Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich--and Cheat Everybody Else Paperback – January 4, 2005

Perfectly Legal: The Secret Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich - and Cheat Everybody Else by David Cay Johnston"Perfectly Legal" is a depressing, infuriating, eye-opening book that reveals how the super rich take advantage of the political system and the rest of us by rigging the tax code and other laws in their favor. Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Cay Johnston brings us this mind-boggling account of the America of the rich and powerful. This 352-page book is composed of the following twenty-one chapters: 1. Taxes - They're Not for Everyone, 2. A Nickel an Hour More, 3. The Rich Get Fabulously Richer, 4. Big Payday, 5. Plane Perks, 6. When the Old Man is Dead and Buried, 7. The Stealth Tax, 8. How Social Security Taxes Subsidize the Rich, 9. Preying on the Working Poor, 10. Handcuffing the Tax Police, 11. Mr. Rossotti's Customers, 12. For Want of a Keystroke, 13. Mr. Kellogg's Favorite Loophole, 14. Mass Market Tax Evasion, 15. Getting off the Hook, 16. Profiting off Taxes, 17. Profits Trump Patriotism, 18. Letters to Switzerland, 19. Gimme Shelter, 20. Only the Rich Deserve a Comfortable Retirement, and 21. Is Reform Possible?Positives:1. Well-written, well researched, and surprisingly even-handed book.2. This is an infuriating book. I'm surprised at the lack of outrage...3. This book focuses on the complex tax system in an accessible manner. Many terms well explained for the laymen.4. The author does a wonderful job of laying the blame where it needs to be. His criticism is fair and even-handed.5. Taxes in a whole new light. A historical look at how the tax code has evolved.6. A true expose if there ever was one.7. Example after example of how the rich abuse the tax system to their advantage.8. The lack of comprehensive understanding of the tax laws by members of Congress and why that matters.9. The various methods in which the super rich understate their true income and overstate their tax deductions.10. Deferred compensation as a legal stealth tax cut.11. How our tax system forces Americans to subsidize the lifestyles of the very rich.12. Mind-blowing facts throughout this book. "The 13,400 top households had slightly more income than the 96 million poorest Americans."13. The lowering of the tax rate on capital gains over the years.14. Tax shelter specialists and how they benefit the rich.15. Power means access, access buys influence, and influence buys favors.16. A thorough look at the IRS.17. How CEO compensations hurt us all.18. Offshore shelters. The abuse in detail.19. Abuses of corporate jets.20. The truth about estate taxes.21. The marketing of terms to deceive the public...death taxes as an example.22. The alternative minimum tax and its implication.23. Social security taxes in proper context.24. Why the working poor get audited more.25. Great quotes..."If we can't make sure that everyone pays their fair share, then honest taxpayers get stuck making up the difference".26. Partnerships as vehicles for the rich and why that is so. Very interesting and of course upsetting.27. The story behind Enron.28. Tax-exempt insurance companies.29. How the Cayman Islands has become a paradise for tax fraud.30. How Visa gold cards were used for tax dodging purposes.31. The unbelievable tax revenue losses due to tax fraud perpetuated by the rich.32. Abusive tax shelters of all colors.33. Foreign tax credit abuses...it never stops, now does it?34. The manipulation of the media.35. The interesting tale of Bermuda mailboxes, no tale however.36. The fabrication of profits?37. Creative uses of insurance to avoid paying taxes...38. Tax avoidance techniques...for the super rich.39. The most important measure of tax burden is how much money goes out to taxes.40. Great recommendations on how to address the problems stated in the book.Negatives:1. No links to talk about on the Kindle.2. It's a little dated but still a great book.In summary, this is one of the best exposes of the super rich that I have ever read. It's informative, educational and yes infuriating. In a nutshell, this book is about how the super rich have rigged the tax system to their exclusive benefit at the expense of the rest of us. A great book that hurts. Highly recommended.

I read this book when it came to paperback a couple of years after its published date. I was so disturbed by some of the stories of freeloaders and tax cheats that I had to stop and google the offenders and to my surprise many of them are now behind bars for tax fraud!No one likes paying taxes, but as a self-employed person I pay more than my fair share four times a year, and I am in the most likely group to be audited! So trust me I hate taxes as much as anyone.But this book is really about the entire tax system and how it is broken and slanted for those with the very most. Mr. Johnston explains in detailed analysis going decades back into our tax codes, laws and rates and how over time the burden has been shifted from corporations and the extremely wealthy to ordinary working Americans. Johnston is also quite fair in blaming both political parties, and political leaders for their lack of tax understanding, tax laws and basic economic theory. The problems are on both sides of the fence, and we need to fix our system before things like the punishing Alternative Minimum Tax hit more and more middle income people.Some other topics that Mr. Johnston brings up. How misguided political slashing of the IRS budget and staff has lead to an increase of audits of the poorest and the least able to fight back. And if you file for the Earned Income Tax credit, a credit for poor working parents, you are extremely likely to be audited. Meanwhile the extremely wealthy get by with huge tax scams costing the system billions.Also a very quick read, Johnston has a way of writing complicated economic data simply. I read this in about 4 days. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

This book provided a look into an alternate universe of financial management. I had to space out my reading of each chapter as it kind of raised my blood pressure. I recognize that the author is biased to the left, but if even only half of it is completely accurate, you probably won't be happy with what you learn. Recommended reading for a closer look at what's legally available to avoid paying federal taxes.

David Cay Johnston writes very, very well. This book is meticulously researched and occasionally deals with tax dodges of huge complexity, but Mr. Johnston brings it to the reader with clarity and drama.The conspiracy theory implicit in the title will put off some readers. Please forgive it -- Mr. Johnston really does believe that some dirty deals have been done (and says so) but most of the book simply tells the story, and the story is important:Just about all the wealth created in the last three decades has gone to people who make more than a million dollars a year. At the same time, the total tax burden (including ALL kinds of taxes, not just the April 15 kind) has shifted to the middle class and lower -- those making less than $500,000 a year.Part of the reason for this shift is a long, slow increase in tax dodging (legal and illegal) by the richest people and companies. Another part has been by design -- on any basis you choose to look at it, virtually all of the Bush tax cuts have gone to those above the $500k level.The tax system in America is not fair and the principles that undergird it have become tattered. Hopefully this book will help equip and motivate some people with a mind to bring some fairness -- and enforcement -- to the system.