Deals & People April 15, 2009

Goldstein Financial Corporation Joins M Financial Group

M Financial Group today announced that Deerfield, Illinois-based Goldstein Financial Corporation (GFC) has become a member firm.
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Goldstein Financial Corporation provides specialized estate wealth transfer and corporate benefit solutions for clients. The company was founded by its President and CEO Allan Goldstein in 1988 and has since grown to a team of nine. In a press release, M Financial said GFC delivers a “unique consultative planning approach, analytic problem solving, and advanced underwriting skills, as well as access to a wide array of financial products.’

Fred H. Jonske, president and CEO of M Financial, said: “Goldstein Financial Corporation is an excellent addition to the M Community, allowing us to expand our presence in a key part of the country … The team, culture, and commitment of the firm are consistent with M Financial’s values and we are excited by the opportunity to support GFC’s future success.”

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Goldstein commented: “The expertise resident within the M network, coupled with access to differentiated solutions customized for our clients, make us more competitive in the marketplace and more effective at serving our clients. This step is an important one for our firm that will benefit the clients and advisers we serve.”

M Financial Group is a financial services design and distribution companies with a network of more than 120 independent insurance, investment, and executive benefit firms in 36 states.

For more information about M Financial Group, please visit www.mfin.com.

Compliance April 15, 2009

Wacky Tax Deductions

If you think you've seen them all, check out these creative tax deductions.
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The fourth installment of Bankrate’s report of wackiest tax deductions culled from certified public accountants nationwide revealed the following:

  • A client asked for a home office deduction for the toilet paper he bought for his house.
  • A client, whose income was about $40,000, brought in noncash receipts from donations made to various charities totaling roughly the same dollar amount as her income. Her CPA was about to nominate her for sainthood—until he heard the rest of the story. “She had gotten a divorce; her husband had cheated on her and just never came back,” he said. “He called her up and said he would send a moving van to divide their assets. So, she loaded up everything he would want—two or three sets of golf clubs and all the furniture, including some of his family antiques—and took it all to Goodwill. She even had photos of all the stuff!” The CPA had to inform her that she could deduct only up to 50% of her adjusted gross income.
  • A client’s business accounting entries included a check for more than $2,000 written to a gynecologist. It was classified on the business books as “repairs and maintenance.’
  • “We had a woman who tried to deduct her tricked-out Jacuzzi hot tub due to medical reasons,” said Elizabeth Dittrick of Dittrick and Associates in Burton, Ohio. “That can be a legitimate expense—but not the underwater speakers, the mood lighting , and the in-tub stereo. So we ended up deducting a portion of it but removed the sound and light show. She did use it for medical reasons; she had arthritis and had a note from her doctor.”
  • “A taxpayer wanted to write off a $100,000 swimming pool for medical reasons,” said the accountant. “Swimming, he explained quite seriously, relaxed him so he could earn more money, which in turn would be taxable.”
  • One accountant’s client was an elderly woman who had once been a university professor. When her doctor suggested she take up dancing to improve her arthritic hips, she enrolled at a dance studio. “The first year, she brought in her tax data and wanted to deduct over $8,000 in dance lessons,” the accountant said. “I got her to have her doctor write a letter, and I believe I did deduct it the first year.”
  • One CPA had a lady client who didn’t like some of her really mature trees because they didn’t fit into her new landscaping theme. “So, she dug them out and donated them to charity. She had to get somebody to appraise the value of the trees, but the IRS allowed it,” the accountant said.

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