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LI BMAN 'S AWESOME LETTER
LIBMAN TAX STRATEGIES
OCTOBER 2018
Not Your Everyday Halloween Horror Stories
Clients’ Scariest IRS Audits
Everyone knows what it's like to feel afraid: faster breathing, pounding heartbeat, turning stomach, and racing thoughts. But whether your fear stems from a nail-biting horror film, a spine-chilling murder mystery, or a dark haunted house on Halloween, some people actually revel in these feelings of fear. They truly crave having the bejesus scared out of them! Of course, for people like me who feel they’re liable to lose their lunch after just a glimpse of a gory slasher film, it’s almost unfathomable that people can enjoy products or experiences created solely to terrify. But for this month (the spookiest month “IRS tax audits may initially seem like the scariest thing to ever happen to you, but if you receive a notice in the mail, don’t fret.” of the year), I decided to help satisfy thrill- seekers out there by expounding on a topic that strikes fear into the hearts of many: IRS audits. Below you will find the three scariest IRS audit cases I have ever encountered in my 14-year run at Libman Tax Strategies. In 2006, the acronym “FOMO” (fear of missing out) pervaded the American social consciousness as a way to describe the feelings associated with being absent from an important event or happening. For example, if you’re spending the weekend getting caught up on yard work, but then scroll through Facebook only to find photos of your friends’ awesome camping trip, you might feel cheated. A client of mine faced extreme FOMO of a slightly different kind when he missed an IRS notice in the mail. He got on a plane, ready to indulge in relaxing A TERRIFYING TRIP
vacation with his wife. Little did he know, he was selected for an IRS examination. Because he wasn’t home when the letter was delivered, he didn’t respond within the time limit. So, the IRS agent closed the case. After he arrived home, he opened an envelope containing a bill for a whopping $15,000. Fortunately, he and I were able to work together to resolve the issue with a simple audit reconsideration.
SOME SINISTER STOCKBROKING
If the previous client’s bill of $15,000 scared you, this next war story will really make you jump out of your skin. After he was audited for not filing his taxes for three years, a client approached me for help when he received a bill for $150 million! When you are in the business of selling stocks, the IRS computes the money you owe based on the taxes involved in those sales. During those three years, he had sold stocks totaling more than $500 million in value, which is why his audit bill was so high. In fact, his 1099 stock report reached over 1,500 pages long. After he approached me, we were able to file the taxes that he needed in order to get that bill down to zero. And we did so in only two weeks! This last war story doesn’t include a bill for large sum of money, but it might still give you quite a fright. Recently, people have reported receiving fake IRS phone calls. In fact, more than 15,000 victims in the United States have lost anywhere from $100 to $1 million to the scammers. During these fraudulent calls, a person posing as an IRS agent threatens arrest, deportation, or other penalties if the victims do not immediately pay their debts. Because these scams have been so prevalent recently, when a client of mine received an audit via phone call, he didn’t believe it was real. Not only did he hang up on the agent, but he used a lot of choice expletives to demonstrate his frustration. Of course, once he realized the call was legitimate, we worked together to resolve the issue. Beyond their ability to produce blood-curdling fear, these three stories all have another feature in common: No matter their severity, these cases were fixable. IRS tax audits may initially seem like the scariest thing to ever happen to you, but if you receive a notice in the mail, don’t fret. Give our office a call, and I’ll help calm your fears. A PETRIFYING PRANK
-Adam Libman
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Learn a New Language as a Family
Let Your Children Speak to the World
As the weather cools down, finding ways to spend quality time as a family can become challenging. It’s too cold to camp or barbecue, and money may be tight with the holidays coming up. So why not turn learning a new skill into a bonding experience this fall? You can do it inside, it’s free, and it will open doors around the world for the rest of your children’s lives. WHY LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE? Speaking multiple languages creates opportunities for your child. Being bilingual makes you more qualified for a variety of exciting careers and can improve your competitiveness in the job market. Knowing a second language can also allow you to travel with greater ease and become more culturally well-rounded. There are some studies that claim learning languages is even good for your health. Research shows that our language acquisition skills peak in childhood or adolescence, so starting young is the best way to become fluent. If your child is in school, they probably already know classmates who speak another language. WHICH LANGUAGE SHOULD YOU LEARN? Did you know that 40 million Americans currently speak Spanish at home? The U.S. is the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, and we border the largest, so learning this language is a great way for children to Client Spotlight
communicate with more people in their community, and they'll be more hirable as adults. Bonus: It’s commonly considered one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. Mandarin is the most-spoken language on the planet, and China’s growth as an economic powerhouse has made this language even more useful around the world. German, Arabic, and Japanese speakers are also highly sought-after in the job market. Of course, you can always let your wanderlust or passions decide for you! Is your child obsessed with K-Pop? Have them learn Korean. Want to take them to Paris someday? Enroll in French classes. THE LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD ARE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. Learning a new skill has never been easier! While there’s no substitute for a full-time class or moving to another country, there are countless ways to teach yourself a new language right at home, usually for free. YouTube tutorials, podcasts, and audiobooks let you rewind and listen to the lessons as many times as needed to master pronunciations. Can't tear your child away from their cellphone? Download Duolingo, rated by PCMag.com as the best free language-learning app of 2018.
