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Summary: Watch out for D.C.Johnston Snipers
Review: I have been reading Mr. Johnston's work in the N.Y.Times for a number of years, and have always respected his approach to our tax system. How much and what to tax are decisions that we as a people make by our choice of legislative representatives. Mr. Johnston writes about those choices and about those who try to circumvent those decisions.I don't think I can add anymore information about the book than has already been written here, but I would like to warn folks about the anti-David Cay Johnston groups. These are folks who figure that they do not have to fund the cost of government, but continue to receive the benifits of that government. These include people who contend that they do not have to pay taxes under Section 861 of the Tax Code, and numerous other tax avoidance schemes. Mr. Johnston has made a habit of exposing these cheats, and embarassing the IRS for their lack enforment of these cheats, while at the same time pointing out the inordinate amount of effort paid to auditing the poor for their use of the Earned Income Tax credit. Because of his articles many forums where Mr. Johnstons articles are discussed become arenas for smearing him from this tax cheat crowd. I expect this crowd to arrive at this forum soon.
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Summary: Perfectly Unethical Role of Public Accounting in Tax Dodges-
Review: David Cay Johnston has idenfied a number of specific problems which, if FIXED, could make our tax system more efficient and more effective. But for every problem that is fixed there will still be an incentive for the Big Public Accounting firms to make huge fees off designing tax dodges- most of which they know to be shady. These firms play an audit lottery and they make millions of dollars in fees while they play this game. The way to put a stop to this is just as the author has proposed- roll back the Limited Liablity Partnerships (LLP's). All the remaining Big 4 accounting firms are LLPs-- meaning that just because one partner is unethical that the other partners are not by association unethical. It did not used to be this way- back when the Big 8 were truly Public Accounting Firms. Back in those days, one partner could put the entire firm at risk and so they policed their own. That is no longer the case. Back in those days they followed a code of ethics. Those days are over. David Cay Johnston has done a tremendous service to the public by writing an up-to-the date narrative of our US tax system. He reminds the reader that taxes exist so that we each pay for our fair share of our government. It is as simple as that. The role of public accounting firms today however is not to insure that each of their clients pay their fair share. All you have to do it take a look at the recent Congressional Hearings on tax shelters to understand that this is not their motive. The author proposes that LLP's be eliminated for professional accounting firms and law firms. There should be a debate on this issue before anyone tackles the tax system. Unless we return to an era where CPAs and CPA firms have an ethical and professional responsibility to ensure that taxpayers pay their fair share then it is a waste of time to tinker with the tax system. There is something wrong with a system that has a built-in incentive for tax advisor. There is something wrong with a system that has an incentive to the tune of $150,000,000 in fees for selling Tax Dodges to the most wealthy. Change the tax laws all you want- unless you remove the greed incentive for the accounting and legal tax "professionals" it will be waste of breath. If our taxes exist in our country so that we each pay our fair share for our government then there should be no place for the greedy tax accountant or attorney. And when did our country decide to have a system in which the tax "professional" is an adversary of the the US tax agency? Is this the way it has to be? Is this the kind of system we want? This author was brave to take this issue of LLP's on --head on---he is an optimistic writer. He hopes that people will read his book- discuss it---and do the right thing. I hope he is right.
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Summary: The most important book you will read this year!
Review: If you are wondering whether you should read this book, I strongly say YES. I just finished reading Perfectly Legal, I have a Ph.D. in economics and business administration and was not sure that I would learn that much. Boy, was I wrong! What an outstanding book! He writes so cleanly and clearly, it is no surprise he has a Pulitzer for stories he has written for the New York Times. The research and logic is world class and very disturbing. We need to fix the situations described before it is too late. To do this we need to get our friends and associates to read it as well. Get the word out. Buy it and give it to your friends, (you get free shipping if you buy more than one :-) suggest it to book clubs, talk about when ever you can. The Miami Herald book club is reading and reviewing it this month. We need more of this to happen. Dave Johnston has written an investigative masterpiece in the tradition of Upton Sinclair book The Jungle. He and has done a great service to America in writing this book! As Upton Sinclair created a political revolution in 1906 when his book was published - this book should create a revolution in 2004. If we do not fix what David has identified, America and the world will indeed be in a sorry state. Just one example out of hundreds and hundreds from the book that must be reversed. David points out that the upper 10% of U.S. tax payers saw their income rise by 88% and their share of national income go from 33% to 48% from 1970 to 2000. The the bottom 90% of US taxpayers saw their income stagnate and their share of national income went from 67% to 52%. And as David points out if the current "Perfectly Legal" tax loopholes continue, this disparity with grow! Your future and your family's future are in the balance. This is not a republican or democratic issue, it's an American issue! America will not be great nation if it becomes a nation of haves and have nots. Get the word out about this book, e-mail your family and friends, it is the most important thing you can do this year. We need the changes that Upton Sinclar's book brought about, and David Cay Johnston's book can do that. It is even more important to our contry in 2004 than Sinclar's was in 1906. To make this happen we must do our part. The next time a friend invites you dinner, bring this book instead of a bottle of wine or 6 pack of beer. Your friends will forget the wine or beer they will never forget this book! And they will thank you over and over for it. My friends have. Jerry Fisher
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Summary: This should make almost everybody angry
Review: This is a book that ought to make almost everybody angry, with the possible exception of the super-rich. Even if you don't want to be angry (and I'm angry enough at the state of the country these days), you still really ought to read it because Johnson explains exactly how the American tax system is stacked against the poor and the middle class. I knew some of these details already such as the phony campaign to repeal the estate tax, but other parts (like the chapter on corporate jets) were shocking to me and I am cynical enough that I don't shock easily. The millionaires and the corporations depend upon your ignorance to keep this sytem going. Reading this book is the first step so that you can understand what's going on and work for real change.
