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    Tax

    Tax Clarity Questions & Answers

    Q: What does the gray portion of the Tax Map represent? A: The gray portion of the Tax Clarity® Tax Map represents the effective marginal rate (EMR). If you are looking at the “Rate on the next dollar of ordinary income” map, the software indicates at each ordinary income dollar (i.e. IRA distribution, pensions, earned income, etc.) how that ordinary income dollar and other income (Social Security, capital gains, self-employment, etc.) will be taxed. In other words, the software assesses what is being taxed at that ordinary income dollar amount and adds all of the taxation together. That is why the EMR may be higher than the ordinary income or capital gains tax bracket at certain times. The gray portion of the Tax Map allows you to determine just how many ordinary income or capital gains dollars, such as qualified dividends, your client will have before triggering another taxation point.
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    In The News

    Forbes Finance Council: Why Your Financial Advisor Should Tell You What You Need To Hear-Not What You Want

    In a recent article for Forbes, Covisum President, Joe Elsasser, CFP®, highlighted the benefits of choosing a planning-oriented advisor who will encourage you to make smarter financial decisions. Planning-oriented advisors are particularly adept at seeing the big picture. They ask their clients the tough questions to help them see the impact of every financial decision and how those decisions impact long-term financial goals.
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    In The News

    Hidden Value: Beware the Social Security Tax Torpedo

    Hidden Value is a new column in ThinkAdvisor where Joe Elsasser, CFP®, answers common questions with insights advisors and their clients may not have considered. This week he discusses avoiding the tax torpedo and how combinations of different retirement incomes can create ugly distortions in tax rates.
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    In The News

    Hidden Value: How to Help Retirees Pick the Right Life Insurance

    Hidden Value is a new column in ThinkAdvisor where Joe Elsasser, CFP®, answers common questions with insights advisors and their clients may not have considered. This week Joe tackles how to help clients pick the right life insurance.
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    In The News

    Hidden Value: How Do You Compare Two Financial Plans?

    Hidden Value is a new column in ThinkAdvisor where Joe Elsasser, CFP®, answers common questions with insights advisors and their clients may not have considered. This week Joe tackles how to compare two financial plans.
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    In The News

    Forbes Finance Council: Key Questions to Ask When Choosing a Niched Financial Advisor

    In a recent article for Forbes, Covisum President, Joe Elsasser, CFP®, touts the many benefits of choosing a niched financial practice. Niched financial practices have defined specifically which clients they will work with and what services they can provide to make them the best option for those clients. Choosing an advisor who focuses on your particular niche is crucial when it comes to understanding your specific needs and answering any questions you may have comprehensively.
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    In The News

    ThinkAdvisor: A Major Shift is Coming in How Advisors Use Fintech

    In a recent article for ThinkAdvisor, Covisum President, Joe Elsasser, CFP®, suggested that full integration will overtake open architecture as the theme of the next decade. When financial tech begins to provide full integration, it will enable greater efficiency and the ability to provide mass-customization processes in financial firms. Highly customized, quality advice will be more affordable to the mass affluent, while still adding value for the consumer.
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