Meet Max Keylor, an Awesome Guy and a Great Human Being
I’ve always been inspired by people in the customer service industry. As far as strange, unbelievable, or over-the-top requests go, hotel concierges have seen it all. Sometimes it seems like the more luxurious the hotel is, the more outlandish the requests become. Demands such as separating M&Ms by color, importing international alcohol brands to stock the fridge, or even positioning all the furniture to face the
would like to spotlight my good friend Max Keylor, Senior VIP Coordinator at the Walt Disney Company and Disneyland Hotel.
I’ve been so fortunate to know Max for the last 20 years. He worked with my dad before I took over the business, and since then, Max and I have met on a quarterly basis. He teaches me about customer service and the best methods for defusing problematic situations. Beyond that, he is truly just an awesome guy. Throughout his career, Max was employed at resorts in Hawaii, Tokyo, and Paris, but he has worked with Disney for the last 25 years. When any celebrity or dignitary stays at the resort, it is Max’s job to ensure their contentment. He will organize events, tours, and special passes, all while guaranteeing that their requests are met with hospitality. Because he is phenomenal in this role, Max also travels all over the world to teach others in the service industry how to help guests to the best of their abilities. While Max spends the majority of his time working with VIP guests, here at Libman Tax Strategies, Max is one of our Diamond clients, which means that he is one of my VIPs. As such, I try to offer him some of that amazing customer service he has taught me and so many others over the years.
same direction in the suite have now become commonplace at some five-star hotels. Nonetheless, the wonderful concierges cheerfully go the extra mile to fulfill their guests’ requests without even batting an eye. So I strongly believe that those in the service industry deserve acknowledgment for their patience, gregarious nature, and helpfulness. And because he possesses those traits in spades, I
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Andy cold called me one day looking for tax help on his startup. He said, “Hi Adam. I’m one of those ex-corporate guys who’d be making beaded necklaces in his basement if I had a basement and if I knew anything about making necklaces. Since I don’t and since I’m an audio expert, that’s what we do. Can you help me with my taxes?” During our initial chat, Andy explained that he had left Harman, a Fortune 500 audio company, where he had been a product manager for nearly 20 years to start a high-end speaker company with a go-to-market strategy based on technical expertise and world-class customer service. In just four years, Andy and his team have built an aspirational brand recognized by car audio enthusiasts worldwide, which competes with other long-established brands. Audiofrog is based in Los Angeles with an additional office in Singapore where Marcus and Julia work. Both Marcus and Julia are also audio industry veterans with more than four years of experience between them. Marcus spent 15 years with Andy at Harman as the General Manager for Asia Pacific. Julia is a logistics expert who handles all the inbound and outbound freight all over the world and keeps everyone in line too. My Best Business Meet Andy, Marcus, Julia, and Audiofrog, Inc.
Since starting the company five years ago, Audiofrog has diversified, adding a professional audio category with speakers and electronics for bars, restaurants, live venues, and karaoke clubs across Southeast Asia. To help customers get the most from their audio systems, Audiofrog also provides test equipment. The equipment is designed and built here in Los Angeles and will launch Audiofrog U, a series of small-group, in-house training seminars for retail technicians and enthusiasts. I was right that Audiofrog would be a fun client. I’m a music lover, and when I was a bit younger, I spent time working with touring bands. Working with Andy and his team of corporate defectors has been a blast. Check out Audiofrog.com to see what it’s all about. If you want to chat with a guy who has experience in building and selling products all over the world, drop him a line at andy@ audiofrogusa.com.
Our Prize Giveaway Program Gift Cards, Tablets, andVacations!
