TaxCoach Briefs:    April 23, 2009

Volume 4, Number 19

• Marketing Minute: 2009 TAMMY Awards: Round Dos
• Member Event: 2009 Roundtables: Marketing Clinic
• Member Event: Take Me Out to the Ball Game

*****Attention All-Stars and Hall of Fame members ***** The playback for the April 21 webinar is now available on the All-Stars page, in the Resource Center (red block). If you missed the call, you'll definitely want to circle back to hear TAMMY Award-winner Dave Toney discuss how he became a published author in just 30 days, during tax season!

Also, if you haven't yet received your copy of the book in the mail, please call Catherine at 513-321-2820 and she'll get that taken care of for you. We circulated a few copies of the book at yesterday's Roundtable in LA, and guests had a lot of appreciation for the novel approach to credibility-building for your practice.

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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2009 TAMMY AWARDS: ROUND DOS

Keith and I both studied French in high school, so we would ordinarily title this article "2009 TAMMY Awards; Round Deux." But we're writing the Briefs in Southern California, specifically the town of Coto de Caza, where we've come to launch the 2009 Roundtables. So it just seemed more appropriate to tag it "Round Dos" in honor of the Spanish heritage. Besides, it was Earth Day yesterday, and "Dos" leaves a smaller carbon footprint than "Deux."

On a more serious note, we've received a tip from a credible source that several of the TAMMY entrants have been doping. We're not sure if they used the "cream" or the "clear," but we can assure you that we're pursuing every avenue of investigation. We've asked former Senator George Mitchell, who helped investigate similar scandals for Major League Baseball, to spare some time from bringing peace to the Middle East and lend his gravitas to the process. At this point, we can use all the gravitas we can get!

Enough with the pregame. On to this week's winner!

Best Performance: Tax-Season Press Release

Years ago, I hired a Hollywood publicist to promote my first book, The 60-Minute Tax Planner. (No kidding -- Jeff Abraham is his name; he's worked with David Spade, Dennis Miller, Jeff Foxworthy, and a host of other names you'd recognize.) Jeff suggested I create a list of the 10 funniest tax deductions -- and that list landed me on Fox News, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and even Roseanne Barr's short-lived talk show, where she dubbed me "The Funniest Tax Guy in America."

The next year, I followed up with a list of celebrity tax deductions. That list made a splash as well, and I continued it for several years while I promoted my personal-service practice and launched TaxCoach.

I didn't do a celebrity deductions list this year. But Dominique Molina of San Diego did, and she continues the tradition at least as well as I could have myself. Here is her take:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Comic Tax Relief Team Releases Tax Deductions for the Rich and Famous

By: Dominique Molina, CPA and Matthew Grum

Scrambling for last minute tax deductions? Why not look to the celebs this tax season to see what they might deduct for some ideas?

A-Rod's "Bole" Injections – First he said he didn't, now he says he really doesn't know what the "Bole" injections did for him and he doubts they enhanced his performance. At least A-Rod can deduct the cost of this performance enhancing drug from the Dominican Republic as an expense "necessary" for keeping up with the ever increasing size of Major League Baseball's biceps.

Rihanna's Series of New Phone Numbers – Everything necessary to keep herself away from her "bruiser" of a boyfriend. Since looking good is essential to Rihanna's paycheck, she can deduct the cost of starting over as an employee business expense.

Kevin Bacon's Investment Losses – Kevin lost about 4 degrees of separation when Bernie "Madoff" with his nest egg. Good thing he can deduct theft losses on his Schedule A!

Conan O'Brien's Moving Expenses – He uprooted and moved all the way to LA to take over The Tonight Show. Conan can deduct all 6 of his moving truck expenses (and that's just for his hair products!)

Miley Cyrus Lawsuit Expenses – A year of controversies have left this jet setting 16 year old with racy photos and a defamation suit. Miley can deduct the costs of defending herself through one of her glitter nail polish manufacturing businesses.

Brett Favre's 30th Retirement Party – Even though he hasn't announced his return THIS YEAR, Brett can still deduct the cost of each and every one of his "retirement" parties. Cheers!

American Idol's Job Search Expense – Maybe they thought the cost of a head hunter was cheaper than supplying Paula's muscle relaxers, but the owners of American Idol can certainly deduct the cost of finding her replacement!

Octomom's exemption birthathon – Babies, babies and more babies…when she will stop no one knows. But this former "entertainer" is accumulating personal exemptions like there is no tomorrow. The next challenge for the Octomom is salvaging what is left of her celebrity status. This Angelina wannabe can count on $52,500 in exemption deductions and $14,000 in child tax credits! Wonder if it will be enough to cover all those Pampers?

