“I wrote this book,” announces James Lange at the outset of THE IRA AND RETIREMENT PLAN OWNER’S GUIDE TO BEATING THE NEW DEATH TAX, his sixth book, “to help you legally FIGHT BACK against the unmitigated gall and greed of the federal government.” By following the book’s advice, readers could “keep your wealth in your family’s hands, and out of Uncle Sam’s greedy paws.”
Okay then.
The “greed” Lange refers to is the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, better known as the SECURE Act. This federal law was passed in 2019 and went into effect on January 1, 2020. Like most tax laws, the SECURE Act has a lot of components. The part that gets Lange’s goat concerns the “stretch IRA.” Before 2020, if a child inherited an Individual Retirement Account, or IRA, from a deceased parent, the child could “stretch” out the distributions, keeping most of the money in a tax-deferred (for traditional IRAs) or tax-free (for Roth IRAs) account indefinitely. The SECURE Act eliminated this option, requiring the beneficiary to withdraw all the money–which they would pay tax on–within 10 years of the death of the original account holder.
Sounds hinkey, of course. But is it the end of civilization, as Lange implies? Other experts don’t seem to think so. Investopedia, for instance, quotes financial planners who call various aspects of the law “helpful,” “a good option,” and “a step in the right direction.” Besides, the law passed the House of Representatives 417 to 3. In our uniquely polarized times, can a near-unanimous bill be a bad thing?
Lange excels at simplifying technical concepts like the professional he is. It wouldn’t hurt him, though, to be less conspiracy-minded. And if you’re the type of reader who’s swayed by plaudits, good news! This reviewer counted thirteen blurbs for this book, twenty for Lange’s previous title, including by investment mavens Larry King, Billie Jean King, and Martin Sheen.
Writing with elan and the detail that makes him an accomplished CPA, James Lange explains how to legally and safely avoid a host of new investment account taxes in THE IRA AND RETIREMENT PLAN OWNER’S GUIDE TO BEATING THE NEW DEATH TAX.
~Anthony Aycock for IndieReader