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32850 US-43 STE B, THOMASVILLE, AL 36784 844-229-8936 GOLDENTAXRELIEF.COM G o l d e n G a z e t t e MAR 2018 Wrestling With Limitations WHY I BEL IEVE IN BOOTSTRAPS
There are a lot of technical aspects to my job. Finding the best way for my clients to get square with the IRS takes a deep knowledge of tax law and accounting, but it’s not all about math. What tax relief really boils down to is being a motivational coach. People in trouble with the IRS often feel trapped, like they’ve been knocked down and can’t get up. The most important part of what I do is remind these folks just how much they are capable of. Call me old- fashioned, but I was brought up to believe in bootstraps. I know firsthand what can be accomplished by pulling yourself up. “I don’t know how long I laid there in the mud and cow patties, but when I woke, the whole right side of my body was numb.” In the seventh grade, I started wrestling, which is an interesting sport in a number of ways. First and foremost, it demands that your mind and body work in perfect tandem. People don’t tend to think of wrestling as a mental exercise, but it’s really a full-body chess match. You have to learn a variety of moves and countermoves and train your mind to react almost instinctively. In a real match, if you have to pause and think about what your opponent is doing, you’ve already lost.
Wrestling teaches you to be accountable, both to others and to yourself. Although you are on your own against your opponent, the points you earn go toward your team’s score. Win or lose, your actions on that mat affect more than just you. Every move and every decision carries weight well after the match is over. That sense of responsibility to both myself and to my team was what drove me to succeed. In the 10th grade, after rigorous training, I placed third in the state. It seemed like everybody was proud of me except me . It was a surreal experience. They only saw my victories, but I knew my body and mind, and I felt I could have done more. I took a weeklong break after the state tournament, then trained all summer. The next year, despite having cracked two vertebrae in a training accident, I went undefeated in my weight class. The pain was excruciating, but dropping out of the tournament would mean my entire team would forfeit that weight class. I gritted my teeth and pushed through, becoming No. 1 in the state. The summer before my senior year was hot and wet. I was out working on my father’s barn when a storm rolled in out of nowhere, with raindrops as big as quarters. I ran into the barn, ducking my head to get under a wooden beam. I didn’t duck low enough.
My dad later told me he thought lighting had hit the barn. My head hitting that beam shook the whole building. I don’t know how long I laid there in the mud and cow patties, but when I woke, the whole right side of my body was numb. My arm and leg were curled up and wouldn’t move for several minutes. Two years later, an X-ray would reveal that I’d cracked another vertebra, this time in my neck. All I knew at the time was that it hurt like nothing else in the world. So, did I give up wrestling? Not on your life. My last year of high school, I only lost one match, by a single point. When I brought home the state championship for the second time, I was able to celebrate my victory with everyone else — not because I had bested my opponents, but because I had overcome my own limitations. I apply that mentality to everything I do in life. I’m not special. I wasn’t born smarter or more driven than anyone else. I’m just a hard worker, plain and simple. My goal for working in tax relief is to inspire that same spirit in my clients. If I can pull myself out of the mud and win gold, you can settle your debt with the IRS and liberate your life. No one can lift you up; you have to do that part yourself. But as long as you’re willing to try, I’ll be here to lend a hand.
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Keeping Up With Your New Year’s Resolutions
What You Need to Do to Stay On Track and Push Forward
March is the month of spring time and rejuvenation. It’s also the time when most people have forgotten about the resolutions and goals they set earlier in the year. Have you neglected or given up your goals? If you have, you are far from alone. Most people let their goals fall to the wayside at least by March, if not long before. It comes down to four simple reasons. 1. They set goals that were out of reach or unrealistic. 2. They had zero accountability. 3. They set abstract goals. 4. They didn’t track progress. Setting goals is the easy part. A lot of people say they want to lose weight, eat better, learn a new skill, or try a new hobby, but they don’t define their goals any further. Vague goals aren’t really goals at all.
The best way to stay on track is to be as specific as possible. Understand what you need to do to accomplish your goals. Make sure you have access to the appropriate resources that will help you make progress. Resources come in all forms. Look to the people around you for accountability — your family, friends, neighbors, or colleagues. If you don’t want to involve anyone else, keep a notebook or diary to track progress. Or if you are learning a new skill, such as a foreign language for a trip next year, the resource you need may be an app on your phone.
When you bring specific goals together with the necessary resources, achieving your dreams becomes more possible than ever before. You just have to take steps to avoid falling into the mistakes listed above. Set attainable concrete goals, track your progress, and check in with someone to keep you accountable. Since it’s been a few months, take a moment to review how far you’ve come since January. What do you need to do to make the next three months — and the rest of 2018 — your best yet?
