Book Review: All the Presidents’ Taxes
Book title: All the Presidents’ Taxes
Author: Charles Renwick
Publication date: February 28, 2023
Politically neutral, financially brilliant, All the Presidents’ Taxes by Charles Renwick is the perfect introduction to advanced tax strategies. In one real-world example after another, Renwick uses what we know (and don’t know) about presidential taxes to explore legal strategies of tax avoidance, the murky waters of tax evasion, and the vast gray area that lies between.
The first half of the book offers general insight into the US tax code through a historical lens, with several presidential examples and key forays into terms like “ordinary and necessary” or “reasonable” deductions. If you’re completely new to these concepts, you might want to keep Google handy for some quick background here and there.
Still, this intro to US tax law will set you up for a better understanding of part two, which is where the magic happens.
The second half of the book presents a different presidential strategy in each chapter, progressing from relatively simple strategies to more complex ones, with something for just about everyone.
- Using an LLC to turn expenses into deductions
- Defending deductions against an audit
- Paying your kids tax-deductible salaries
- Using real estate to take large deductions on leveraged purchases
- Applying cost segregation to maximize those deductions
When does aggressive tax avoidance cross the line into tax evasion? It’s a question we’d all love the answer to — to know with certainty what we can and can’t get away with when it comes to paying (or better yet, not paying) our taxes. Unfortunately, the law isn’t always clear, but All the Presidents’ Taxes provides the tools you need to make informed choices about how far you’re willing to push your own strategies.
Of course, a few general principles are clear, and the book presents these too. For example, you can’t hide income, but you can structure your income in tax-friendly ways. As Renwick explains, “The best scenario is to find a strategy that is both a good business decision and a good tax decision.”
In other words, go into business doing something you love — so you can make money while taking deductions on the things you want to do anyway, like going to your favorite conferences or sponsoring your kid’s sports team (both are examples in the book.)
Instead of hating the tax code, use it to enjoy the best of both worlds.
One last point — the farther you roam into those gray areas, the more important it is to document the justifications and methodologies behind your choices. Are you traveling for business? Save notes about your meetings. Are you paying yourself a reasonable salary? Document the steps you took to determine that amount.
You can store that documentation anywhere you like, but if you use Quicken or Simplifi to track your finances, remember that you can add attachments to your transactions. Store documents, notes, and more, right where you need them!
All the Presidents’ Taxes is available now at Amazon and everywhere books are sold.
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About the Author
Erin Michelle Sky
Erin Michelle Sky is a freelance journalist at Quicken covering the holistic human experience in business, career, technology, and personal money management.
She holds an MBA from Georgia Tech and a JD from Emory University, where she was a Woodruff Fellow. Before Quicken, Erin taught math and computer science for Johns Hopkins University, then spent several years working for Fortune 100/500 companies through McKinsey, BellSouth, and Dentons.