Taxes Books

If you are interested in understanding the politics of taxation, you must read this important book. Martin calls into question many commonly-held beliefs about both the causes and effects of tax cuts, and in particular California's Proposition 13. Looking backward we tend to understand proposals to cut taxes as an expression of distrust in government and a belief that unregulated markets produce better outcomes. Martin shows that property tax protest resulted from professionalization of property tax assessment, which ended informal tax breaks that many homeowners had come to expect. These changes happened in California (and many other states) at a time when the real estate market was booming. The result was that property taxes increased quickly as market values rose. Martin shows that initial resistance to rising property taxes came from both the right and the left, although the proposed solutions differed. Martin portrays this response as a sort of Polyanian second movement (without explicitly invoking Karl Polyani's The Great Transformation), that is, a movement for government intervention to protect people from the excesses of the free market. The book traces the transformation of tax protest from a broad-based social movement into a partisan issue championed by the Republican Party and from a response to particular economic circumstances to a one-size-fits-all permanent part of the G.O.P. platform. Martin's analysis is based on careful empirical research, using a variety of methods (quantitative, archival, comparative) to answer the book's key questions. For an academic book on a topic that tends toward the technical, the prose is clear and approachable.

I would suggest saving your time and money by reading the Homevoter Hypothesis by Bill Fischel instead. The Permanent Tax Revolt misses the mark by not addressing capitalization (especially the capitalization of fractional assessments; see Yinger et al 1980 book on property tax reform and capitalization) and by assuming the free lunch of fractional assessment was never eaten.

This book is as good as it gets (for an academic book, not an insignificant caveat). In clear accessible prose, Martin dissects the property tax and its unlikely adoption by conservative politics in the United States. Before you snore, there are a lot of interesting stories behind this story: that the property tax is one of the oldest taxes in North America, the tax privilege that 1970s tax revolutionaries were fighting for was the largest governmental social program ever, and how it was good government practices, not corruption, that caused the backlash against the property tax. Ultimately, the tax revolts changed the way the US pays for its public investments--especially education--and made taxes the third-rail of modern politics. Any serious citizen would be well served by Martin's patient historical vision that overturns much conventional wisdom.

The author uses this book to go off on rants about the Iraq War and Gorge W. Bush, topics that have nothing to do with Swiss Banking.

This well-written work is the only book on this topic that I have been able to find in years, and, thankfully is a worthy successor to Harry Browne's landmark work, "The Complete Guide to Swiss Banks," which was published in 1976. Of course since then, times have changed, and Hoyt Barber's book is up-to-the-minute. It explores some solid investment options available to North Americans in Switzerland and other venues, including the broader picture of foreign currencies, precious metals, economics, estate planning, asset protection, and secure offshore investments.

This is a solid financial work, but also offers readable and entertaining commentary on the times.

If you want a concise resource about Swiss (and other off shore) banking, then this is a good - no, make that great - resource from a reputable publisher. The author covers not only Swiss banks, but other top countries world wide known for advantageous bank laws for uncertain times.

Though some automatically think of tax evasion when the subject of Swiss banking arises, the perfectly legal possibility of converting your savings into Swiss Francs could be a good hedge against a falling dollar. The book is marketed to US and Canadian audiences, so legally some of the suggestions might mean different things to different people. Therefore, do not act on his word without checking your tax status with a knowledgeable source.

The only negative would be the paranoia in the early part of the book, such as on p26 where the author suggests that the North American Union might be brought about with the aid of a "conveniently timed terrorist attack." This on its face is paranoid, but if it's meant to suggest that the terrorist attacks of 9-11 were somehow planned, then that makes it flat out stupid as well. Therein lies the problem with any book that even approaches this subject: even without such outlandish claims, the mere discussion of fiscal policy as it relates to world events will invariably offend the politics of many readers. At that point, one needs to put aside the political baggage and get past the politics and pay attention to the strategy for preserving wealth.

Even if the author truly believes in conspiracy theories (or if he only wants to cater to the tin foil hat wearing crowd), it doesn't take away from the value throughout the book. It's an uncommonly good find among personal finance books.

This book provides a basic overview of state policy and how it is represented through various lenses. Politicians, common people and businesses are all considered. The basic types of state level taxes and the reasons for their collection are all outlined. While sales taxes are among the most important they are also are supplemented by direct federal government grants. There is a lot of useful information here but the reader should be wary. The author makes a lot of opinionated claims and sites only his own work to support them. There are several things in here that are open to dispute and I would use this book as an introduction only. It does do a wonderful job of categorizing all of the issues and giving a springboard for further study. For those interested in public policy this is an essential book to have on hand for framing state tax issues.

