investments thut can slice a tax Bill to nothing. The objective was to try to translate the knowledge that i charge outrageous fees to my clients for to the Middle class and lower Middle Elass person Schnec ppr said. They Aren t Able to afford the High priced gunslinger the 600-Page guide now in its ninth edition grew from Schnec ppr s knowledge that most people pay More taxes then necessary. For instance if you Jeff Schnepper drop Money for Jerry s kids into a Glass Jar on the convenience store counter that Money is deductible. How Many people give old clothes to Goodwill or the salvation army and Don t get a receipt he says pointing out that the value of the donated articles is a deduction rarely taken. Those arc deductions that anyone easily can take. But Schnepper s Book is filled with other More elaborate suggestions such As family shifts. For example if you arc in the j3-Pcrccnt tax bracket and Transfer j500 of your income to a child with no other income you save $ 165. The Book details the advantages of other tax shelters from Oil lease investments to a Herd of beef cattle. There is a discussion of municipal Bond swaps tax advantages for a self employed businessman and How to avoid or survive an irs audit. One of the objectives is to get people to think about taxation Schnec ppr said. When you get Down to it our taxes Are paid by Middle income and lower income people. Part of the reason is they Don t know what they can and the reason is the Complex and unwieldy tax system said Schnec ppr who is also a professor of taxation at the american College in Bryn mawr a. It can be very very simplified he said. The problem is that our tax code is not set up to make it is largely the result of political manipulation. An example Schnec ppr said is the deduction for blindness. Why he asked is there no deduction Tor deafness it s purely he says. The Blind lobby was More successful than the deaf lobby. Our tax code is a result of special interest groups each pursuing their own suggests a Flat tax rate with no deductions even though it will put me and thousands of others out of plan would not affect such things As charitable contributions or Home sales Whu receive tax Breaks perceived necessary to Spur i Csc types of activities. People do not make donations to Charity simply for the deduction. And Homes Are not purchased merely for the tax break he approach that i recommend is that if you Are interested in buying something for a Dollar Ami it is tax deductible it really Only costs you 72 cents if you Are in the 28-percent bracket he question is would you buy it for 72 cents Schnec ppr said that people should begin thinking about their annual tax Bill now not just before it comes due the following you wait until april 14. Then it s too late he said. This is the time to Start planning your 1990 what if everyone followed Schnec ppr s suggestions and reduced their tax Bill drastically would that not cause a hardship for the government when trying to fund its myriad programs Schnepper has an answer maybe if we Cut off the Revenue a Little bit there will be a putdown in the such an attitude and a Soapbox for his ideas provided by the Book. Schnepper would seem Likely target for an irs audit. So far. He said that has t happened. But it might not be a bad idea he perception is this. If they go after me because of the Book it provides additional advertising for the Book which will result in increased sales which will provide More taxes for funny one family s adventures with foreign income Bureau Forth West Germany when Donald comans met Margot she did t speak English. All she could say was hello goodbye and find shield after 1 0 years of marriage she s fluent but he husband is still doing a great Deal of interpreting. No. It s not English it s United states tax Law and form 2555. Thai s the form that allows him to exclude what Margot earns at a local grocery from . Taxes. It s the foreign earned income form and it s become part of the comans tax ritual since Margot went to work four years ago. The first time doing it it took me about two weeks because i did not understand it he says. And that was after visiting the Legal assistance office. Comans and tens of thousands of americans overseas do Battle each year with the daunting irs regulations involving foreign income. Generally the first $70,000of any foreign non government income is exempt from . Taxes. It does t matter if it is earned by a . Citizen or by what the irs Calls Margot. A non resident comans and most military and civilian employees choose the form 2555 to qualify forthe exemption. The alternative is to pay the . Taxes on the foreign income then use form 1 1 16 to gel a credit for the foreign taxes paid on that income. Form 1 1 1 6 is Best suited for people with higher incomes or with significant itemized deductions. With his experience it takes comans less than two hours to fill out the family s joint return. Every j ear the irs changes something he says. Overseas filers of form 1 040"includes a form 2555 and the instructions on How to fill it out. Comans puts his knowledge to work As the regimental no o for the mar Roll Barracks Legal office. He says that soldiers married to non-.nil/en s earning foreign income often request tax advice and Many have never heard of the form 2555. Their family situations and the tax returns they file arc often similar to his so he talks from personal experience. He and his wife have three children Donald 10, Brandy 8, and Samantha 6. They and their cat liven a three bedroom stairwell apartment in an army housing arca. They have a car payment and owe afew thousand d9llars on charge cards not enough to warrant itemizing deductions. Yeomans takes the Standard deductions. He includes Margot s income on the joint return an subtracts it with the the notation deduction from form 2555." the adjusted Gross income then is just what he earns. His tax return was about $1,500 last year. He could change his form w-4 to reduce his withholding but prefers to get a refund. The family bought Rose coloured carpeting for the Don and Margot Yeomans pore Over form 2555. Apartment with last year s. This year Margot Hopes the refund Check will cover plane fare to visit comans parents in Virginia Beach a. I . Lasser s i your income tax 1990 Simon and schuster $11.95 prepared by the . Lasser Institute. Now in its 54th year this tax guide says it provides the most Complete information available on new tax Laws irs rulings and court decisions affecting 1989 tax a companion Lasser volume is your i 60-minute tax return 1990." $8.95. I consumer reports books annual guide to income tax preparation $12.95. The publisher says the guide is designed Lor ease of use and to assist readers through every phase of the tax or Block 1990 income tax guide Collier books $9.95. The volume is offered As a combined reference tool and line by line guide through the 1040 family of forms. This dual approach allows taxpayers to accomplish two crucial goals tax planning for the year ahead and tax savings for the year at i Cut your own taxes and save 1990 world almanac. $3.95 by George w. Smith. Smith is the managing partner of a certified Public accounting firm in Michigan. He advises both individual and corporate taxpayers on the merits of Good tax planning and also writes a syndicated tax january 22,1990 is financial planning guide 5
