According to leading business tax consultant Bakous Makari, this is the time of year when individuals and businesses should be looking at ways to reduce taxes and create wealth.
"There are some people earning between $100,000 and $1,000,000 who are paying high tax and don't know what to do about becoming more tax effective nor what to do with savings they are able to make," he said.
"People who have made capital gains or have been paid company bonuses need to consider the tax implications and make arrangements to ensure they have an effective tax minimisation strategy in place.
"The unfortunate truth is, we collectively pay millions of dollars in tax. The reality is, we can legitimately reduce this tax bill and keep our hard-earned cash where it belongs."
Makari & Co is a full spectrum financial services company that deals exclusively with successful businesses and high net worth individuals. Its fundamental principle is: "We see opportunities. You see results."
Bakous says the wealth creation and tax minimisation side of the business had saved clients literally millions of dollars in the past 12 months alone.
The company provides a full range of services from taxation planning, structuring and preparation to asset protection and superannuation planning, business development and advisory services to KPI development and monitoring.
As managing director, Bakous offers the business (which started in 1997) a wealth of experience in senior accounting and taxation in a variety of industries.
His commitment to the industry is obvious through his work as a speaker at wealth planning seminars, host of a regular radio program and a contributing writer for the best-selling book Secrets of Top Business Builders Exposed.
His innovative tax and wealth creation strategies have attracted the attention of marketing guru Jay Abraham (one of America's most highly paid and sought-after business consultants), who conducted a full interview with Bakous in 2007.
"The bottom line is this. There are people who still pay more tax than they should. I can talk all day about your psychology and mindset, but really the question is, are you serious about keeping your money in your pocket? Businesses and individuals reduce tax and increase profits every day, you just have to know how," he said.
According to Bakous, clients need to consider financially where they are now, where they will be in the next five, 10 or 20 years and how they expect to get there.
He says that by reducing tax and investing the savings, you are layering one solid concept on top of another and can quickly build fabulous streams of income resulting in a perpetual money machine that can't be stopped, and therefore you are building your wealth twice as fast in half the time.
"The objective should be for the income generated from your investment to exceed the income received from your employment or business, hence obtaining financial freedom," he pointed out.
"We've helped a client legally eliminate a $1.5 million tax bill. We also got him a bonus cheque back from the tax authority, which sanctioned the transaction.
"We put that tax savings money to work in an investment with a 10-year return that is expected to yield our client approximately $13 million dollars or more. This was a seismic financial shift we've helped produce for this client and many other clients alike."
A firm believer in the strength of the agribusiness sector, Bakous believes it is one of the leading global performers in terms of growth, and says tax-effective agribusiness investments can help provide tax advantages and create wealth.
"Tax-effective agribusiness investments can offer 100 percent tax deductions over one to five years, providing an immediate tax saving," he said.
"Investors are also expected to receive returns from the ‘sale' of the underlying commodity.
"Investments offer different profiles, some are expected to provide one lump sum payment after approximately 10 to 12 years, allowing the accountant to choose an investment with a return profile that suits an individual's needs."
An example of a strategy is as follows:
Michael earns a salary of $140,000. If Michael does not have a strategy to reduce his taxes, his taxable income would be $140,000 and his tax on this income is $45,199.
However, if Michael chooses to make a $100,000 investment tax deduction, his taxable income will be $40,000, resulting in tax on income of just $7200 - a tax saving of $38,000.
Michael will receive his tax refund of $38,000 plus an additional $10,000 resulting in a combined tax refund of $48,000, to use to make further investments, repay debt, or as a deposit on an investment property.
"The benefits of this sort of strategy were that it increased the tax refund, it established a long-term investment with an expected future income and it provided a diversified investment portfolio," Bakous explained.
"The tax people will actually bless the transaction, too, with certainty being provided by ATO product rulings. It's a dual strategy that creates windfall, 100 percent legal savings while producing utterly staggering potential future profits, cash flow and wealth."
Makari & Co has engineered, advised and mastered wealth strategies that, conservatively, will produce many millions of dollars of wealth appreciation for its clients.
"I am totally passionate about making a difference to people's lives by starting them on the right track of achieving their goals, dreams and aspirations. Once they understand the jargon and see the results, they never look back," he concluded.
Makari & Co at a glance
Head Office
Greenway Offices
Suite 1A, Level 1
Horwood Place
Parramatta NSW 2150
Ph: +61 2 9687 9333
Fax: + 61 2 9687 2488
Email: info@makari.com.au
Web: www. makari.com.au
First published in the June issue of ResourceStocks magazine.
