February 21, 2025 • 36 mins
Hour 3 of A&G features...
- Trump's plan with the Russia/Ukraine war
- 10 War Truths
- Steve Moscowitz talks to Joe
- Seal pup adventures & hockey fights
Stupid Should Hurt: https://www.armstrongandgetty.com/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio of the
George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Arm
Strong and Getty and no Key, I'm Strong and Getty.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
We heard from Zelenski suggesting the meeting of being productive,
that it would indeed touch upon it had indeed touched
upon that rare earth minerals deal again, trying to suggest
I think Ukraine wants to move forward and finding a
compromise there as well. And indeed they discussed some of
the elements of piece here, potentially security guarantees, the return
of prisoners of war.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
You have Special Envoy Keith Kennog meeting with Zelensky amid
this blistering public feud Ukraine insisting the meeting went well
and a new deal over mineral resources is on the table.
Zelenski is saying Ukraine is ready for a just and
lasting piece.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
A couple of reports from CNN and ABC about the
ongoing talks and the war in Ukraine references to some
of the to my mind insane things Donald Trump has
said recently, and we'll be getting to that in a moment.
It's it's interesting in scanning some of the emails you
(01:21):
good people have sent to mail bag at armstrong and
getty dot com and feel free anytime. All sorts of
people with different theories and or psychoanalyses of Trump and
Is saying that Ukraine started the war and Zelensky couldn't
could have ended it, and he's a dictator and unpopular
and the rest of it. If you think of it
(01:45):
from the goal of stopping the war, does it really
matter how he gets to the goal. He'll play the
villain or pithesides against against each other, whatever it takes
to get the win. The rest is just noise. He
reigns in chaos during the pot and unexpected ways. It
forces everyone out of their comfort zone, breaks down paralysis.
That's you know, that's a pretty good thought or two
from Ron. Thanks Ron, uh Paolo, Oh, whoops, it's a
(02:11):
different topic. This is Steve from Washington State. I fear
you've both forgotten the number one maximum concerning Trump. Take
him seriously, not literally. I believe Trump is appalled at
the human carnage you see. Zelenski is having to leverage
or utility in the upcoming negotiation with Putin being dismissive
of a Zelenski is useful in persuading Putin to come
to the table. It's not personal, it's business. Okay, that
(02:35):
could be. Please tell me this is seven dimensional chess,
writes Christine. Been listening daily for twenty five years. Thank you, Christine.
You must be a patient woman. I'm highly alarmed by
Trump's foreign policy right now. It really appears to be
pro Putin, anti Europe. He seems to have an unnatural
admiration for Putin some strange way.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
It's all.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
It's all nutty, working our way toward an absolutely brilliant
piece by one of my favorite historians and commentators, Douglas Murray,
a couple of things worth knowing. When Russia took over
a chunk of the eastern part of Ukraine, Luhansk, specifically,
they used Aukraine and dump truck to remove a monument
(03:20):
to the victims of the Haladomor, which you may not
have ever heard of. Way back in nineteen twenty I'm sorry.
Thirty two and thirty three, Ukraine was not digging Stalin's
brutal totalitarian leadership of the Soviet Union, and the good
people in Ukraine were demanding reform and bristling under Stalin.
(03:43):
Stalin responded by starving at least three point.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Nine million Ukrainians to death.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Almost four million starved to death, horrific suffering. Cannibalism makes
North Korea look like you're your family barbecue in terms
of the available food and whatever.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
The desperation is. Just it was absolutely genocidal.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
And when Putin claims there's no Ukraine, they've never had
a distinct identity or any They're just part of Imperial Russia,
and they need to remember that that's.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Utterly fictional and full of crap.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
Ukraine has a very very strong identity, although they have
plenty of you know, cousinhood if you will, with Russia.
Plenty of Ukrainians live on that side of the border,
ethnic Ukrainians and vice versa.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
I mean, there.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Are ties, absolutely, but one of the main facets of
Ukrainian identity is we must never be dominated by Russia
because they don't give a crap about our people.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I want to lay that to rest. Also troubling to me,
really troubling.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
Is this demand that train sign a minerals deal, not
that some deal isn't you know, reasonable, because part of
the strategy is we become such close friends with them
and and do so.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Much business with them.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Russia doesn't dare invade because they then they would be
invading our interests. So anyway, uh, the White House, White House,
literally it's it's said by a number of observers. Put
a deal on the table in front of Vladimir Zelensky
(05:34):
and told them sign it right now to hand mineral
rights worth hundreds of billions of dollars to the US.
And Zelensky said, look, I'm open to a deal, but
it needs more work and my people need to look
at it.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
And and it was like being in a pushy car dealer.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
They said, no, you're going to sign this now, and
Zelensky said, no, oh, I'm not. And that is one
of the reasons Trump started going off on his high
rades about Zelensky and saying things that were ridiculously untrue.
You can defend that style of negotiating if you're talking
(06:15):
about building a golf course in Scotland or something like that.
I suppose I think it's unconscionable in this situation.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
I really do. It's awful, and it's not just morally awful.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
It damages the US is standing in a way that's
completely unnecessary because The truth is, you need friends, and
you especially need friends across the long term. And I
don't think this is productive at all. But having said that,
let's move on to the great Douglas Murray, along with
Neil Ferguson, one of our favorite conservative historian slash writers
(06:50):
thinkers around here, and Douglas Wrights. It's been a dizzy,
disorienting week in an international diplomacy mentions the situation. Trump
is absolutely right in wanting to end the bloodshed in Ukraine.
The suffering has been appalling in the stalemate, brutal, But
in the furious mix of wild opinions this week from
the White House down, there are at least ten truths
(07:10):
that every American voter must hang on to and Trump's
rush down the bloodshed. These are also the truths against
which any deal will be judged and which will define
him when the history books are written.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
To ignore them or not treat them with the.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
Gravity they deserve will also have enormous consequences for decades
to come. And if you do not know Douglas Murray,
you should know that he is brilliant and incredibly knowledgeable,
an absolutely not a never Trump type.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
That's the last thing he is truth number one.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Vladimir Putin started this war, despite what Trump said days ago,
and he goes through the history of it. There is
no rational narrative outside of Russian propaganda that blames aggressive
actions by Ukrainian President Vladimir's Zelenski or NATO that can
justify such a military action, the massive invasion of Ukraine,
(08:07):
and this came after Putin had already seized Crimea in
twenty fourteen, folks, that's eleven years ago, going on and
launched a war in the dnbas in eastern Ukraine. That
doesn't include the other wars he started, like against the
tiny nation of Georgia in two thousand and eight. Trump
is absolutely right that the war never had to start.
(08:28):
Murray writes, I believe it is true that it wouldn't
have started if he had been in the Oval office.
I would agree, But it was Putin, not Zelenski, who
started the war. You know, I would add on if
there were there some missteps or could NATO have handled this,
that or the other better through the years, Yes, but
that doesn't justify a full scale invasion of Ukraine. And
there's just absolutely no question that truth number two is true.
(08:53):
Russia is fighting for conquest. The Russian Federation invaded Ukraine
in twenty twenty two. Whatever you think of the country
or it's leader, Ukraine is an internationally recognized sovereign nation.
Putin invaded in the hopes of devouring the country wholesale.
By contrast, Ukraine has absolutely no territorial ambitions in Russia.
And remember the brutality of Russia's actions. Among the multitude
(09:14):
of depravities and war crimes committed by Putin's army has
been the abduction of some twenty thousand Ukrainian children. Who
wants to live in a world where the strong can
simply devour the weak and kidnap little children by the thousands,
Why hasn't the US put their release at the top
of the list of negotiating demands. Truth number three, Ukraine
(09:34):
is fighting for its independence. Most Ukrainians do not want
to be part of Russia. They do not want to
be gardened from Moscow. The vast majority want to live
in an independent, sovereign country in control of its own future.
