Bruce Bentley

When Donald Trump bought his seaside golf course in a wealthy Los Angeles suburb in 2002, he vowed to surround it with “some of the most beautiful houses in California.” But the 261-acre property on the Palos Verdes Peninsula had a problem. Geologists working for the city would not clear part of it for home-building because of unstable soil underlying the course, built on a landslide-prone bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The denials infuriated Trump, who lobbied and litigated for eight years in a failed effort to reverse the geologists’ findings and secure development approvals, according to interviews with planners and geologists and a Reuters review of public records and court filings. Trump eventually abandoned a plan to build 16 homes and turned instead to the tax code to offset the lost profits - securing a $25 million tax deduction in exchange for a promise not to develop the land. The agreement with a nonprofit conservancy allowed him to continue using the land as a driving...

PeopleImages / Getty Images The Live Richer Speaker Series from GOBankingRates is an exciting opportunity for me to introduce the financial experts and influencers in my network to a wider audience and to receive valuable tips and advice on everything from taxes to investments. The program opened with a presentation by Kathy Pickering, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at H&R Block and Executive Director of the Tax Institute, answering your most burning questions about taxes. Related: 8 New or Improved Tax Credits and Breaks for Your 2020 Returns Here's what Pickering had to say in order to get the maximum number of deductions, lower your taxable income, and more. When is it worth paying someone to prepare your taxes? In my view, it's always worth paying someone to prepare your taxes. That said, if you are going through a meaningful life change, this is the time you might want to consider getting help with your taxes. So if this is your first time filing, you'll w...

When John Wani was visiting his old friends and roommates in 2015, he asked them what they thought of starting a tax preparation firm. His friends, Francois Ruvera and wife, Bijoux Bahati, agreed to the idea, and Foresight Tax Services was born right there in the living room of their Manchester apartment. "We all saw that there was a demand," Wani said to help immigrants with their US taxes. Wani and the others said they had "seen predatory tax practices against refugees and new immigrants, as well as many misunderstandings about all of the tax laws. So if we start we can do everything right here. " Wani and Ruvera had strong business backgrounds. Wani is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University's Business School with a bachelor's degree in business administration and has experience in finance with the South Sudan Community of New Hampshire, a non-profit organization. Ruvera holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Champlain College, a de...

Mark Chapman, director of tax communications at H&R Block, shares his top three tips for retailers looking to prepare for tax time. As the tax year ends, it's time to take steps to minimize the tax liability for your retail business. Here are my top tips for year-end tax planning: Take advantage of the temporary full allowance One of the best tax breaks for businesses is a temporary full expense allowance. This means you can get an instant tax deduction on the cost of capital assets. With many companies offering end of year specials, now is the ideal time of year for companies to take advantage of the benefits of acquiring some much-needed assets to build your business while lowering your taxable profits. The tax break offers an immediate deduction of all investments from your annual profits. There's no cap on the cost of assets you can purchase, and if your business has sales of less than $ 5 billion, you're included. The temporary full allowance runs until June 30...

  Major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and the coin of Ethereum have depreciated significantly against the US dollar since the administration of US President Joe Biden warned on Thursday that capital gains taxes could rise. According to cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase.com, a single bitcoin was worth $ 52,121.62 on Sunday at 10:20 p.m. - a decrease from Coinbase's $ 55,278.64, which was quoted at 9:30 a.m. EST on Friday. The evening price meant an increase in the Bitcoin value compared to the numbers a few hours earlier. Another major cryptocurrency , Ethereum, hit $ 2,435.33 on Sunday around 10:20 p.m. - a drop of around 1.8 percent from Friday's high, according to Coinbase.com. Ethereum had been turned off by more than 5 percent the Sunday before. According to Reuters, which reported the decline in cryptocurrency values ​​earlier over the weekend, a major reason was fears of the potential that higher US capital gains taxes would scare off investors who might other...