Assessment Activity - Taxes and Ethics THIS IS

1-What are the ethical implications of not paying your fair share of taxes?

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o 2-Tax planning should not be done in isolation, but instead should be driven by your overall financial goals and integrated with your total financial plan. By developing and implementing appropriate strategies to lessen or shift current and future tax liabilities, you can improve your prospects of meeting long- and short-term objectives. For example, accurately projecting your income taxes can help you determine the cash flow available to you in the coming year. Budgeting lies at the foundation of every financial plan. Unlike what you might believe, budgeting isn't all about restricting what you spend money on and cutting out all the fun in your life. It really about understands how much money you have, where it goes, and then planning how to best allocate those funds.

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o 3-When it comes to basic estate planning, time and time again estate planning attorneys run into these five common mistakes. Learn what they are and how to avoid them when making or updating your estate plan. When it comes to estate planning, many people simply chose to avoid it. The typical reasons why people avoid planning range from fear of death, to sticker shock about the cost, to complicated family situations. Yet without an estate plan, you'll be leaving your loved ones in the dark. As a result, they'll end up spending thousands of dollars that you thought you had saved by not creating an estate plan when they have to figure out what to do for you if you become incapacitated and what to do for themselves after you die. Instead, begin your planning early, while you still have your wits about you and can make informed decisions.

Week 5 Electronic Reserve Reading's #1

4-An estate plan is an important piece of your financial planning portfolio. Estate planning involves not only the planning, preservation and transfer of your financial assets, but also the protection of those assets to help maintain financial security for your loved ones. It is vital to have a basic estate plan in place regardless of your net worth. It helps to ensure that your family is taken care of according to your wishes, in an orderly way, and that your financial goals are met in the event of your incapacity or death. It is usually best to start with an inventory of your assets -- which can include investments, real estate and insurance policies. When putting together an estate plan, you'll want to think about the potential impact of both federal and state taxes.1 Trusts can be structured to serve a variety of purposes, and can reduce your estate and gift taxes while permitting assets to be distributed to your heirs without the cost, delay and publicity of probate court.

Week 5 Electronic Reserve Readings #2

o 5-The Wealth Counsel Companies, a nationwide collaborative of estate planning attorneys and wealth planning professionals are dedicated to providing the best planning possible for families. Members of The Wealth Counsel Companies are committed to client-centered estate planning and wealth management. This approach benefits those because it facilitates collaboration with your entire team of professional wealth advisors. That's why it is encouraged that to insure that all of your wealth planning professionals (attorney, insurance agent, financial advisor, CPA, etc.) are effectively communicating and working in unison to support your long-term planning goals.

Desire for Tax Havens

o 6-Tax haven definition is "generic term for a geographical area outside the jurisdiction of one's home country which imposes only a few restrictions on legitimate business-activities within its jurisdiction, and little or no income tax. Offshore havens generally provide international banking and financial services, and promise privacy of deposits and earnings. In effect, however, almost every country (in one way or the other) is a tax haven for non-nationals because it wants to attract foreign capital by offering incentives. Also called low tax jurisdiction, non-tax jurisdiction, or offshore haven." Secrecy jurisdictions offer the chance to avoid scrutiny, tax, financial regulations, criminal laws and more. The 'escape' feature helps powerful individuals and organizations avoid the responsibilities and costs associated with the things that made them rich in the first place. Things like educated and healthy workforces, smooth roads, police protection and the courts of law that uphold their contracts. This burden takes the form of higher taxes that make the daily shop more expensive for those to whom every penny counts, and it means degraded public services.

Income Taxes

o 7-In the state of Louisiana, those who must file are Louisiana residents, part-year residents of Louisiana, and nonresidents with income from Louisiana sources who are required to file a federal income tax return must file a Louisiana Individual Income Tax Return. Taxpayers who have overpaid their tax through withholding or declaration of estimated tax must file a return to obtain a refund or credit. Military personnel whose domicile (home of record) is Louisiana and who is required to file a federal income tax return must file a return and report all of their income regardless of where they were stationed. The tax is determined using tax tables furnished by the Department of Revenue. The tax rate is applied in a graduated scale using the taxpayer's filing status and the taxpayer's Louisiana taxable income. Recent changes to the tax rate.

Introduction to Taxes

o 8-Throughout the year, there are important tips to follow in order to prepare for taxes. First thing is to get organized. Experts recommend the use of personal finance software to enter and maintain accurate records. Keep records of expenses such as automobile mileage incurred for business purposes and get receipts for charitable contributions. It is also very important that you maintain accurate records of the purchasing and selling of stock as well as stock options. Taxation is an important part of our government. The government acts as a very large business with lots of debt and expenses so they have to create a revenue stream by taxing the people. And as a US citizen, you'll be paying these taxes throughout your entire life.