taxation

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.

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.

We all work too hard for our money to let ignorance of available tax reduction strategies keep us from our money. I thought this book would be boring and dry as most tax books are, but I was blown away by Mr. Botkin's style and delivery. The material is laid out extremely well and everything is immediately "actionable" to let you begin taking advantage of existing laws and structure. There are loads of provisions to your advantage in the tax codes, but it is your responsibility to take off the blinders of ignorance.

I have purchased a copy of this book for my lawyers and accountants and my key team as an invaluable resource. I recommend this book over every other tax strategy and tax saving book I have ever read!