Cristiano Ronaldo Celebrity Tax Evasion:
Despite being the highest-paid athlete in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo skimps on his taxes. Last year, reports surfaced that the Portuguese soccer star owed 14.7 million euros (approximately $16.5 million U.S. dollars) in unpaid taxes in Spain. Because he thought he could cheat the system, the Real Madrid forward is now in real trouble. At the time of writing, Ronaldo is still in court with the Spanish authorities. He pled not guilty, but the situation does not look good for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. He stands accused of using a defrauding scheme that many of his fellow soccer stars, including Lionel Messi and Alexis Sanchez, have been found guilty of committing. These millionaire athletes funnel staggering amounts of money made through image licensing (payments for appearing in video games, advertising, and the like) into offshore companies. As much as fans may want to believe Ronaldo’s not-guilty plea, the idea that a European soccer star would
have millions of dollars innocently sitting in the British Virgin Islands baffles the mind. Of course, the soccer star didn’t set up this suspiciously complex web of offshore companies on his own. He had advisors to help him do it. As we often see in these celebrity cases, Ronaldo is playing dumb. When he appeared in front of a judge in Madrid, he cited having only six years of schooling as a reason why he could never have planned something as complicated as tax fraud. The truth is that it doesn’t take a mastermind to commit a crime. All you need is some greed and a sense that you are above the law. Why else would someone who makes more money than Lebron James feel the need to squirrel away money and pay top dollar for advisors to help him do it? The case is still proceeding, and there’s jail time on the line.
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COSTLY MISTAKES The IRS’ 3 Favorite Penalties
HAVE A LAUGH If you do not pay the taxes you owe, you can face penalty fees of 0.5 percent of the unpaid taxes for each month you This year, taxes are due on Tuesday, April 17. If you fail to file before Tax Day, you will face penalties of 5 percent for each month the return is late. If you file more than 60 days after the due date, the minimum penalty is $135, or 100 percent of the tax on the return. FAILURE TO PAY There’s no sense sugarcoating it: Taxes are a pain. Between the paperwork to keep track of and the complicated math, it’s easy to make a mistake. Unfortunately, even minor mistakes can turn into costly penalties. According to the SOI Source Book, the IRS collected $27 billion in penalties. Here are the largest three penalties imposed by the IRS every year. FAILURE TO FILE
fail to pay. If you file late and pay late, you will face combined penalties.
If you’ve struggled to avoid these penalties yourself, we can help. Give us a call at 844-229-8936 and let us help you deal with these and any other penalties you may face.
ACCURACY-RELATED PENALTIES
When it comes to inaccurate tax returns, the “substantial understatement” penalty and the “negligence or disregard of the rules or regulations” penalty are the most common. For individuals, a “substantial understatement” is greater than 10 percent of the correct tax, or $5,000. Penalties for “negligence or disregard of the rules or regulations” incur when you fail to follow IRS rules and regulations, often by not properly substantiating a tax position. These penalties can seem minor in the moment, but they add up fast. While it’s disheartening to be punished for easily avoidable mistakes, it’s important to remember the IRS can be forgiving. In 2016, the IRS forgive $9 million in penalties.
ZESTY ZUCCHINI ENCHILADAS
Ingredients
• • • • • • • •
4 large zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil or ghee
1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded cheese
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 F. In a large skillet, heat oil. Add onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and salt to taste. Stir to combine. Add chicken and 1 cup enchilada sauce. 2. Use vegetable peeler to thinly slice zucchini. Lay out three slices, slightly overlapping, and spoon chicken mixture on top. Roll the zucchini “tortilla” and place on baking sheet. Repeat until all zucchini and chicken is used. 3. Cover the enchiladas with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 20 minutes, and enjoy!
[ Adapted from delish.com ]
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32850 US-43 STE B THOMASVILLE, AL 36784 844-229-8936 GOLDENTAXRELIEF.COM
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INSIDE
page 1 Lessons From High School Wrestling page 2 Are You Keeping Up With Your Goals? Soccer Star Steals Millions page 3 Are You Facing These Common Tax Penalties? Go Carb-Free for Dinner page 4
Do You Know the Origin of International Women’s Day? The History of International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day, celebrated March 8, is a worldwide event that celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, while also calling for gender equality. This day is not affiliated with any one group, but it brings together governments, women’s organizations, corporations, and charities. It’s difficult to say when International Women’s Day began. Its roots can be traced back to 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City, demanding voting rights, better pay, and shorter working hours. A year later, the first National Women’s Day was observed in the United States on Feb. 28. Then, in 1910, Clara Zetkin, leader of the Social Democratic Party in Germany, suggested the idea of an International Women’s Day. A conference of more than 100 women from 17 countries agreed with Zetkin, and in 1911, on March 19, the first International Women’s Day was
celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. More than 1 million women and men attended rallies campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, and hold public office. In 1913, the day of celebration was changed to March 8, and in 1975, the United Nations officially recognized the holiday. In 1996, the United Nations commenced the adoption of an annual theme, the first of which was “Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future.” In each subsequent year, a new theme was chosen to give the holiday more direction. Recent themes include “Empower Rural
Women — End Poverty and Hunger” and “A Promise Is a Promise — Time for Action to End Violence Against Women.” Those who celebrate International Women’s Day aim to achieve full gender equality for women around the world. Because of the recent Hollywood film industry scandals, and because the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report found that gender parity is at least 200 years away, this year’s theme was “Press for Progress.” Events were held in Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, the United Republic of Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and in cities all across the United States. The world has witnessed significant change and a shift in attitude in regard to women’s equality. However, we still have a long way to go. Those who celebrate International Women’s Day strive to make sure girls’ futures are bright, equal, safe, and rewarding.
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