Madonna stealing children – Who says Malawain babies aren't cute? Madonna can't resist even if the child still has a family. Yep all those legal battles are deductible as image expenses. And she thought last year's courses in acquiring an English accent saved her taxes!!!

Matthew McConaughey's lifetime supply of sun block - If you think it's all shirtless ecstasy for Mr. McConaughey…think again. Even passing your time stuck in the teenage years can be expensive. Have no fear the gallons or thousands of dollars in sun screen per year will equate to a healthy tax write-off.

If you have a good tax pro to maximize your deductions, you don't have to pull a "Wesley Snipes" and flee the country to pay very little tax – legally!

Dominique Molina is a licensed CPA and tax strategist. She is an experienced real estate investor and specializes in tax strategies for investors and business owners – helping them keep more of what they earn! She is managing partner of AccountOnIt, LLP with offices in San Diego, California. For more information, please visit www.usataxcoach.com.

I really like this. We've said before that when you use the news in your marketing, you join the conversation your audience is already having in their mind. People are facinated by celebrities, so use that fascination to create some celebrity for yourself!

Next Week: Final 2009 TAMMY Award Winners

(and back in Cincinnati — Round Drei ...Keith)

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MEMBER EVENT (EAL)
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2009 ROUNDTABLES: FIRST REVIEWS

Keith and I have just gotten back to our hotel after hosting the first day of our first 2009 Roundtable. It's about midnight Eastern time, so we're a bit worn out by this point, but I can tell you we're off to a great start! Here's a sample of the first reviews:

"It was a great sharing of information and ideas."
Judee Slack, Fountain Valley, CA

"Awesome"
Michael Townsend, Portland OR

"Don't ever miss one!"
Blake Phillips, Tucson AZ

"Great ideas and great sharing."
John Power, Bismarck ND

"Well worth it."
Kent Burrows, Indianapolis IN

TaxCoach Roundtables are intensive full-day sessions in hands-on, small-group settings -- hosted at private business clubs, not convention hotels -- dedicated to exploring TaxCoach's unique combination of tax-planning and business development tools.

There are no outside speakers. No outside sales pitches. Just Keith and I, walking you step-by-step through getting the most from your TaxCoach membership.

For 2009, we've picked six convenient locations across the country and six dates from April through October. And this year, each venue offers two sessions:

• On Thursdays, we'll host Basic Roundtables for new users. This is a reprise of last year's agenda in case you missed it, you want a refresher, or you want to send an associate. (We're especially pleased to see that over 70% of last year's attendees who have already registered for this year's event are choosing to repeat the Basic presentation. They've all cited the networking and masterminding, as well as the value of the material, to justify the repeat.)

• On Fridays, we'll host Advanced Roundtables for more experienced users. We suggest you attend the Basic session before joining the Advanced session, but it's not required. (These sessions include the fee discussion I outlined above.)

Come to one or come to both and put your tax-planning practice on steroids! Click here for complete details, including daily agendas, and a registration form. (All-Stars and Hall of Famers, see the Roundtables link on the left (blue) side of the All-Stars page to register for free.)

Space is limited, so reserve your seat now. And we mean it! (The Chicago event is just three weeks away and filling up fast!) Just choose which remaining session best meets your needs:

Click here to register. (All-Stars and Hall of Famers, see the Roundtables link in the blue on the All-Stars page to register for free.) Keith and I look forward to meeting you at a Roundtable in 2009!

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MEMBER EVENT (EAL)
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TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME

Thursday, May 21, Keith and I will be leaving the office early for our first "Take Me Out to the Ball game" event of the season. Our beloved Cincinnati Reds will take on the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ballpark. It's a Business Day Special, with the first pitch at 12:35 PM. And you're invited to join us!

As I write these words, the Reds have just taken two out their last three games against the Chicago Cubs, dislodging them from second place in the NL Central division. It's a long season yet, but no matter what we always enjoy meeting TaxCoach members at Great American Park.

Why don't you join us! If you'll be in or anywhere near Cincinnati, Call Catherine at 513/321-2820 or email support@taxcoachsoftware.com by Friday, May 15, to guarantee a seat. We'll look forward to seeing you at the ball game!

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We're happy to answer your questions on TaxCoach content, features, or marketing. While we give first priority to our All-Star and Hall of Fame members, we work to answer all questions. For best response, email support@taxcoachsoftware.com. If we think the answer will be useful to all of our members, we'll publish it (anonymously) here in the 'Member Q & A' section of TaxCoach Briefs.

Regards,

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