The Bottom Line Blog

Where Angels Fear to Tread
Summary: Law professor Daniel Hemel writes that “if the facts alleged in yesterday’s indictment are true, the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer,

Pure Imagination
Summary: Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory features Gene Wilder as the genius confectioner. Sadly, Wonka’s genius doesn’t translate to tax planning. If Wonka gives the factory to

Liquid Assets
Summary: The U.S. Superyacht Association says that a 180-foot yacht costs about $4.75 million/year to operate, including $1.4 million for crew salaries, $1 million for

EAT THE RICH
Summary: How hard should government work to combat inequality? People can and do argue in good faith from “not at all” to “lots harder than we are

And Baby Makes Five
Summary: The USDA estimates that the average “affluent” family spends $372,210 to raise a child from birth to age 17. That’s before college, grad school, and maybe

Rope, Shoot, Fry, Tax
Summary: You may be wondering how taxes can make such a big difference between states. Did you know, for middle-class earners, taxes are actually higher in Texas. How

Free Advice
Summary: What happens when co-conspirators get greedy for their share of a score? It doesn’t end well. There’s gotta be a moral here. Lie down with

Unintended Consequences
Summary: Tinkering with the tax code is a grubby, partisan exercise in raw political power. Writing tax law is a wonderfully sadomasochistic interplay between pain and

Shakespeare the Tax Cheat: A Drama in Two Sonnets
Summary: To cheat, or not to cheat, that is the question. We all know no one likes to pay their taxes. But sadly, taxes aren’t a mere

Something to Celebrate?
Summary: Today’s move towards taxing recreational marijuana represents a profound cultural shift. Forty years ago, former First Lady Nancy Reagan told schoolchildren to “just say

Penny for your thought
Summary: We don’t care how you pay your taxes; we just want to help you pay less! Whether it’s pocket-change or Bitcoin, there are many

How to Design a Money Management Plan that Works
A lot of business owners look away when I talk about money management. That’s probably because things haven’t gone according to plan. They work hard