Truth number four, Ukrainians are not Russians. Ukrainians and Russians
are not one people, a single whole. As Putin wrote
in a twenty twenty one essay. He is also simply
(09:56):
lying in his assertion that modern Ukra is entirely the
product of the Soviet era. Ukrainians and Russians are two
separate ethnic groups. They speak different languages and have distinct histories.
Truth number five. Putin is a dictator. He has ruled
Russia with an iron KGB fist since coming to power
in nineteen ninety nine. He has ruthlessly quashed independent media,
(10:18):
ended free in fair elections, crushed civil society, and killed
his political opponents. And not just inside Russia but around
the world. People who live inside Russia and express any
opposition of the war are imprisoned. Truth number six Zelensky
is not a dictator, a political outsider. Zelensky won the
twenty nineteen presidential election, which was relatively free and fair.
(10:39):
As I've said many times, the transition from Soviet republic
to Western style democracy is a bumpy one. In every
single case, it's unavoidable. It takes a while to root
out the Soviet style garbage and corruption. Anyway, Douglas Murray,
the Great Douglas Murray rites. He has a fifty seven
percent approval rating, not the four percent Trump claim. Unlike
(11:00):
in Russia, Ukraine has vibrant, independent media. Mostly there are
some flaws there, but it is wartime too anyway. Despite
claims to the contrary by Internet swamp creatures and Russian bots,
many Ukrainians freely criticize the government's conduct of the war
in spite of the imperfections of Ukrainian media. This is
(11:20):
me talking about Douglas Murray. Yeah, you're absolutely allowed to
criticize the conduct of the war. You get put in
jail in Russia for doing the same thing. When Britain
was fighting for its survival against the Nazis in the forties,
it too did not hold elections. The Russian ambassador to
the UK spent yesterday crowing that he's not sure Zelenski
would be reelected if there are elections today. But we
(11:42):
all know one thing for sure, whether or not Zelensky
would be re elected in Ukraine. Putin will always be
re elected in Russia because his elections are conjobs. Pageant
shows Putin has not won a free and fair election
in his life because he doesn't hold them. Or we'll
squeeze in one more here and then finish up on
the other side of the break truth Number seven, Russia
(12:04):
is not a friend of the US. It is a hostile,
nuclear armed state that resents American power in the world
that the US has built. It has ever closer relations
with China, Iran, and North Korea. In fact, all of
its main friends are countries that are the biggest foes
of America. Now, you could argue that if we altered
our policy toward the war or toward Moscow, we might
(12:26):
pull them back somehow or to some extent from their
friendship with the access of a holes. It's a thought
worth exploring. But for now, there's just no question Russia
is not our friend or anything close to it.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Three more of these truths you must never forget.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
On the other side of the break, stay with us
if you can't grab the podcast later Armstrong and Getty
on demand coming up next segment, something completely different. We're
going to talk to long time a friend of the
Armstrong and Getty Show and tax advisor Steve Moskowitz about
what's going on tax wise last year and this year
(13:05):
and what people ought to know. And it's just some
great tax tips. So of stay tuned. That's next segment.
If you can't hang around, just grab the podcast later.
I'm strong and getting on demand. Right now, though, we're
working our way through the list of ten truths from
Douglas Murray's excellent column about the situation in Ukraine, and
he gives Trump credit for wanting to end the conflict,
which has been so horrifically bloody and is stalemated right now,
(13:28):
but is highly troubled by some of the untruths that
have been uttered by Trump and others, because going forward,
even if some of the wild rhetoric were to lead
somehow toward quote unquote solution, it's dangerous to run around
internalizing false pretenses, if you know what I mean, Because
the world's going to keep spinning and the challenges will
(13:50):
continue in that part of the world, guaranteed, and you
really ought to know what's what anyway. So truth number
eight from Murray, Ukraine is a friend of the US.
Ukraine wants to be part of the American led order.
Its people in government are deeply pro American. Since the
start of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian men and women
I have seen fighting at the front lines are fighting
the Russian military to protect their loved ones in their country.
(14:12):
They also do it in the knowledge that if they fail,
other countries will be next. Truth number nine, Putin cannot
be trusted. This isn't just a statement of fact, it
is also something that eighty one percent of American voters
agree on. Keep that in mind next time you know,
Russian bots and Internet trolls on the Internet. Trolls on
the Internet. Great sentence, Joe, convince you that, well, lots
(14:34):
of people think Putin is really a good guy.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
No, they don't, No, they don't.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
Putin has invaded multiple countries in violation of every international treaty.
He has interfered in multiple elections in his nearest neighbors.
He has violated international agreements, including the IF Treaty with
the US. He has lied to American presidents and European
leaders his whole career. He has lied to Trump even
since Trump has been back in office. Most recently, Putin
promised that he wouldn't target Ukrainian energy official and facilities
(15:01):
and hadn't yet. Just this week he carried out a
massive Missilan drone strike against multiple energy facilities in Ukraine.
It is almost as though Putin's word doesn't count for
very much and he doesn't care if you know it.
That's true truth number ten American to Ukraine. American aid
to Ukraine, I should say, is not being wasted. No
(15:22):
one would argue that Ukraine is a country without corruption,
but that does not mean its people and sovereignty should
not be protected. We should also remember which country in
this war is truly corrupt. Russia is one vast kleptocratic
state led by Putin In, a small cartel of oligarchs
who have made themselves among the richest people on earth,
all while keeping most of the Russian population in a
(15:43):
state of poverty that would not be believed by most
of us in the West. Putting us this is me now,
putting aside that humiliating video Tucker Carlson made the lovely
grocery stores in Moscow.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
That's where all the super rich people are.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
You go out into Rrussia, it's unbelievable poverty and oppression.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Back to Murray.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
Putin and his cronies have been accumulating power and wealth
all their careers, and they will torture and kill anyone
who exposes this corruption. Remember his political opponent Alexi Navalni
and the lawyer serge A Magnitsky. It's easy to expose
corruption in Ukraine, but in Russia it is deadly. Besides,
according to the Department of Defense, some sixty billion dollars
out of one hundred and eighty three billion Ukraine has
(16:24):
been spent in America. It's money that has benefited American
workers and facilities.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
The war has also degraded the military one of the.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
Most despotic regimes in the world, and it's sent a
strong deterrent message to China, Iran and North Korea not
to do the same. You can criticize Zelensky, complain, but
we should be under no illusions about who started this
fire and who the true dictator or villain of this
tragic tale is, well, said Douglas Murray. Next, as I said,
(16:57):
we're going to talk about taxes, tax tips, waste, save
you money, ways to reduce your headaches and stress with
our longtime friend Stephen Moskowitz, among other things, also a
very funny hockey story. After the big tournament wrapped up,
stay with us Armstrong and Getty. Let's talk taxes, enough
(17:21):
global conflict something we can all use. A conversation with
longtime friend of the Armstrong and Getty show, Stephen Moskowitz,
who has advised us on tax Stuff Forever, founder and
tax attorney for Moskowitz l LP.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Steven joins us. Now, Steve, how are you.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
I'm fantastic, and you know I'm happy because I get
to talk about that, and you know I mean that.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
You know it's funny.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
I was just gonna say, I'm gonna embarrass Steve and
tell the folks this. I have known professional musicians, athletes,
all walks of tech, guys, all walks off and I've
never known anybody who's more their jobs than you are.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Steven. You love helping people deal with taxes, sincerely, I
love it.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
And there's so much in the taskl There's so many
hidden gems. I have everything from all walks of life.
