Review of: Outsmarting the System
Lower your taxes, control your future and reach financial freedom by Anthony C Campidonica, Copyright 2014, published by Sciopress, inc
Summary:
Campidonica is a CPA and former IRS tax auditor. He promises a high level book and delivers it. The system he is talking about is society’s expectations that we go to school, go to college and get good grades, land a job working for someone else, buy a house and contribute to a retirement fund.
He believes that the system fails to help most folks reach financial freedom. He suggests, instead, that folks should either a) invest b) be landlords or c) be self-employed.
The first seven chapters are sky-high descriptions of these three items, with most emphasis on being self-employed.
He spends a chapter on the tax system, one chapter describing some of the advantages and disadvantages of each of the three ‘solutions’ (investing, landlording or self-employment) and goes into some of the tax benefits of each. He spends a chapter talking about the challenges involved in running each of the three solutions and then a chapter devoted to being a business owner – giving sky-high conceptual information on a few business concepts, such as products or services to offer and the beginnings of some of the things you need in a business plan.
The eighth chapter (What the rich know that you don’t) is the most substantive. In it he reveals information about the IRS and its audits that most folks won’t know.
The last chapter is intended to help get you started in a business by having you list out things he suggested you think about (what is your business idea, what do you need to learn, what advisers do you need and etc).
Who should read this book?
This book would be perfect for a teen or college student who is just starting out and doesn’t know anything about the concepts presented. For adults with experience with taxes and self-employment very little is new.
What I liked.
The eighth chapter was interesting and contained information I hadn’t known before reading the book.
What I wished for.
I believe the author, with his background, could have developed a more substantive book that would interested those already on the path of business ownership.
Favorite quotes.
“The biggest tax advantage of being a business owner versus an employee is that business owners are allowed to convert personal expenses into legal business deductions” p 40
“Any obstacle you face in life is meant for you and can be overcome” p 65
“If you want to start your own business, do it! Don’t worry about the critics who say you can’t do it or hold you back in any other fashion” p 65