Here at Libman Tax Strategies, our mutual relationship with you is what makes our business function at its highest level. I am honored that so many customers trust us enough to recommend our services to others. We can’t possibly express how much these referrals mean to us, but with our new referral PRIZE GIVEAWAY PROGRAM, we hope we are at least coming close! PRIZE NO. 1: If you like reading our newsletter and think that someone you know might enjoy it too, we’d love to add them to our mailing list. Send us their name and address, and we’ll send them a newsletter. To thank you for your referral, we’ll give you a $5 gift card to Starbucks! PRIZE NO. 2: If you get a friend, family member, colleague, or even a stranger in the grocery store to use our services, we will give you a FREE Amazon tablet! Easy as that! PRIZE NO. 3: After we give you the FREE Amazon tablet as a thank-you for your referral, we will enter your name in a quarterly drawing for a romantic weekend getaway to Palm Springs!
These prizes are absolutely real, and they are our FREE gifts to you. For more information about this program, please visit www. adamlibman.com/prizes.
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The Real Cost of Assisted Living
Hidden Fees and Added Services
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of seniors is growing. Projections indicate that 56 million seniors will inhabit the country by 2020 and 74 million by 2030. As the number of seniors increases, so does the need for senior living facilities. While you can still find plenty of traditional nursing homes, assisted living facilities have soared in popularity over the years. While this type of community has many benefits for seniors and their families, it can be difficult to parse exactly what you’ll be paying for. The pricing structure and contract details require careful consideration before you decide on an appropriate facility for your loved one. Prices for assisted living facilities vary significantly. Because they offer a slew of services, you need to be fully aware of what you’re paying for. The base price you are quoted will usually include rent, meals, and activities offered on the premises. Some companies may offer a few additional basic services included in this cost, but as a rule, you can expect that any extra services will increase the price. Add-ons for assisted living services can range from basic hygiene needs to medical costs. If your loved one needs help dressing, you can expect an additional fee. The same goes for medication
reminders, escorts to meals, incontinence care, and many other services. On-site activities are usually folded into the base rate, but be sure of that before signing. Access to a gym, pool, or pharmacy, for example, may incur extra charges.
One advantage of the pricing model of assisted living facilities is that you can add services at any time. Many care facilities house seniors of varying health and ability levels. In the event that your loved one needs more services, they are easy to add to your payment package. However, it’s important that you read the terms and conditions detailing any services you decide to include. Otherwise, you may end up paying for a service your loved one doesn’t need. The most important piece of advice when it comes to the hidden costs of assisted living is to read your contract thoroughly. You can also consult an estate planning or elder law attorney to ensure that you’re fully aware of all charges and possible future costs.
From theWife’s Perspective
A Month Full of Memories
It has been a month for memories here at the Libman household. For our two oldest sons, Evan and Ethan, the school year is underway. As much as his dad, older brother, and I have been trying to convince Ethan that school is a fun experience, he staunchly disagrees. He likes the opportunity to meet new friends, but still isn’t sure that the early-morning wake-ups are worth it. To balance all the time spent at school, we took a family camping trip to Big Sur where all six of us slept in a single tent. The close proximately meant that we all stayed warm at night, but it also meant that all the sand that accumulated on the boys’ clothes, hands, and feet from playing in the river came right into the tent with them. But even with the slight claustrophobia and dirty clothes, experiences like that one make me feel so blessed for the family I have. That being said, maintaining familial contentment is not as easy as taking fun-filled family vacations. Sometimes happiness requires hard work and foresight. For example, we just finished celebrating Yom Kippur, a day focused on atonement and repentance. During our annual observation of this holiday, Adam and I examine our lives,
our kids’ lives, and our relationship. We consider the ways we may have wronged one another or other people and ask for forgiveness. More often than not, we discuss seemingly trivial topics like cooking, cleaning, and laundry — small issues, but ones that can cause irritation over time. People tend to think that at this time of year, Halloween masks, pranks, and films are the scariest things you can encounter. But talking to your spouse about issues can definitely seem like the scarier option! Ultimately, though, this process is about self-reflection, forgiveness, and healing, all of which are fundamental for a strong relationship. Sometimes it is the hardest talk that helps the most.