On page 6 the errors begin. Brunori suggests that the federal government has been funding education. Wrong. The entire book paints a picture divorced from the reality of legislative politics and reveals a total ignorance of the information--from experts and the general citzenry--upon which legislators base their decisions. I speak from 21 years of legislative experience.

This is an excellent book that takes complex topics of state government taxation and makes them understandable. We learn the abilities and limitations of tax systems that were basically designed in the 19th century and how they respond to 21st century challenges. These are tax systems designed upon a manufacturing economy that has diminished. Along with the devolution of Federal government programs to the states over the past two decades, state governments need to find secure revenue bases to keep state government services operational.
The shifting of public services responsibility to states has awakened the corporate world. 1981 marked the first year that corporations paid more in state taxes than in Federal taxes. Thus, corporations have increased lobbying pressures on state governments. Numerous tax breaks have been afforded to businesses by states.
States find themselves pitted against each other in near-death spirals of competing against each other in offering tax breaks to attract businesses away from other states. Unfortunately, the differences in state taxes have been found to matter little in business location decisions.
State governments have become dependant more upon personal income tax revenues. 1998 marked the first year since the 1930s that revenues from personal sales taxes were greater than revenues from sales taxes. This reflects our changing world, as tax exempt services are an increasing part of our purchases.
The growth in personal income tax share of state tax revenues has been dramatic: it was 9% in 1950 and 19% in 1970 before reaching 34% in 1998. Sales and use taxes account for almost one third and corporate income taxes account for 6% of all state tax revenues. All state tax collections account for about 40% of what states need for their budgets. The rest is gained through federal funds, lotteries, litigation (including the tobacco settlement), license fees, and selling unclaimed properties.
This book shows would state government leaders should do to examine their taxes, reevaluate their policies, and realize where tax burdens falls. This is an excellent book for people wishing to learn the structure of what keep state governments functional.

This is a useless read. Provided no additional information to me. Just a waste of money - though not much

If you are looking for a reference to make sure you have not missed a deduction, this is the book for you. It was a life saver for me and brought my Adjusted Gross Income number to a level that I could not have achieved otherwise.

This is a good complimentary reference to other books. It is basicly a basic tax dictionary. I would not recommend this book as the single source to use to determine tax deductions. However, I do recommend it as a ready companion to other tax deduction books, as it defines most of the tax terms that one is likely to encounter.

Good ideas on making the right choices between investment tools, stocks vs. options vs. funds..easily worth the money

This book is filled with top-notch strategies for minimizing the tax bite on your investments. It's well-organized and contains info that, I think, will benefit both individual and professional investors. By making a few simple changes to my portfolio, I'll now be able to boost my take-home returns considerably. Strongly recommended.

This is nothing more then a self serving book that really does not provide any insight. It is really a sales tool for the author's brokerage firm. Save Your Money!

In light of recent events (9/11) this book is more valuable than it has ever been in its 20 years of print. As the Bush administration declares war on terrorism (a term they refuse to define)the military industrial complex stands to develope beyond its already ridiculous proportions, and human rights stand to be squandered to the back of our national conscience. Already the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia has claimed that any type of civil protest in Bolivia is to be considered terrorism, as such protest stands to cripple the U.S. drug war effort in said country. The war on terrorism will inevitably become the excuse to continue U.S. imperialism, and restrain civil liberties and human rights worldwide.
This book explains how many people have refused to support such violence and military action, by refusing to pay their taxes, and redistributing them to peaceful and humanitarian organizations. This book offers an in depth look at the history of war tax resistance as a form of political protest, its values and its accomplishments. It explains the reasons why someone might choose to pursue such action, and what one might expect from the government in response.
I encourage everyone to pick up this book, if not to use it, to at least be familiar with the options of political protest described within, and the reasons that drive U.S. citizens to resist war taxes.

Most Tax protesters have ended up paying high penalties or worse, in jail.
Left-wingers are buying this book like crazy to show their support for "peace". But I thought they were in favor of taxes. I guess when someone takes their money and spends it on a program they don't like, its wrong. But when someone with a different political view wants taxes to stop funding left-wing causes they call it selfishness. Real hypocrites. Pay your taxes, stay out of jail. If you're really upset, try voting sometime...

