Rating: 
Summary: Good Doorstop
Review: As a former tax professional, I found Mr. Botkin's book to be worthless. It can be used as a doorstop however.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is a MUST HAVE
Review: Fabulous, fabulous book. Really well done. This one book will save people tens of thousands who own a small or home-based business. Great information on Fringe benefit, real estate and small business. I loved the discussion on deducting my golf and fun.... I can't recommend this book highly enough. I also love the writing style by Mr. Botkin. I never thought a tax book could be humerous as well. Get this book and as Mr. Botkin so well noted, " Make your life less taxing."
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read For Anyone With A Business
Review: I am financially astute and am always reading tax and financial books. This one, however, is clear, humourous and full of fabulous information that most people won't know. I also taught finance and this book is written by a natural teacher. It has great summaries, flow charts, references, clear but concise writing. I agree with the other reviewer that this may set the standard for future finance and tax books. It is a MUST for anyone considering starting a business or who already has a business. He has great information on both incorporating and on where to incorporate which was very valuable to me. I LOVED his sections on fringe benefits. In fact, this is probably the most comprehensive tax book on fringe benefits that I have ever seen. If you have ever wondered what companies both big and small can do for their empolyees, it will probably be found in this book. In fact, it even had a great chapter on Real estate issues that are often overlooked. It even covers some of the tax planning that Enron institued and why they did what they did. Very interesting indeed!
Trust me: Get this book!
Rating:
Summary: Buying another one!
Review: I bought this book based on the reviews and they were right. I loved it - it's straightforward, easy to read, and really has great advice! To note - this book is all about lowering your taxes by having your own business. If you're not interested in this option, this book isn't for you. My mom liked it so much I gave her my copy and I'm online to buy myself another. Highly recommend!
Rating:
Summary: Clear and simple savings
Review: I could write forever on the points of this book, so I'll make a few brief points: 1. Clear ways to reduce your biggest expense - taxes.
2. Proper way to organize your business (don't have one, this book will tell you why you should)
3. Best way to transfer cash from person to person, legally, making it an expense (less tax) for you and not income (no tax) for the receiver.
4. Tax free savings for college for yourself or kids.
5. Learn how to get by all the minimum deduction amounts (I *really* like the one on the self-insurance plan which moves co-payments from lost money to a tax deduction, even if under the 7.5% floor in the itemization) So much more exists. Everyone should get this book. I liked it so much, when an opportunity presented itself at a conference to give an impromptu speech, I volunteered and used this book as the basis. My favorite phrase from the book: "If there is a will, there is a lawyer."
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the Best of Its Kind
Review: I say perhaps only becuase I haven't read every tax book out there. It's definitely the best layman's tax book that I've read. What sets this book apart from most others are the details provided. Botkin doesn't just tell you that there are advantages to owning a business entity, he tells you with precision what those advantages are, and--equally important--he tells you how to get those advantages in ways that will most effectively shield you from IRS attacks. What's more, this book is not only beneficial to the layman. For the tax professionals out there, as well as being an excellent "brush-up" course, Botkin's book provides extensive citations to the code, Rev. Ruls. and letter rulings.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting book with a very different approach
Review: I would have given it 4 and 1/2 stars but that wasn't an option. The only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars was that the book deals with small and home bases business issues and for real estate owners and investors. I am retired and thus, could only benefit from the real estate discussion.However, I did have a business before retirement. I got this book after reading a great review in the Orlando Sentinal.This book would have saved me a bundle had I known about this information many years ago. It is cleverly written and has a lot of good information that I myself never heard from my accountant. I especially liked all the examples and tips that I found really useful in understanding the tax planning sections I also liked the elaborations, which provided some nice insights into why Congress passed various laws or on what to do about certain laws,with a great deal of clarity and specificity. One very unsual feature that I found in this book that I never read in any other book was all the information that was provided on how to "audit proof" each and every tax planning strategy. I have used the J.K. Lasser guide in preparing my taxes, and I have never seen as much specific information on how to IRS bullet proof each deduction as Mr. Botkin provides. Many financial books I read are rather shallow and lack a lot of the details necessary to implement what they are suggesting. Also, there seems to be a trend in financial and real estate books to serve as a giant advertisement for consulting services or for other books. This was NOT the problem in this book,which was frankly very refreshing. Even as a retired person, I did, however, find the real estate section to be very useful. It will save me a bundle on some real estate mistakes that I didn't know about all these years. Some reviewer noted that this book doesn't show you how to plan for the various tax laws. He must not have read the same book that I read because this book has a lot of specificity on what to do with each applicable law. In short: I have given a copy of this book to my son and daughter. That should tell you what I think of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Smile,While you save on taxes!
Review: My husband and I read and re-read this book several times and we were amazed at the wealth of information for the average small business owner that is contained between the covers.His humorous anecdotes throughout the book make for easy and pleasurable reading Not only did Sandy Botkin make this a very informative book but he showed us how to implement legally many of his very worthwhile tax saving ideas. We recomend this book highly. Elaine Payson
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for Every Tax Payer in America
Review: Next to the Bible, there isn't a book out there I've seen yet that offers so much help to every single person or family. The average American or "the so called little guy or gal", as we are so often called, will certainly find enough easy-to-read and entertaining information in this thoroughly enlightened book to ensure they ethically and morally pay only the minimum amount of taxes, while still keeping most of their hard earned money, and with the full sanction of the so-called,"dreaded" IRS. Mr. Botkin walks us through, step by step, the minefields we always imagined were waiting to ensnare us, by presenting a simple and easily duplicatable way for anyone to keep the greatest amount of money in the most legal manner ever devised in America to-date
Rating:
Summary: The only Tax Strategy Planning book you will need!
Review: Sandy has finally done it! This is the only simple and easy to understand Tax Strategy Planning book in America. Sandy has taken a very dry subject and brought it to life in a way that teaches and entertains at the same time. Sandy also backs up all of his strategies with laws, court cases, IRS rulling, etc. This is a must read for ANYONE who is a business owner, self-employed, sub contractor, home based business owner etc. We feel that this information is so vital that we give this book to all of our clients. Sandy is helping Americans keep more of what they make, and teaching people to use the strategies of the rich. I recommend this book to anyone who is a business owner.
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