Whether we can tell you how you can deduct your
multimillion dollar yacht to your struggling and how the government
will give you money to help you take care of
your kids, and everything in between. For example, I have
a question for you, because I told you that you
(18:29):
could go on a two week vacation anywhere in the
world you choose, some stranger would pay for it, and
the money the stranger gives you is tax free. How
would you like that?
Speaker 1 (18:43):
When can I leave?
Speaker 5 (18:45):
He said? Oh my god, what is Steve talking about?
And I'm talking about Internal Revenue Code Section to eighty
a g like Armstrong and Geddy, also known as the
Augusta rule. And what happens with that. You can rent
year home for up to fourteen days a year and
there's no tax on it. So the bottom line is
(19:09):
in that home can be the mansion you live in,
the studio apartment you rent, or a boat. And I'll
explain that separately, but the bottom line is supposed. For example,
he said, okay, I'm going to rent my place out
for one thousand dollars a day, and now everything is
so many people like renting a home instead of a hotel.
(19:29):
So the bottom line is you go ahead, and let's
assume that you rented your house four one thousand dollars
a day, so it's fourteen thousand dollars. You go off
to Hawaii, you spend ten thousand on your trip. That
fourteen grand that you got is tax free. It doesn't
even go on your tax return. It's excluded from income.
(19:50):
That's just an example of one of the many, many,
many hidden gems in our tax law. And glad people say, well,
why should there be such things because our legislators and
their infinite wisdom thinks this is good for the economy
or the business, or there's some special interest that pushed them.
But the bottom line is this law is for everybody.
(20:12):
All the laws are for everybody. We're all equal under
the law. And the bottom line is you just have
to know where these gems are hidden. Because there's two
reasons for the tax code wants to get money from us.
But the other one if you give us all kinds
of incentives like this, mister Will, what a deal, I mean,
think about it. You're off on vacation anyway. The Airbnb's
(20:33):
is so popular and you get fourteen days tax free.
So you can see why I get so excited over
these things.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Love it so hey, we are happy to have so
many small business people, entrepreneurs, go getters listening to the show.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Also slackers like myself. But what do you.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
See small business people either failing to take advantage over
getting wrong? What advice would you give them? Just right
off the bat.
Speaker 5 (20:57):
Oh, the first one is a retirement plan. There's over
twenty different types of plans. You can have multiple plans
in the same year, and you can put away so
much by there's for benefits to that. One. You pay
less taxes. Usually when I'm talking to a client, people
say sign me up, Steve, You've got me say taxes.
Besides that, the money sits in your plan and the
(21:19):
income doesn't fit tax wells in the plan, so no brainer.
Everything grows faster and bigger if there's no taxes on it. Also,
it's exempt from lawsuits, so take a level. But I
hate to mention his name. Suppose you take a look
at OJ Simpson who had a multimillion dollar judgment against
him for many, many years, and he never lost a
(21:42):
penny off his pension. So that's good when you're in business,
so you don't have to worries to take it away
from you. And most tax planning you have to write
to check by December thirty first twenty four to deduct
it in twenty four. But with most of the pensions,
not all of them, but most of them, you have
up to the time of filing your returns, including extension,
(22:04):
which in English means depending on your business entity, you
could have as late as October fifteenth, twenty five to
set up the plan, fund it and still deduct it
from the previous year. Twenty four and that there's all
kinds of things in here. So for example, if you're
in a pension, there's no okay, everybody knows about four
one ks and Irish and all that, but there's all
(22:27):
kinds of additional plans. Is what I call the fancy plans,
which you can put in much much more money, and
they're based on your age, your earnings. There's an actuarial
evaluation ticket. But people can put away a tremendous way
more than this. But when we talk about putting things away,
everybody should have a pension plan. Everybody should put that away.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
So well, I was just going to say, and that
includes I, like, I'm my only employee, I'm a sold proprietor,
I can have a pension plan for myself.
Speaker 5 (22:55):
Right, absolutely absolutely, And again with retirement plan, there's so
much in there. For example, suppose you say, well, you
know what, I'm listening to the show today, but I'm
a little bit older and you know I haven't had
the money in there. Well, there's something called a ketchup plan.
If you're over fifty, you can put in bigger deductions.
(23:17):
And our legislators, in their infinite wisdom and get this
if you're sixty, sixty one, sixty two, or sixty three.
Only those ages you have a super catchup plan this
beginning this year. In twenty twenty five, you put it
even more. The bottom line is there's so much here,
And then what about taking money out of plans? He said, well, okay,
(23:41):
you know I need the money, but I don't want
to get hit with that penalty. There's all kinds of
exceptions to that. If you're a victim of domestic abuse,
you can take money out without the penalties. If you
need it for emergency purposes, you can take it out
without penalties. If you take it out because of federally
declared disasters, think about O the wildfires in California, let's
(24:03):
mention Hawaii and other places, you can take it out
without penalty. If someone's terminally ill. And also a not
to are firefighters. If they're age fifty or with twenty
five years of service, they can take it out without penalty.
I should go on and on and on, but there's
just so much here for everybody, and whether you know,
(24:26):
with being a small business owner, this is just the
troumendous say. I get so excited over this, but if
you're in business. There are so many benefits to you
just it's incredible, and it's all kinds of things. For example,
supposed to me says, you know, I'd like to have
an electric vehicle. Well, guess what, you know the government
(24:48):
will give you seventy five hundred bucks. And you say, well,
that's nice. I can go ahead and take seventy five
hundred dollars off my tax return, right you can. But
even better, when you're at the dealer, you say, you
know what, there's a special program where I can say
to the dealer, I'll give the credit to you. You
knock seventy five hundred bucks off the price, so I
(25:08):
never have to give you the money and ask for
it back. You get the seventy five hundred from the government.
There's so much, so much there. Then there's another thing
that gets me really excited, something called opportunity zones. Suppose
you have this situation. You sell something anything, some gold coins,
some stop, real property, anything, and you have capital gain
(25:31):
and you say, well, all right, you know, I realize
that there's three capital gains rates zero. It's a nice one,
but you have to be making less than forty seven
grand for that or fifteen percent, which is between forty
seven grand and over just half a mil. You know,
most people are making under half of MIIL fifteen percent bad,
(25:52):
and it goes to twenty percent if you're over five
hundred and eighteen thousand. But the bottom line is you say,
you know, I don't want to pay that either. So
you can go into an opportunity zone and you can
defer the taxes until twenty six. As you say, when
somebody gives you something nice, what do you say thank you?
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Of course no, you say more.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
I want more. And what happens is there's a provision
with these opportunities zone. Suppose I do this. Suppose what
is an opportunity zone. There's designated areas in our country
where the government says, invest here and we'll give you
special tax benefits. And there's a tremendous number of them.
So you go ahead and do that. And let's assume
(26:36):
that you buy a real property for a million bucks.
Ten years later you sell it for one hundred million.
You've made a gain of ninety nine million. You know,
I can calculate the tax on that right now in
my head, you know, the taxes zero. What Steve Wait
talking about there's a special provision that if you hold
(26:59):
this property for more than ten years, when you sell it,
there's zero capital game. There's no cap one. So in
my example, you made a profit of ninety nine million bucks,
you paid zero taxes. Talk about an incentive. So you see,
that's why I get get so excited about this and
our laws filled with these things.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
Stephen Moscowitz, founder of Tax Atturning moscow ats LP, is
online longtime tax advisor of the show and our friends. So, Stephen,
in a couple of minutes, we have left what notable
changes to the tax code have happened recently or do
you expect to happen as the Trump administration gets gone.