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Summary: Every politician in America needs to read this!
Review: Everybody who ever fills out a tax form knows that the system is totally crazy, but I really had no idea how bad things are until I read this book. Some people will try to spin it as a liberal book about the Bush tax cuts, but it's SO much more than that. Both parties are equally guilty of screwing the middle class and even the upper middle class to let the zillionaires duck out of their tax burden. There are things in here about Bill Clinton and the Democrats in Congress that will make the Democrats' heads spin. The only way out is to scrap the entire IRS system and start over with something simple and fair, with no loopholes. We really need to make this an issue in the presidential campaign. Believe it or not this book was fun to read, not just eye-opening. Lots of juice stories about rich people cheating the system.
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Summary: American Tax Flaws Exposed
Review: This is one of the most understandable explorations of taxes anywhere. Johnston's journalism starts from the human perspective, unravels complex tax issues as they relate to real people, and then draws out the general principles and points that reveal critical inequities squeezing most taxpayers to the benefit of the very rich. Once you have overcome your own desire to cheat on your own taxes in revenge, what you read here should fuel your outrage, activate your civic consciousness, and compel you to demand political redress through every conceivable channel you have the strength to muster. Read this because it directly affects YOU.
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Summary: Great analysis about the legal tax flaws favoring the rich.
Review: This is an excellent book about the abusive influence of special interest groups on the U.S. tax code. Thanks to their money, power, and influential political access, these special interest groups structure the U.S. tax code to their great advantage. These tax favors include outright government subsidies and arcane tax loopholes. These often do not have any social policy merit. These tax give aways do not benefit society at large. To the contrary, they hurt us big time. Johnston makes a good case that these give aways have become so huge that they are in good part responsible for our $400 billion chronic structural deficit. Businesses, corporations, and very high net worth individuals simply do not pay their fair share of taxes. This is especially true when comparing their respective tax burden with their counterparts in other Western countries. Johnston suggests that we will experience rising budget deficits if these structural flaws within the U.S. tax code are not corrected. This book very nicely complements Paul Krugman's book 'The Great Unraveling' where Krugman states that the ongoing reduction in taxes on the rich will unravel some of our most popular social programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Johnston as the premier journalist on tax scams and schemes at the New York Times for the past seven years is perfectly equipped to write this book. Many of the most egregious examples of tax schemes he mentions are taken directly from his NY Times columns. The most vexing aspects of this issue is that these tax schemes that would be viewed as outright tax fraud in so many other industrialized countries are "Perfectly Legal" in the U.S. Johnston, given his outstanding background in journalism, writes in an extremely lively way. This makes the book both very entertaining and easy to read. Given the occasionally dry subject matter this is quite an achievement. Johnston does a great service by educating the voting public on how the system works. This is most relevant during this Presidential campaign year. Buy and read this book, it will make you a better informed voter.
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Summary: Must Read
Review: I am a traditional conservative who has been bothered by tough coverage of the tax code in WSJ for years, but I am deeply troubled by Johnson's book. I have spoken with three tax attorneys who read it and found it accurate. What upsets me most is that THEY are not outraged. It does not do justice to this remarkable popularizationof an extremely complex subject to say merely that we always knew that the tax system was unfair. Cynicism is not Johnson's issue. The tax code is not understood by ANY of officials we have elected and rely on to represent our interests,. It is a black hole that makes incalculable (literally) national wealth disappear from our common enterprise. While we argue about deficits or unfunded mandates, hundreds of billions of untaxed profits of the very rich are sheltered and deferred in ways unavailable to wage earners who will soon be further burdened by a perversion of the "alternative minimum tax." It is worth thousands of dollars to you, in all probability, to read this book carefully and then bring a copy to your Senators and Congressman with the demand that it be read. No vague review should divert every serious citizen from reading this clear and detailed explanation of why your government takes so much money from you while not securing your financial future.
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Summary: on the right track
Review: If johnston says nothing other than the road ahead is rough then thats all he would need to say. Obviously Mr. "are selfs" is clueless as to the real state of tax reform (or lack of) and thinks he is a real american by saying "yes master" the real truth is this country was founded by people like Johnston who didnt agree with "taxation without representation" but i guess thats un-american now!!!
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Summary: SHOCKING TAX THRILLER
Review: This is one of the most amazing books about taxes I have ever read. Mr. Johnston proves, in convincing detail, how the US tax system has been hijacked by the super-rich. He does this in a wonderful prose and without ever resorting to exaggerations, just stating the embarrassing facts. If you ever wondered how so many executives can fly around to private vacations in corporate jets, this book will tell you why - the taxes they pay for this fringe benefit are less than they'd pay for the cheapest coach ticket, courtesy of the US Congress. There are dozens of other examples, such as this one. This is a book that will ruffle some powerful feathers that should have been dipped in tar a long time ago.
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