Toph Sheldon, CPA for the Self-Employed May 2019
MAY/JUNE 2019 VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3
T O P H ’ S TAX RESOLUT ION T I M E S
513-342-4000 WWW.TOPHCPA.COM
STEERING CLEAR OF THE IRS
Finding Ways to Avoid False Taxation
“ I know what it’s like to be a small-business owner and feel helpless against a larger corporate opponent. This is why I’ve dedicated my life to helping people make a stand against bullies in the federal government.”
The IRS is fully invested in finding their subjects guilty of tax related offenses. Unfortunately, this means that their findings are sometimes made erroneously and result in a lot of trouble for many innocent Americans. If you find yourself in their sights, you want to play your cards very carefully so you don’t incriminate yourself during their questioning. Your best course of action is handing it off to a certified, experienced, and specialized tax professional who deals with these people for a living. Over the years, I have spent countless hours fighting the IRS for the common man. I
know what it’s like to be a small-business owner and feel helpless against a large corporate opponent. This is why I’ve dedicated my life to helping people make a stand against bullies in the federal government. A common mistake people make when the IRS first starts going after them is that they don’t know when to stop talking. We want to save money and time by telling the truth, thinking that our version of the truth will convince these people of our innocence, but the fact of the matter is that the IRS takes down people like you for a living. You are completely outmatched. This is no different than how you should handle questions from law enforcement or in a court of law. As any lawyer will tell you, you have the right to remain silent, and you should always use that right. The more you talk, the more the IRS will try to twist your words to fit their narrative and make you seem guilty of crimes you may not have committed. Everything boils down to whether or not it may be a smart choice to represent yourself in any legal capacity, keeping in mind that the prosecution (the IRS) has been specially trained for years by top professionals to get a judgment against you. “Innocent until proven guilty” can be a thin line with some of these entities. They will ask you questions about your bank accounts, what you do on the weekends, or even where you vacation — anything to
get information on where your money goes so they can see if you’re hiding it from the government. It is despicable.
The good news is that you aren’t alone. I have helped countless clients make their voices heard against the IRS giant, and I can do it for you, too. I assume your innocence and do everything in my power to negotiate with the IRS until we see eye to eye on that front. Even if you’ve made some genuine mistakes, I will work with the IRS to make sure you get the best outcome possible and send you on your way with a new lease on life. For more information on what I can do for you, contact me at 513-342-4000 or visit my website at TophCPA.com .
We’re in this fight together. Don’t let the crooks at the IRS convince you otherwise.
-Toph Sheldon
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THE LAW OF THE LAND Why Attorneys Trust Me With Their Tax Related Issues
Imagine you are heading to court to prove your innocence on a felony charge. This is serious business, right? So, you wouldn’t just hire anybody, and you certainly wouldn’t put yourself in charge, either. One of the most foolish mistakes you can make is being underprepared and underrepresented when you find yourself facing off against any faction of the government. This goes for individuals who find themselves on the wrong end of the IRS — even attorneys themselves. An attorney knows better than to put themselves in charge of their tax issues because they know they are not a specialized tax professional. As an individual who has dedicated his life to protecting self-employed small-business owners from the heartless antics of the IRS, I have been trusted by numerous attorneys to handle their tax issues and point them in the right direction. If an attorney knows better, then so should you. The legal and financial systems of this country can be confusing enough on their own, especially when they intertwine to create a hodgepodge of complex terms and paperwork. There are some things that are best left to the professionals, and your accounting affairs should be one of them. After all, you’re risking everything from your possessions to your freedom if you make even just one error.
The Power of ‘Mindset’ How Being Open to Growth Leads to Success For decades, Dr. Carol S. Dweck studied the phenomena of success. How is it that some people are able to grow their business, stay fit, or achieve their personal goals while others in similar situations stall out?“Mindset”is Dr. Dweck’s answer to this question. Subtitled“The New Psychology of Success,” this book chronicles the Stanford psychologist’s findings, which suggest an inseparable link between belief and achievement. According to Dr. Dweck, people tend to think about the challenges in front of them in one of two ways. They either have a“fixed”mindset —believing that their talents and abilities are static, intrinsic properties of who they are —or a“growth”mindset —believing they can improve every aspect of themselves with practice and perseverance. Those who approach life’s hurdles as an opportunity for growth are the ones who find long-term success. If you’ve ever said“I’m just not good at math”or“I’m not a natural leader,” you’ve fallen into the fixed mindset trap. If you believe there’s nothing you can do to change your circumstances, you’ll never strive to improve them. The same is true of positive fixed opinions of yourself. Dr. Dweck points out that those who believe themselves to be“a great boss”or“an amazing athlete”are also doing themselves a disservice. Once you think your skills are tied to who you are as a person, you’ll avoid challenging them for fear they might be found wanting. This leads your talents to atrophy as you seek detours rather than facing challenges head-on. Dr. Dweck argues that, instead of falling victim to the pessimism and self-delusion that defines fixed mindset thinking, we need to recognize that the path to success lies in open-minded perseverance.“A person’s true potential is unknown (and unknowable),”she says.“It’s impossible to foresee what can be accomplished with years of passion, toil, and training.”Not only does“Mindset”drive this point home with well- documented experiments and studies, but it also provides a workshop to help people break free of their fixed mindset and find success.