Speaker 5 (27:37):
So I think there's going to be a lot with
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. When President Trump was
president in the first term, he had a lot of
stuff that was going to be basically he expected to
be re elected and he had a lot of stuff
in the tax law that was expiring right after what
it was his second term. So it's expiring now they're
probably going to make changes and keep a lot of
(27:58):
the things. And also so a lot of things that
have changed or the numbers, like the standard deduction went
up a little bit for twenty twenty four and a
little bit of numbers. You know, for example, the art
didn't come credit. So we talked about the other end
of the scale. For example, suppose you have three kids
and you're making under sixty six eight nineteen. The government
(28:21):
will give you seven eight hundred and thirty dollars, but
is give them will give you the money, so you
have those things. There's also change to the kitty tax.
It's a small change for kids that are under age nineteen.
The first thirteen hundred bucks is tax free. The next
thirteen hundred bucks is taxed at the child's right. So
(28:43):
if it's a little something. Then the amounts for the
flexible spending accounts and the health savings accounts have gone up.
So what are those things? Basically, there are two different
types of accounts where you can put some pre tax
money and I don't get a tax, and then you
use it for healthcare. Now there's differences between them, so
(29:07):
with an exception, you can't have both. There's an exception,
but we won't get into that right now on the show.
But for the most part, you say, well, what's more
important to me, and you look at these and basically
the best way to do it is there are charts
and you say, okay, well, a flexible spending account, here's
the advantages. With the health savings account, here's the advantages.
(29:30):
But basically the idea here is you get a tax deduction,
you use the money for medical and isn't that nice?
You don't have to pay tax on that amount of
your earnings. And the bottom line, for example, with a
health savings account, you can triple benefits. There's no taxes
on the money you put it in, it grows tax free,
(29:50):
and there's no taxes when you use it for medical bills.
So again, I mean, you look at this stuff and
you say, well, okay, why shouldn't I have it? There's
so much in tax complaints about their taxes. My taxes
are too much, they're that, but people overlook all these benefits.
And again I'm just throwing out a few samples and teasers.
(30:12):
There's so much there. If you're interested in this. To me,
this has fascinated me my whole life, and it's here.
It's available for everybody.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
Well, if you want to get in touch with Stephen,
his number is one triple eight tax deal. It's one
triple a tax deal. Stephen, It's always a pleasure. Thanks
for the time, interesting and fun as always be well.
Speaker 5 (30:31):
Thanks so much. I had a great time as always.
Thanks for inviting me all right.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Thanks Yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:35):
A quick word from our friends and sponsors at Prize Picks.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
You can now went up to one thousand times your
money on Prize Picks.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
Price picks best way to get action on sports more
than thirty states, including Kell Unicorney of Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
Price Picks the best way to get real money on
supports action join over ten million users. Sign up today
and here's the good news. If you play just a
five dollars lineup, they will give you a fifty dollars
bonus to enjoy. Download the Prize Picks app today. Use
(31:06):
the code armstrong to get fifty dollars instantly after you
play your first five dollars lineup. It's as simple as
picking at least two player stat projections and saying nah,
I think you'll do more or less than that.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Simple as that. Download the Prize Picks app today.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
Use that code armstrong to get fifty dollars instantly after
you play your first five dollars lineup.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Prize picks. Run your game, armstrong.
Speaker 6 (31:30):
Democrats are clinging to these radical, losing propositions. Democrats are
out there defending the idea that unelected bureaucrats don't have
to listen to the will of the electorate, don't have
to follow the results of the will of the people
expressed through an election, but can do whatever they want.
Democrats are out there saying that we can and should
(31:51):
spend tens of billions of dollars on radical left programs
all over the world, in Bosnia, in Croatia, all throughout
the Confident of Africa, and everywhere else, but not here
in America.
Speaker 7 (32:03):
Man, I'm telling the Democrats just sit there, play possum,
let them go, let them go. Poll numbers of decline,
and the collapse is already underway. Let's see when it
put the medicaid budget, when it put the tax to
four point five billion dollar trillion dollars, or tax cuts
to wealthy people. Just let the ball come to you.
(32:24):
We don't need to be aggressive now.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
Interesting, while he is full of crap, James Carville did
express something I've been saying lately, which is the frantic
objection to even the super popular stuff I don't get
it politically. I guess you need to do that to
raise money from your Internet base, which is ruined American
politics anyway. Interesting that James Carville, the Rage and Cajun
(32:48):
would say the Democrats need to play possum. I understand,
we have a story about a seal. Sorry, I was
reading and talking at the same time, Katie, Is there
anything we need to know about the seals story?
Speaker 8 (33:01):
He's adorable and he had a grand old time in
the city of New Haven?
Speaker 1 (33:05):
All right, here's a report from NPC. I guess.
Speaker 9 (33:10):
Police responding to a stranded gray seal pop in the
heart of New Haven, slopping more than thirteen hundred feet
through the city streets earlier this week and popping up
several times away from the water in the days before.
And while many joke the seal was chasing New Haven's
famous clam pizza, researchers explain.
Speaker 5 (33:29):
I think that if I was trying to go atlant
to find the nice quiet area.
Speaker 9 (33:33):
Now Mystic Aquarium is helping the youngster pack on the
pounds with a delicious diet of fish smoothie and of
course haring to help him prepare for the wild. While
the pup will eventually be returned to the ocean. His
place in America's heart is sealed.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Ah, I don't get it. Oh wait, now I get it.
Oh clam pizza.
Speaker 8 (33:57):
Yeah, that's a weird one, right, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (33:59):
I guess, although you know, I like creative, weird pizzas
I have for years and years and years.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Hmmm, I don't know about clam pizza. I'm not hankering
for it. No, no, not a no.
Speaker 5 (34:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (34:12):
The noise at the beginning of that report is actually
the noise that the baby seal makes.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
It's like this where Yeah, okay, beautiful. What was I
gonna say?
Speaker 5 (34:23):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (34:23):
We learned last week two weeks ago during the One
More Thing podcast that sea otters are like Rapie and Murdery.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Yeah. Should we be as affectionate towards the seals as
we are?
Speaker 3 (34:36):
Oh?
Speaker 8 (34:36):
Yeah, they're sea dogs. They are total sea dogs. Oh okay, yeah, Well,
I love dogs. I'm willing to take on the sea
variety and give it an audition. So I promised to
a funny hockey story, and this is it. You might
enjoy this, Katie. So the NHL had this brilliant idea too.
The only reason we're talking about hockey. Is the NHL
had this brilliant idea that instead of their stupid All
(34:57):
Star game that nobody watches or cares about, they would
hold a fourteen tournament with players from four of the
major nations that supply players to the NHL, the US, Canada, Finland,
and Sweden.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
I think it was Don't assume me if I wasn't wrong. Anyway,
that's the idea, and it was a super big success.
The guys were playing for country.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
It was like a mini Olympics, and the fans were
absolutely loving it. But anyway, my buddy was a great
hockey fan, former very elite hockey player. He was telling
me a story about one of his buddies that almost
caught out in the NHL.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
Really really good player.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
But he was hired to be an extra in a
movie about hockey and the director said, all right, we
need to have a fight now there's a hockey fight scene.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
And the guy said, oh, we'll handle it.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
And the director was like, well, we need to talk
about the choreography and the blah blah blah, and the
guy said, no, just show me where you want the shot,
and the director said, right there in the corner and
he went to his buddy. He said, Hey, Jimmy, we're
gonna go on the corner. I'll hit you with an elbow,
you push me, and we fight, okay, And so they
just went in the corner, dropped the gloves, beat the
hell out of each other. Great hockey fight scene and
(36:02):
cutt says the director, and.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
They skate away. Hey, you got me with that uppercut.
That was good, man, that was really good. That was
a good fight.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
Dude, high five having pounded each other in the head
for the movie.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
That's hockey players. Oh, that's a hockey player.
