Rating: 
Summary: The book is awesome
Review: Sandy's Book, Lower You Taxes-Big Time, is the best, step-by-step tax strategy book that tells you exactly what to do, how to do it and backs it all up by the IRS code! Most books on the subject are too complicated and leave out details to actually implement the strategies or too simple and give no real input, Lower Your Taxes-Big Time, is a rare combination of great tax strategies plus ALL the steps to implement! Plus it is easy to understand. I would recommend buying an extra book for your accountant and tell them all the strategies you want implemented immediately! Make sure they are on the same page as you. Also, if you want to give yourself a raise, this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Slash your taxes----BIGTIME!
Review: Taxes are our biggest expence; more than the cost of a mortgage or a college education for our children. Sonny Botkin gives you the techniques to slash your taxes legally, ethically and morally.More money to invest or gift away.
Rating: 
Summary: Very uneven -- some good, some bad
Review: The first part of this book (about deductions for small businesses) is sort of ho-hum. If you know about taxes, you'll know everything here. Bodkin tells you about what the law says, not steps you can take to get around it. Here are a couple of particularly weird quotes: "the best treatment for a business vehicle is to buy and keep it at least four or more years, with 10 years being ideal" (your cars must last longer than mine) and "if you really want to save money on the cost of the preparation of your return, use Turbo Tax or some tax preparation software and then give your return to an accountant to get his or her name on it as the preparer" (I would think that this former IRS auditor would know that no legitimate accountant would sign a return they didn't prepare). He talks about employer adoption assistance and mixes that concept up with the adoption credit, giving incorrect information about the assistance. The book is somewhat disorganized (skips around a lot) and has a horrible layout of constant "author notes" and "author explanations". Didn't the author write the whole book or just these notes/explanations?
On the other hand (and the thing that saves the book), the chapter on Finding the Best Corporate Entity for Your Business (even though it's not entirely about corporations) is the best chapter on this subject that I've ever read in a small business tax book. There is a lot of clarity and explanation about this. So, if this is your main interest (finding out what structure you should have for your business), I'd recommend this book. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.
Rating:
Summary: Buying another one!
Review: The main idea behind all books like this is that you MUST start some kind of business (part time, at home, whatever) to take advantage of some amazing tax laws. Making that first move is probably the hardest step for most people. Don't expect a motivational pep talk here. Think of it like this: What would you give for a 10% raise? 20%? 30%? You can save that much in taxes if you take the small step of creating a business. Once you are ready to take that step, this book is wonderful. Other books talk about the same stuff, but this one is easy to read, well organized, and best of all, the author cites everything to the IRS code or case law. That is important since many financial gurus (think Rich Dad series) give advice that is plainly wrong or sometimes even illegal. This book is 100% legit. I was concerned when I heard the author was associated with Tony Robbins, but Mr. Botkin makes no attempt to sell or promote any product in this book. Read this book, save lots of money. Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: The main idea behind all books like this is that you MUST start some kind of business (part time, at home, whatever) to take advantage of some amazing tax laws. Making that first move is probably the hardest step for most people. Don't expect a motivational pep talk here. Think of it like this: What would you give for a 10% raise? 20%? 30%? You can save that much in taxes if you take the small step of creating a business. Once you are ready to take that step, this book is wonderful. Other books talk about the same stuff, but this one is easy to read, well organized, and best of all, the author cites everything to the IRS code or case law. That is important since many financial gurus (think Rich Dad series) give advice that is plainly wrong or sometimes even illegal. This book is 100% legit. I was concerned when I heard the author was associated with Tony Robbins, but Mr. Botkin makes no attempt to sell or promote any product in this book. Read this book, save lots of money. Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: Accurate/authoritative
Review: The subject of taxes can be dull and intimidating. They need not be, if you connect with the approach Mr. Botkin talks about in this book. This is the "how to" of saving tax dollars. There isn't anyone who can bring tax reality to life like Sanford does in this book. It is a great read and inspiration. I use his strategies and have for years. They pay me big time!
Rating:
Summary: Very informative.
Review: This book is easier to criticize than to laud. But that has more to do with the tax code itself than with the content of the book - which is exceptionally good. It contains very useful strategies for lowering taxes, some of which could translate into savings of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. As such, the book is an excellent investment.
Rating:
Summary: The Best "How to" Lower Your Taxes Book Available
Review: This is a "must-read" book for every working American. Sandy lays out simple steps and strategies for keeping thousands of tax dollars that we are overpaying every year. He has literally reviewed the whole tax code, and condensed it down to virtually ALL the tax benefits that are legally available to us. This book is not only an easy read, but it is also formatted so that it can be a reference guide. All subjects are layed out by category with simple "how to" applications, and also with the critical "do's and don'ts." This book will help everyone to go from the un-informed (those who pay the most taxes), to being informed (those who pay the least taxes).
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for doctors, but too much cheerleading
Review: This is a great book for those who own their own business and have "special situations" allowing them to take advantage of certain US tax loopholes.
What I don't understand is why author screams all the time "what a great country!" about some quirky way of saving a quarter of a percent of your taxes, when an average Joe USA is taxed to the wazoo, and there are plenty of other contries in the world where tax is not even a burden. Unfortunately, as author clearly states, the complexity in IRS code is there not to help, but to hurt taxpayers.
Although his book is a great manual, it also serves another purpose - it shows reasons why so many people have been looking for a tax shelter abroad. It is improbable - and a large waste of time - to learn all the tax "tricks" when you can legitimately take all your profits to Bermuda or Panama. Although author mentions a lot of doctors, attorneys and accountants as his example, there are waaaay too many people of other skills that have been taking it to another country - computer and internet professionals, manufacturers, investors, athletes, and it seems that either author is not very familiar with that group, or this book is not for them.
Rating:
Summary: Lower Your Taxes - Big Time!
Review: This should be a reading requirement for every college student in America before s/he graduates. It's not how much money you make, but how much money you save (in this case, how much you can lower your taxes will go directly to your pocket).
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