-Maria Libman
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California's Coolest 24-Year-Old Entrepreneur
Word Search
Meet Mikyle Ede, Owner of Classic British Spares
If there’s any young man out there who I want to serve as a
role model for my five sons, it is Mikyle Ede. Over the last decade or so, I have gotten to know him through my professional relationship with his father, Malcolm, but I first met Mikyle when he was only 16 years old. Most teens that age are concerned with boyfriends or girlfriends or their plans
Cauldron Costume Dracula Ghost
Halloween Hallows Eve
Scary stories Spooky Trickortreat Zombie
Haunted Pumpkin
for the weekend, but Mikyle approached his ambitions in a much more innovative way: He decided to build his own business completely from scratch. Malcolm founded the company, Classic British Spares, in the early 1990s in order to find and sell vintage Triumph, BSA, and Norton Commando motorcycle parts. Mikyle joined him as a co-owner in 2014 and firmly believes that any person who wants to own a vintage British motorcycle should be able to do so. Fast forward four years later, and what started out as a small startup in a garage has now grown into a half-million-dollar business. What’s more is that Mikyle handles just about everything, including ordering parts, listings, newsletters, blogs, marketing, inventory, and shipping. He even does all the janitorial work! So many students who are fresh out of high school are told that if they want to pursue an entrepreneurial career, they will have to earn their MBA. While I would never discourage students from furthering their education, Mikyle serves as a phenomenal example of someone who knew what he wanted to accomplish and found success through his own unconventional methods. In fact, I like to joke that he earned his “street MBA” instead. Today, Classic British Spares has over 10,000 BSA motorcycle parts, Norton parts, and vintage Triumph parts in stock and ready to ship to motorcycle lovers everywhere. Whether customers are performing a full rebuild, changing their tires, or simply need a tuneup, Mikyle has something for everybody! If you want more information about their products or just want to check out the amazing company Mikyle created, go to classicbritishspares.com.
Have You Heard About Our Diamond Club?
Here at Adam Libman Tax Strategies, our Diamond Club is invitation only and reserved for our top clients. If you have questions about the privileges that come with being a Diamond Client or want more information, make sure you give Adam a call! Diamond Clients
• Randy Gleckman * • Jay & Laine Zuckerman * • Ken Ma & Juliana Tu • Max Keylor • Lynn Adkins * • Ms. X
*Founding Members of the Diamond Club
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150 N. Santa Anita Avenue, Suite 740 Arcadia, CA 91006 424.253.0200 www.AdamLibman.com
LIBMAN TAX STRATEGIES
INSIDE THIS ISSUE P1 My 3 Scariest IRS Audit Cases
P2 Learn a New Language as a Family
Client Spotlight: Max Keylor
P3 My Best Business: Audiofrog, Inc.
Check Out Our Free Prizes!
P4 Hidden Costs of Assisted Living
Chat With Maria Libman
P5 HaveYou Heard About Our Diamond Club?
Meet California's Coolest 24-Year-Old Entrepreneur
P6 The Birthplace of Halloween
The Real Halloween Town Fans of Halloween don’t need to look far to find somewhere to celebrate their favorite holiday. There are festive parties all over the world, from New Orleans to London, but if you really want to embrace the spirit of Halloween, there’s no better destination than the birthplace of the holiday: County Meath, Ireland. County Meath, Ireland,Where Halloween Began
Every year in Boyne Valley, the residents of County Meath throw a month-long Halloween celebration. The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival attracts thousands of guests from all over the world, and while this festival has only been celebrated since 2009, many of the traditions observed here date back to ancient times. The ancient Irish weren’t trick-or-treating or visiting haunted houses on Oct. 31, but they were celebrating the pagan holiday Samhain. Over 3,000 years ago, this Celtic festival was born in Meath and marked the end of the harvest. Samhain was celebrated with bonfires, offerings to fairies, and other rituals meant to keep evil spirits away. Many of these customs carried through the centuries and inspired Halloween traditions that are still practiced today. Today, Meath celebrates Oct. 31 with a blend of spooky thrills and traditional Samhain practices. The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival starts with the lighting of the first torch fire of Samhain in
Athboy, which kicks off a month of fun activities. If you like your Halloween extra spooky, the scream park, Farmaphobia, is waiting for you. And if you’re not a fan of screaming your head off, you can check out the Halloween-themed Spookling Afternoon Tea for fresh-baked treats and spirited conversation. The motto of this all-ages festival is “Fun by Day; Frights by Night,” meaning all the really scary ghosts wait until after sunset to come out. There are plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween, from carving jack-o’-lanterns and eating chocolate to running for your life through a haunted corn maze. And in County Meath, you can celebrate Halloween in every possible way. For more info, visit www.Discoverboynevalley.ie/whats-on/spirits-meath-halloween- festival-2018.
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