Speaker 4 (36:20):
Armstrong and Getty
Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio of the
George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Arm
Strong and Getty and no Key, I'm Strong and Getty.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
We heard from Zelenski suggesting the meeting of being productive,
that it would indeed touch upon it had indeed touched
upon that rare earth minerals deal again, trying to suggest
I think Ukraine wants to move forward and finding a
compromise there as well. And indeed they discussed some of
the elements of piece here, potentially security guarantees, the return
of prisoners of war.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
You have Special Envoy Keith Kennog meeting with Zelensky amid
this blistering public feud Ukraine insisting the meeting went well
and a new deal over mineral resources is on the table.
Zelenski is saying Ukraine is ready for a just and
lasting piece.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
A couple of reports from CNN and ABC about the
ongoing talks and the war in Ukraine references to some
of the to my mind insane things Donald Trump has
said recently, and we'll be getting to that in a moment.
It's it's interesting in scanning some of the emails you
(01:21):
good people have sent to mail bag at armstrong and
getty dot com and feel free anytime. All sorts of
people with different theories and or psychoanalyses of Trump and
Is saying that Ukraine started the war and Zelensky couldn't
could have ended it, and he's a dictator and unpopular
and the rest of it. If you think of it
(01:45):
from the goal of stopping the war, does it really
matter how he gets to the goal. He'll play the
villain or pithesides against against each other, whatever it takes
to get the win. The rest is just noise. He
reigns in chaos during the pot and unexpected ways. It
forces everyone out of their comfort zone, breaks down paralysis.
That's you know, that's a pretty good thought or two
from Ron. Thanks Ron, uh Paolo, Oh, whoops, it's a
(02:11):
different topic. This is Steve from Washington State. I fear
you've both forgotten the number one maximum concerning Trump. Take
him seriously, not literally. I believe Trump is appalled at
the human carnage you see. Zelenski is having to leverage
or utility in the upcoming negotiation with Putin being dismissive
of a Zelenski is useful in persuading Putin to come
to the table. It's not personal, it's business. Okay, that
(02:35):
could be. Please tell me this is seven dimensional chess,
writes Christine. Been listening daily for twenty five years. Thank you, Christine.
You must be a patient woman. I'm highly alarmed by
Trump's foreign policy right now. It really appears to be
pro Putin, anti Europe. He seems to have an unnatural
admiration for Putin some strange way.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
It's all.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
It's all nutty, working our way toward an absolutely brilliant
piece by one of my favorite historians and commentators, Douglas Murray,
a couple of things worth knowing. When Russia took over
a chunk of the eastern part of Ukraine, Luhansk, specifically,
they used Aukraine and dump truck to remove a monument
(03:20):
to the victims of the Haladomor, which you may not
have ever heard of. Way back in nineteen twenty I'm sorry.
Thirty two and thirty three, Ukraine was not digging Stalin's
brutal totalitarian leadership of the Soviet Union, and the good
people in Ukraine were demanding reform and bristling under Stalin.
(03:43):
Stalin responded by starving at least three point.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Nine million Ukrainians to death.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Almost four million starved to death, horrific suffering. Cannibalism makes
North Korea look like you're your family barbecue in terms
of the available food and whatever.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
The desperation is. Just it was absolutely genocidal.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
And when Putin claims there's no Ukraine, they've never had
a distinct identity or any They're just part of Imperial Russia,
and they need to remember that that's.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Utterly fictional and full of crap.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
Ukraine has a very very strong identity, although they have
plenty of you know, cousinhood if you will, with Russia.
Plenty of Ukrainians live on that side of the border,
ethnic Ukrainians and vice versa.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
I mean, there.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Are ties, absolutely, but one of the main facets of
Ukrainian identity is we must never be dominated by Russia
because they don't give a crap about our people.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I want to lay that to rest. Also troubling to me,
really troubling.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
Is this demand that train sign a minerals deal, not
that some deal isn't you know, reasonable, because part of
the strategy is we become such close friends with them
and and do so.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Much business with them.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
Russia doesn't dare invade because they then they would be
invading our interests. So anyway, uh, the White House, White House,
literally it's it's said by a number of observers. Put
a deal on the table in front of Vladimir Zelensky
(05:34):
and told them sign it right now to hand mineral
rights worth hundreds of billions of dollars to the US.
And Zelensky said, look, I'm open to a deal, but
it needs more work and my people need to look
at it.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
And and it was like being in a pushy car dealer.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
They said, no, you're going to sign this now, and
Zelensky said, no, oh, I'm not. And that is one
of the reasons Trump started going off on his high
rades about Zelensky and saying things that were ridiculously untrue.
You can defend that style of negotiating if you're talking
(06:15):
about building a golf course in Scotland or something like that.
I suppose I think it's unconscionable in this situation.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
I really do. It's awful, and it's not just morally awful.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
It damages the US is standing in a way that's
completely unnecessary because The truth is, you need friends, and
you especially need friends across the long term. And I
don't think this is productive at all. But having said that,
let's move on to the great Douglas Murray, along with
Neil Ferguson, one of our favorite conservative historian slash writers
(06:50):
thinkers around here, and Douglas Wrights. It's been a dizzy,
disorienting week in an international diplomacy mentions the situation. Trump
is absolutely right in wanting to end the bloodshed in Ukraine.
The suffering has been appalling in the stalemate, brutal, But
in the furious mix of wild opinions this week from
the White House down, there are at least ten truths
(07:10):
that every American voter must hang on to and Trump's
rush down the bloodshed. These are also the truths against
which any deal will be judged and which will define
him when the history books are written.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
To ignore them or not treat them with the.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
Gravity they deserve will also have enormous consequences for decades
to come. And if you do not know Douglas Murray,
you should know that he is brilliant and incredibly knowledgeable,
an absolutely not a never Trump type.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
That's the last thing he is truth number one.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Vladimir Putin started this war, despite what Trump said days ago,
and he goes through the history of it. There is
no rational narrative outside of Russian propaganda that blames aggressive
actions by Ukrainian President Vladimir's Zelenski or NATO that can
justify such a military action, the massive invasion of Ukraine,
(08:07):
and this came after Putin had already seized Crimea in
twenty fourteen, folks, that's eleven years ago, going on and
launched a war in the dnbas in eastern Ukraine. That
doesn't include the other wars he started, like against the
tiny nation of Georgia in two thousand and eight. Trump
is absolutely right that the war never had to start.
(08:28):
Murray writes, I believe it is true that it wouldn't
have started if he had been in the Oval office.
I would agree, But it was Putin, not Zelenski, who
started the war. You know, I would add on if
there were there some missteps or could NATO have handled this,
that or the other better through the years, Yes, but
that doesn't justify a full scale invasion of Ukraine. And
there's just absolutely no question that truth number two is true.
(08:53):
Russia is fighting for conquest. The Russian Federation invaded Ukraine
in twenty twenty two. Whatever you think of the country
or it's leader, Ukraine is an internationally recognized sovereign nation.
Putin invaded in the hopes of devouring the country wholesale.
By contrast, Ukraine has absolutely no territorial ambitions in Russia.
And remember the brutality of Russia's actions. Among the multitude
(09:14):
of depravities and war crimes committed by Putin's army has
been the abduction of some twenty thousand Ukrainian children. Who
wants to live in a world where the strong can
simply devour the weak and kidnap little children by the thousands,
Why hasn't the US put their release at the top
of the list of negotiating demands. Truth number three, Ukraine
(09:34):
is fighting for its independence. Most Ukrainians do not want
to be part of Russia. They do not want to
be gardened from Moscow. The vast majority want to live
in an independent, sovereign country in control of its own future.