It's published by the War Resisters League.

This book is just garbage. Anytime you see "Secret" in the title it's a good idea to step away. The book centers around equity-indexed universal life insurance which, if you don't already know, is a really easy way for you to give your money away.

A very worthwhile work, interesting and thought provoking. The book addresses a wide range of topics related to building wealth, protecting assets, reducing taxes and estate planning.

Best book I have read on financial planning. Covers both personal and business issues. Definitely worth the read. Great advice.

Took a while for the shipping but the book was in good shape came with all cd's. Overall happy with service

This is the most boring book I have had the displeasure of trying to read I understand that tax law is not to most fun thing in the world but I think this book could have been written better. If you need to find a bed-time story for your child then I would consider buying this book it will put you to sleep in less than a minute.

The author of this book really had the student reader in mind. He includes every aspect of business and financing in the text. He is broad but simple at the same time. I would recommend this book to anyone that is beginning to get into the business world of learning!

I'm partial to the material put out by this company so I took a chance at the tax sale guide. I've been considering investing for awhile but have hesitated because it seems pretty complex. The material provided a good fundamentals of real estate and the research requirements that are necessary before ever attending the sale. Having this knowledge gave me confidence so I just attended my first sale. I kept my purchase minimal but am very pleased with the whole process. Everything went as expected with minor regional variations. I went for land so some of the information wasn't required, but I'm very happy that the program included an investment strategy idea chapter. We used some of the ideas, as well as many of our own, to plan our investment strategy. I intend to go to our next tax sale and start building a real estate portfolio! Overall a good bargain since I got a piece of land worth at least 10K for the price of the book (50.00) and back taxes (420.00) Can't beat that! Excellent courage builder. Thanks!

This is pretty good material. I have found it to be applicable in my State. We have attended free and clear sales for about 6 years with some success but were a bit intimidated by the subject to sales so we hadn't gone previously. We are primarily interested in deed sales only rather than certificates so there is alot of research to be done. We used the information contained to research a half dozen or so titles. We bought a few parcels and have found the research instructions held true. Each parcel has sold and the titles were as we expected. The material does a good job of covering the actual sale, but I received the biggest value from the comprehensive courthouse research instructions. Courthouse (title research)is fairly complex and paying a title company to do the search for each potential tax sale investment would be fairly expensive. This way, I was able to save the money and feel confident about the title of the investments we made. I am completing the research for our 2nd years investment with this new manual and find the investment strategy inclusion to be very interesting. The course is laid out like a self-study program and is user friendly. The authors to the point style and lack of 'fluff' works well with my learning methods. I will definitely buy more! Overall a bargain that I would recommend.

Added: October 9, 2005
I was reading other reviews and want to say, over the past 6 years we have bought, read, viewed and used just about every tax sale program out there. While there are some similarities between each program due to the fact that they all discuss the same topic, I can state with assurance that this program is effective and cannot find any part that infringes on another program I have read or used. Definitely a buy.

The booked failed miserably to meet the requirements of an Investor's guide to real estate tax liens and tax deed sales. Potential new investors will be short changed in their expectation of a clearly written manuel on the process of acquiring real estate through tax sales. It is poorly written, lacking clarity in its sentences and paragraphs. It is believed that material contained in some sections of this book are quoted from other sources without benefit of documentation. Investors and students would be better served by investing the money spent purchasing this book on other sources.

A very useful guide to the ones who want to either take advantage of the opportunities some countries offer and to know more about it. Beautifully and exhaustively written, with lots of examples, it is an essential guide. Even to the ones who, not living in the United States or in a common-law country, want to save money and optimize their businesses.

The book is very tedious to read and is extremely poorly arranged. The CD is useless. The author demonstrates a great knowledge of what he is writing, but has not presented it in an engaging and coherent form. The most important concepts are mixed and buried throughout the book and must be reconstructed by the reader. The reader does develop a feel for how complex international tax avoidance is and an understanding how excellent advice could cost hundreds of dollars an hour. The summary of it is, there are some legitimate opportunities for legitimate companies conducting legitimate businesses. However, most schemes while skirting the letter of the law violate the spirit of the law and are therefor, illegal. The temptation arises with foreign governments in search of hard currency, willing to hide activities from the IRS. However, international agreements are slowly removing these veils.