If you are self-employed and out to prove your innocence, then finding a CPA for the Self-Employed ® should be your first course of action. That’s what I always work toward
for my clients: Prove their innocence and see them walk away from their conundrum better then when they started, and sometimes that means walking away with a little extra refund money after a mistake has been remedied. Don’t let your past mistakes dictate your life for the future. Reach out to a trusted CPA for the Self- Employed ® who can help you along your path to financial
independence from the IRS.
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A Reflection on Motherhood TAKING TIME TO FUEL YOUR VILLAGE
Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be involved with kids who needed me, whether it was working with them or starting a big family of my own. Little did
these days while I still have them. Motherhood is hard work, but even today I can tell how much I’ll miss these days when the kids are all grown up and moved away. Of course,
I know what that would look like in the real world. The road of motherhood, with its ups and downs, has been one I’ve traveled with passion. Today, it’s hard to imagine living any other way, even though I didn’t exactly have the ideal nuclear family in my youth. The idea of a big family was always an unrealized desire for me, something I idolized as a child of divorce who experienced the splitting of my family at a young age. As I aged, I always wanted a secure family unit for myself. Now, I’m happy to say I have just that, with more than a little help from my loved ones along the way.
these perils are one of the curses of motherhood, a nagging worry that someday your babies won’t be babies anymore, and all this despite my oldest child being only a few years old.
Despite the years you spend watching your children grow, it is just as important for
you to take time for the other relationships in your life as well. While the majority of my time is split between the kids and my part-time work at the children’s hospital, Toph and I make sure to save time for each other. A marriage is a bond that’s meant to last, and for good reason. You saw that light in each other when you first got together, and that light never really fades, as long as you take time to nurture it, no matter how busy you are picking up Legos and stuffed animals. I make sure we never take our time together for granted. It takes a village to raise a family (the old adage proves true), so make sure you’re paying special attention to your village. Your family will thank you later.
Family cannot be easily defined; it takes many forms. All of those forms, however, include the idea of a place we can call home with each other. That’s what Toph and I have worked so hard to give to our family. All the sleepless nights and runs to the store to get more diapers and formula can be hard to get used to, but, for me, it’s always been a matter of appreciating
–Ashley Sheldon
SHRIMP SAUSAGE SKEWERS
TAKE A BREAK
Inspired by PaleoLeap.com
Ingredients
Creole Seasoning Ingredients • 2 tablespoons paprika •
•
1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined 1/2 pound cooked sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
•
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• • • •
• • •
1/2 tablespoon cayenne or chili powder
1/4 tablespoon dried oregano 1/4 tablespoon dried thyme
Directions
1.
Heat your grill to medium-high.
4.
Add creole seasoning and mix well until all ingredients are covered. Load up skewers with alternating pieces of shrimp, sausage, and zucchini until they’re full. Grill skewers until shrimp are well- cooked (6–8 minutes).
2.
In a bowl, combine all ingredients for creole seasoning. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, zucchini pieces, and sausage pieces, and cover themwith the olive oil.
5.
3.
Solution on page 4
6.
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TOPH SHELDON CPA FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED ® 9200 MONTGOMERY RD., STE. 5A CINCINNATI, OH 45242 513-342-4000 WWW.TOPHCPA.COM
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
INSIDE 1
Avoid Being Swindled Into Incriminating Yourself
2
How Being Open to Growth Leads to Success The Importance of a Specialized CPA for the Self-Employed ® in Tax Law
3
My Life in Motherhood and Beyond Shrimp Sausage Skewers
4
People Who Turned Their Tax Fortunes Around Tales of Excessive Success
How Toph Managed to Bring These Clients Back From the Edge of Ruin
I’ve been put in the unique position of helping my clients take care of their tax woes and completely turn their lives around. That’s why I’m excited to share my clients’ success stories whenever I get the chance. No matter how far in the hole you think you are, your light at the end of the tunnel is contacting the right CPA for the Self-Employed ® to save you precious time and money. Let’s take a look at some of my favorites. Toph Gets Contracted by a Contractor In 2016, I was approached by a self-employed contractor in the middle of a serious audit by the IRS. We were able to deduce that somewhere down the line, his accountants had made a severe mistake that would cost him thousands of dollars in unwarranted taxes, and he was already over $65,000 in the red. After negotiating with the IRS back and forth, I was able to knock that number down to $13,000 and give him peace of mind, knowing that his future didn’t revolve around an insurmountable debt. Toph Helps an Optometrist See a Brighter Tomorrow A few years ago, a self-employed optometrist came to me with a huge dilemma.
After years and years of owning his own business, his tax rate was so high that he was seriously considering retiring to avoid all the extra income it was costing him. In researching his last few tax returns, I found his accountant had made a critical error that was causing him to overpay greatly on his taxes. After reviewing his last five returns, we were able to send that client away with almost $40,000 in refunds. Oh, and he was able to rediscover the lust for life to continue doing the job he loved.
These are just a few cases out of the numerous satisfied clients I’ve worked with here. So here is my question to you: What will your tax success story be?
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DON’T LIVE IN FEAR, TOPH IS HERE!
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