Truth number four, Ukrainians are not Russians. Ukrainians and Russians
are not one people, a single whole. As Putin wrote
in a twenty twenty one essay. He is also simply
(09:56):
lying in his assertion that modern Ukra is entirely the
product of the Soviet era. Ukrainians and Russians are two
separate ethnic groups. They speak different languages and have distinct histories.
Truth number five. Putin is a dictator. He has ruled
Russia with an iron KGB fist since coming to power
in nineteen ninety nine. He has ruthlessly quashed independent media,
(10:18):
ended free in fair elections, crushed civil society, and killed
his political opponents. And not just inside Russia but around
the world. People who live inside Russia and express any
opposition of the war are imprisoned. Truth number six Zelensky
is not a dictator, a political outsider. Zelensky won the
twenty nineteen presidential election, which was relatively free and fair.
(10:39):
As I've said many times, the transition from Soviet republic
to Western style democracy is a bumpy one. In every
single case, it's unavoidable. It takes a while to root
out the Soviet style garbage and corruption. Anyway, Douglas Murray,
the Great Douglas Murray rites. He has a fifty seven
percent approval rating, not the four percent Trump claim. Unlike
(11:00):
in Russia, Ukraine has vibrant, independent media. Mostly there are
some flaws there, but it is wartime too anyway. Despite
claims to the contrary by Internet swamp creatures and Russian bots,
many Ukrainians freely criticize the government's conduct of the war
in spite of the imperfections of Ukrainian media. This is
(11:20):
me talking about Douglas Murray. Yeah, you're absolutely allowed to
criticize the conduct of the war. You get put in
jail in Russia for doing the same thing. When Britain
was fighting for its survival against the Nazis in the forties,
it too did not hold elections. The Russian ambassador to
the UK spent yesterday crowing that he's not sure Zelenski
would be reelected if there are elections today. But we
(11:42):
all know one thing for sure, whether or not Zelensky
would be re elected in Ukraine. Putin will always be
re elected in Russia because his elections are conjobs. Pageant
shows Putin has not won a free and fair election
in his life because he doesn't hold them. Or we'll
squeeze in one more here and then finish up on
the other side of the break truth Number seven, Russia
(12:04):
is not a friend of the US. It is a hostile,
nuclear armed state that resents American power in the world
that the US has built. It has ever closer relations
with China, Iran, and North Korea. In fact, all of
its main friends are countries that are the biggest foes
of America. Now, you could argue that if we altered
our policy toward the war or toward Moscow, we might
(12:26):
pull them back somehow or to some extent from their
friendship with the access of a holes. It's a thought
worth exploring. But for now, there's just no question Russia
is not our friend or anything close to it.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Three more of these truths you must never forget.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
On the other side of the break, stay with us
if you can't grab the podcast later Armstrong and Getty
on demand coming up next segment, something completely different. We're
going to talk to long time a friend of the
Armstrong and Getty Show and tax advisor Steve Moskowitz about
what's going on tax wise last year and this year
(13:05):
and what people ought to know. And it's just some
great tax tips. So of stay tuned. That's next segment.
If you can't hang around, just grab the podcast later.
I'm strong and getting on demand. Right now, though, we're
working our way through the list of ten truths from
Douglas Murray's excellent column about the situation in Ukraine, and
he gives Trump credit for wanting to end the conflict,
which has been so horrifically bloody and is stalemated right now,
(13:28):
but is highly troubled by some of the untruths that
have been uttered by Trump and others, because going forward,
even if some of the wild rhetoric were to lead
somehow toward quote unquote solution, it's dangerous to run around
internalizing false pretenses, if you know what I mean, Because
the world's going to keep spinning and the challenges will
(13:50):
continue in that part of the world, guaranteed, and you
really ought to know what's what anyway. So truth number
eight from Murray, Ukraine is a friend of the US.
Ukraine wants to be part of the American led order.
Its people in government are deeply pro American. Since the
start of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian men and women
I have seen fighting at the front lines are fighting
the Russian military to protect their loved ones in their country.
(14:12):
They also do it in the knowledge that if they fail,
other countries will be next. Truth number nine, Putin cannot
be trusted. This isn't just a statement of fact, it
is also something that eighty one percent of American voters
agree on. Keep that in mind next time you know,
Russian bots and Internet trolls on the Internet. Trolls on
the Internet. Great sentence, Joe, convince you that, well, lots
(14:34):
of people think Putin is really a good guy.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
No, they don't, No, they don't.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
Putin has invaded multiple countries in violation of every international treaty.
He has interfered in multiple elections in his nearest neighbors.
He has violated international agreements, including the IF Treaty with
the US. He has lied to American presidents and European
leaders his whole career. He has lied to Trump even
since Trump has been back in office. Most recently, Putin
promised that he wouldn't target Ukrainian energy official and facilities
(15:01):
and hadn't yet. Just this week he carried out a
massive Missilan drone strike against multiple energy facilities in Ukraine.
It is almost as though Putin's word doesn't count for
very much and he doesn't care if you know it.
That's true truth number ten American to Ukraine. American aid
to Ukraine, I should say, is not being wasted. No
(15:22):
one would argue that Ukraine is a country without corruption,
but that does not mean its people and sovereignty should
not be protected. We should also remember which country in
this war is truly corrupt. Russia is one vast kleptocratic
state led by Putin In, a small cartel of oligarchs
who have made themselves among the richest people on earth,
all while keeping most of the Russian population in a
(15:43):
state of poverty that would not be believed by most
of us in the West. Putting us this is me now,
putting aside that humiliating video Tucker Carlson made the lovely
grocery stores in Moscow.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
That's where all the super rich people are.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
You go out into Rrussia, it's unbelievable poverty and oppression.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Back to Murray.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
Putin and his cronies have been accumulating power and wealth
all their careers, and they will torture and kill anyone
who exposes this corruption. Remember his political opponent Alexi Navalni
and the lawyer serge A Magnitsky. It's easy to expose
corruption in Ukraine, but in Russia it is deadly. Besides,
according to the Department of Defense, some sixty billion dollars
out of one hundred and eighty three billion Ukraine has
(16:24):
been spent in America. It's money that has benefited American
workers and facilities.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
The war has also degraded the military one of the.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
Most despotic regimes in the world, and it's sent a
strong deterrent message to China, Iran and North Korea not
to do the same. You can criticize Zelensky, complain, but
we should be under no illusions about who started this
fire and who the true dictator or villain of this
tragic tale is, well, said Douglas Murray. Next, as I said,
(16:57):
we're going to talk about taxes, tax tips, waste, save
you money, ways to reduce your headaches and stress with
our longtime friend Stephen Moskowitz, among other things, also a
very funny hockey story. After the big tournament wrapped up,
stay with us Armstrong and Getty. Let's talk taxes, enough
(17:21):
global conflict something we can all use. A conversation with
longtime friend of the Armstrong and Getty show, Stephen Moskowitz,
who has advised us on tax Stuff Forever, founder and
tax attorney for Moskowitz l LP.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Steven joins us. Now, Steve, how are you.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
I'm fantastic, and you know I'm happy because I get
to talk about that, and you know I mean that.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
You know it's funny.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
I was just gonna say, I'm gonna embarrass Steve and
tell the folks this. I have known professional musicians, athletes,
all walks of tech, guys, all walks off and I've
never known anybody who's more their jobs than you are.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Steven. You love helping people deal with taxes, sincerely, I
love it.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
And there's so much in the taskl There's so many
hidden gems. I have everything from all walks of life.
Whether we can tell you how you can deduct your
multimillion dollar yacht to your struggling and how the government
will give you money to help you take care of
your kids, and everything in between. For example, I have
a question for you, because I told you that you
(18:29):
could go on a two week vacation anywhere in the
world you choose, some stranger would pay for it, and
the money the stranger gives you is tax free. How
would you like that?
Speaker 1 (18:43):
When can I leave?
Speaker 5 (18:45):
He said? Oh my god, what is Steve talking about?
And I'm talking about Internal Revenue Code Section to eighty
a g like Armstrong and Geddy, also known as the
Augusta rule. And what happens with that. You can rent
year home for up to fourteen days a year and
there's no tax on it. So the bottom line is
(19:09):
in that home can be the mansion you live in,
the studio apartment you rent, or a boat. And I'll
explain that separately, but the bottom line is supposed. For example,
he said, okay, I'm going to rent my place out
for one thousand dollars a day, and now everything is
so many people like renting a home instead of a hotel.
(19:29):
So the bottom line is you go ahead, and let's
assume that you rented your house four one thousand dollars
a day, so it's fourteen thousand dollars. You go off
to Hawaii, you spend ten thousand on your trip. That
fourteen grand that you got is tax free. It doesn't
even go on your tax return. It's excluded from income.
(19:50):
That's just an example of one of the many, many,
many hidden gems in our tax law. And glad people say, well,
why should there be such things because our legislators and
their infinite wisdom thinks this is good for the economy
or the business, or there's some special interest that pushed them.
But the bottom line is this law is for everybody.
(20:12):
All the laws are for everybody. We're all equal under
the law. And the bottom line is you just have
to know where these gems are hidden. Because there's two
reasons for the tax code wants to get money from us.
But the other one if you give us all kinds
of incentives like this, mister Will, what a deal, I mean,
think about it. You're off on vacation anyway. The Airbnb's
(20:33):
is so popular and you get fourteen days tax free.
So you can see why I get so excited over
these things.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Love it so hey, we are happy to have so
many small business people, entrepreneurs, go getters listening to the show.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Also slackers like myself. But what do you.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
See small business people either failing to take advantage over
getting wrong? What advice would you give them? Just right
off the bat.
Speaker 5 (20:57):
Oh, the first one is a retirement plan. There's over
twenty different types of plans. You can have multiple plans
in the same year, and you can put away so
much by there's for benefits to that. One. You pay
less taxes. Usually when I'm talking to a client, people
say sign me up, Steve, You've got me say taxes.
Besides that, the money sits in your plan and the
(21:19):
income doesn't fit tax wells in the plan, so no brainer.
Everything grows faster and bigger if there's no taxes on it. Also,
it's exempt from lawsuits, so take a level. But I
hate to mention his name. Suppose you take a look
at OJ Simpson who had a multimillion dollar judgment against
him for many, many years, and he never lost a
(21:42):
penny off his pension. So that's good when you're in business,
so you don't have to worries to take it away
from you. And most tax planning you have to write
to check by December thirty first twenty four to deduct
it in twenty four. But with most of the pensions,
not all of them, but most of them, you have
up to the time of filing your returns, including extension,
(22:04):
which in English means depending on your business entity, you
could have as late as October fifteenth, twenty five to
set up the plan, fund it and still deduct it
from the previous year. Twenty four and that there's all
kinds of things in here. So for example, if you're
in a pension, there's no okay, everybody knows about four
one ks and Irish and all that, but there's all
(22:27):
kinds of additional plans. Is what I call the fancy plans,
which you can put in much much more money, and
they're based on your age, your earnings. There's an actuarial
evaluation ticket. But people can put away a tremendous way
more than this. But when we talk about putting things away,
everybody should have a pension plan. Everybody should put that away.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
So well, I was just going to say, and that
includes I, like, I'm my only employee, I'm a sold proprietor,
I can have a pension plan for myself.
Speaker 5 (22:55):
Right, absolutely absolutely, And again with retirement plan, there's so
much in there. For example, suppose you say, well, you
know what, I'm listening to the show today, but I'm
a little bit older and you know I haven't had
the money in there. Well, there's something called a ketchup plan.
If you're over fifty, you can put in bigger deductions.
(23:17):
And our legislators, in their infinite wisdom and get this
if you're sixty, sixty one, sixty two, or sixty three.
Only those ages you have a super catchup plan this
beginning this year. In twenty twenty five, you put it
even more. The bottom line is there's so much here,
And then what about taking money out of plans? He said, well, okay,
(23:41):
you know I need the money, but I don't want
to get hit with that penalty. There's all kinds of
exceptions to that. If you're a victim of domestic abuse,
you can take money out without the penalties. If you
need it for emergency purposes, you can take it out
without penalties. If you take it out because of federally
declared disasters, think about O the wildfires in California, let's
(24:03):
mention Hawaii and other places, you can take it out
without penalty. If someone's terminally ill. And also a not
to are firefighters. If they're age fifty or with twenty
five years of service, they can take it out without penalty.
I should go on and on and on, but there's
just so much here for everybody, and whether you know,
(24:26):
with being a small business owner, this is just the
troumendous say. I get so excited over this, but if
you're in business. There are so many benefits to you
just it's incredible, and it's all kinds of things. For example,
supposed to me says, you know, I'd like to have
an electric vehicle. Well, guess what, you know the government
(24:48):
will give you seventy five hundred bucks. And you say, well,
that's nice. I can go ahead and take seventy five
hundred dollars off my tax return, right you can. But
even better, when you're at the dealer, you say, you
know what, there's a special program where I can say
to the dealer, I'll give the credit to you. You
knock seventy five hundred bucks off the price, so I
(25:08):
never have to give you the money and ask for
it back. You get the seventy five hundred from the government.
There's so much, so much there. Then there's another thing
that gets me really excited, something called opportunity zones. Suppose
you have this situation. You sell something anything, some gold coins,
some stop, real property, anything, and you have capital gain
(25:31):
and you say, well, all right, you know, I realize
that there's three capital gains rates zero. It's a nice one,
but you have to be making less than forty seven
grand for that or fifteen percent, which is between forty
seven grand and over just half a mil. You know,
most people are making under half of MIIL fifteen percent bad,
(25:52):
and it goes to twenty percent if you're over five
hundred and eighteen thousand. But the bottom line is you say,
you know, I don't want to pay that either. So
you can go into an opportunity zone and you can
defer the taxes until twenty six. As you say, when
somebody gives you something nice, what do you say thank you?
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Of course no, you say more.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
I want more. And what happens is there's a provision
with these opportunities zone. Suppose I do this. Suppose what
is an opportunity zone. There's designated areas in our country
where the government says, invest here and we'll give you
special tax benefits. And there's a tremendous number of them.
So you go ahead and do that. And let's assume
(26:36):
that you buy a real property for a million bucks.
Ten years later you sell it for one hundred million.
You've made a gain of ninety nine million. You know,
I can calculate the tax on that right now in
my head, you know, the taxes zero. What Steve Wait
talking about there's a special provision that if you hold
(26:59):
this property for more than ten years, when you sell it,
there's zero capital game. There's no cap one. So in
my example, you made a profit of ninety nine million bucks,
you paid zero taxes. Talk about an incentive. So you see,
that's why I get get so excited about this and
our laws filled with these things.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
Stephen Moscowitz, founder of Tax Atturning moscow ats LP, is
online longtime tax advisor of the show and our friends. So, Stephen,
in a couple of minutes, we have left what notable
changes to the tax code have happened recently or do
you expect to happen as the Trump administration gets gone.
Speaker 5 (27:37):
So I think there's going to be a lot with
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. When President Trump was
president in the first term, he had a lot of
stuff that was going to be basically he expected to
be re elected and he had a lot of stuff
in the tax law that was expiring right after what
it was his second term. So it's expiring now they're
probably going to make changes and keep a lot of
(27:58):
the things. And also so a lot of things that
have changed or the numbers, like the standard deduction went
up a little bit for twenty twenty four and a
little bit of numbers. You know, for example, the art
didn't come credit. So we talked about the other end
of the scale. For example, suppose you have three kids
and you're making under sixty six eight nineteen. The government
(28:21):
will give you seven eight hundred and thirty dollars, but
is give them will give you the money, so you
have those things. There's also change to the kitty tax.
It's a small change for kids that are under age nineteen.
The first thirteen hundred bucks is tax free. The next
thirteen hundred bucks is taxed at the child's right. So
(28:43):
if it's a little something. Then the amounts for the
flexible spending accounts and the health savings accounts have gone up.
So what are those things? Basically, there are two different
types of accounts where you can put some pre tax
money and I don't get a tax, and then you
use it for healthcare. Now there's differences between them, so
(29:07):
with an exception, you can't have both. There's an exception,
but we won't get into that right now on the show.
But for the most part, you say, well, what's more
important to me, and you look at these and basically
the best way to do it is there are charts
and you say, okay, well, a flexible spending account, here's
the advantages. With the health savings account, here's the advantages.
(29:30):
But basically the idea here is you get a tax deduction,
you use the money for medical and isn't that nice?
You don't have to pay tax on that amount of
your earnings. And the bottom line, for example, with a
health savings account, you can triple benefits. There's no taxes
on the money you put it in, it grows tax free,
(29:50):
and there's no taxes when you use it for medical bills.
So again, I mean, you look at this stuff and
you say, well, okay, why shouldn't I have it? There's
so much in tax complaints about their taxes. My taxes
are too much, they're that, but people overlook all these benefits.
And again I'm just throwing out a few samples and teasers.
(30:12):
There's so much there. If you're interested in this. To me,
this has fascinated me my whole life, and it's here.
It's available for everybody.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
Well, if you want to get in touch with Stephen,
his number is one triple eight tax deal. It's one
triple a tax deal. Stephen, It's always a pleasure. Thanks
for the time, interesting and fun as always be well.
Speaker 5 (30:31):
Thanks so much. I had a great time as always.
Thanks for inviting me all right.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Thanks Yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:35):
A quick word from our friends and sponsors at Prize Picks.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
You can now went up to one thousand times your
money on Prize Picks.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
Price picks best way to get action on sports more
than thirty states, including Kell Unicorney of Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
Price Picks the best way to get real money on
supports action join over ten million users. Sign up today
and here's the good news. If you play just a
five dollars lineup, they will give you a fifty dollars
bonus to enjoy. Download the Prize Picks app today. Use
(31:06):
the code armstrong to get fifty dollars instantly after you
play your first five dollars lineup. It's as simple as
picking at least two player stat projections and saying nah,
I think you'll do more or less than that.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Simple as that. Download the Prize Picks app today.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
Use that code armstrong to get fifty dollars instantly after
you play your first five dollars lineup.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Prize picks. Run your game, armstrong.
Speaker 6 (31:30):
Democrats are clinging to these radical, losing propositions. Democrats are
out there defending the idea that unelected bureaucrats don't have
to listen to the will of the electorate, don't have
to follow the results of the will of the people
expressed through an election, but can do whatever they want.
Democrats are out there saying that we can and should
(31:51):
spend tens of billions of dollars on radical left programs
all over the world, in Bosnia, in Croatia, all throughout
the Confident of Africa, and everywhere else, but not here
in America.
Speaker 7 (32:03):
Man, I'm telling the Democrats just sit there, play possum,
let them go, let them go. Poll numbers of decline,
and the collapse is already underway. Let's see when it
put the medicaid budget, when it put the tax to
four point five billion dollar trillion dollars, or tax cuts
to wealthy people. Just let the ball come to you.
(32:24):
We don't need to be aggressive now.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
Interesting, while he is full of crap, James Carville did
express something I've been saying lately, which is the frantic
objection to even the super popular stuff I don't get
it politically. I guess you need to do that to
raise money from your Internet base, which is ruined American
politics anyway. Interesting that James Carville, the Rage and Cajun
(32:48):
would say the Democrats need to play possum. I understand,
we have a story about a seal. Sorry, I was
reading and talking at the same time, Katie, Is there
anything we need to know about the seals story?
Speaker 8 (33:01):
He's adorable and he had a grand old time in
the city of New Haven?
Speaker 1 (33:05):
All right, here's a report from NPC. I guess.
Speaker 9 (33:10):
Police responding to a stranded gray seal pop in the
heart of New Haven, slopping more than thirteen hundred feet
through the city streets earlier this week and popping up
several times away from the water in the days before.
And while many joke the seal was chasing New Haven's
famous clam pizza, researchers explain.
Speaker 5 (33:29):
I think that if I was trying to go atlant
to find the nice quiet area.
Speaker 9 (33:33):
Now Mystic Aquarium is helping the youngster pack on the
pounds with a delicious diet of fish smoothie and of
course haring to help him prepare for the wild. While
the pup will eventually be returned to the ocean. His
place in America's heart is sealed.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Ah, I don't get it. Oh wait, now I get it.
Oh clam pizza.
Speaker 8 (33:57):
Yeah, that's a weird one, right, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (33:59):
I guess, although you know, I like creative, weird pizzas
I have for years and years and years.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Hmmm, I don't know about clam pizza. I'm not hankering
for it. No, no, not a no.
Speaker 5 (34:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (34:12):
The noise at the beginning of that report is actually
the noise that the baby seal makes.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
It's like this where Yeah, okay, beautiful. What was I
gonna say?
Speaker 5 (34:23):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (34:23):
We learned last week two weeks ago during the One
More Thing podcast that sea otters are like Rapie and Murdery.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Yeah. Should we be as affectionate towards the seals as
we are?
Speaker 3 (34:36):
Oh?
Speaker 8 (34:36):
Yeah, they're sea dogs. They are total sea dogs. Oh okay, yeah, Well,
I love dogs. I'm willing to take on the sea
variety and give it an audition. So I promised to
a funny hockey story, and this is it. You might
enjoy this, Katie. So the NHL had this brilliant idea too.
The only reason we're talking about hockey. Is the NHL
had this brilliant idea that instead of their stupid All
(34:57):
Star game that nobody watches or cares about, they would
hold a fourteen tournament with players from four of the
major nations that supply players to the NHL, the US, Canada, Finland,
and Sweden.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
I think it was Don't assume me if I wasn't wrong. Anyway,
that's the idea, and it was a super big success.
The guys were playing for country.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
It was like a mini Olympics, and the fans were
absolutely loving it. But anyway, my buddy was a great
hockey fan, former very elite hockey player. He was telling
me a story about one of his buddies that almost
caught out in the NHL.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
Really really good player.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
But he was hired to be an extra in a
movie about hockey and the director said, all right, we
need to have a fight now there's a hockey fight scene.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
And the guy said, oh, we'll handle it.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
And the director was like, well, we need to talk
about the choreography and the blah blah blah, and the
guy said, no, just show me where you want the shot,
and the director said, right there in the corner and
he went to his buddy. He said, Hey, Jimmy, we're
gonna go on the corner. I'll hit you with an elbow,
you push me, and we fight, okay, And so they
just went in the corner, dropped the gloves, beat the
hell out of each other. Great hockey fight scene and
(36:02):
cutt says the director, and.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
They skate away. Hey, you got me with that uppercut.
That was good, man, that was really good. That was
a good fight.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
Dude, high five having pounded each other in the head
for the movie.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
That's hockey players. Oh, that's a hockey player.
Speaker 4 (36:20):
Armstrong and Getty
Hosts And Creators
Joe Getty
Jack Armstrong
Popular Podcasts
40s and Free Agents: NFL Draft Season
Daniel Jeremiah of Move the Sticks and Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Daily join forces to break down every team's needs this offseason.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.