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The “Jury” Decides on ROBS – Can you legally fund a business purchase or startup with a Self-Directed 401k? September 15, 2011

Posted by Jeff Nabers in : Business Start-Ups, Rollovers As Business Startup, Rollovers As Business Startups, Self Directed IRA Solo 401k, Small Business Lending, Uncategorized , add a comment

Boy do I get a lot of blowback every time I share my findings about why the government has declared ROBS illegal!

Why is there not a specific government ruling on ROBS?

Great question!

It’s because once an issue has been ruled on, they don’t repeatedly consider it. “They” are the Department of Labor, and the first step of learning about Self-Directed IRA and 401(k) rules is finding out that “prohibited transactions” are an issue outside the jurisdiction of the IRS and in the hands of the Department of Labor (DOL).

When ROBS Was Ruled On

It was 2006. Debra Buchanan, the creator of the IRA LLC, asked the DOL a question about structuring an investment deal to avoid “prohibited transaction” status. (This was before she split with Guidant and became my legal counsel, but that’s another story.)

The DOL came back and said (paraphrased)

It doesn’t matter how you structure things or pursue exemptions. We’ve been clear throughout various rulings ["Advisory Opinions"] that a specific part of the law books [IRC 4975(c)(1)(D)] makes it prohibited for IRA or 401(k) funds to be used to benefit their account owner or family, unless it’s a taxable distribution.

That’s translated into humanspeak. You can see the actual ruling here. Untranslated legal language in it says:

…Department opinions interpreting [regulations] have made clear that a prohibited transaction occurs when a plan invests in a corporation as part of an arrangement or understanding under which it is expected that the corporation will engage in a transaction with a party in interest (or disqualified person).

The ROBS Coffin Is Sealed

This issue is so straightforward because DOL ruled on it as a bigger issue. DOL has received countless letters that ask “But what if I structure my Corporation this way or that way… do I then successfully evade the rules and regulations?”

And they always respond, “No. Using Self-Directed IRA or 401(k) funds to benefit the account owner or their family is always prohibited unless it’s through a taxable distribution.”

Tip: Don’t Piss Off The Government

I know that’s kind of common knowledge, but I wonder if you notice from the DOL language—”Department opinions interpreting [regulations] have made it clear”—that they are already (in 2006) annoyed at all the clever attempts at evading the rules and regulations.

Not a whole lot of wiggle room here. Zero, to be exact.

I know, I know… it’s bitter medicine. Especially if you dreamed up an awesome future all provided to you by ROBS.

But it’s quite easy to swallow if you get real and refocus your attention on legal strategies that actually work.

Nabers Group vs. CheckbookIRA.org, IRA Financial Group, Guidant, IRA123, Safeguard Financial, NAFEP, Asset Exchange Strategies®, etc September 12, 2011

Posted by Jeff Nabers in : Business Start-Ups, Rollovers As Business Startup, Rollovers As Business Startups, Self Directed IRA Solo 401k, Small Business Lending , 2comments

Why should you use my company to setup a Self-Directed IRA, IRA LLC, or Solo 401(k) instead of those others?

It’s quite simple really…

Those other companies all promote an illegal scheme called ROBS, and if you are a client of a company promoting an illegal scheme, you are a target for nasty IRS audits.

Best case audit scenario: After months or years of being audited, you are finally cleared. Your assets might be frozen during that time, and you may incur tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees to defend yourself.

Worst case scenario: If you used the ROBS strategy yourself with, say a couple hundred thousand dollars, you could incur MILLIONS of dollars in taxes. Yep, you read that right. The tax penalties are (more…)

The Most Elusive & Dangerous Self-Directed IRA Practice – Part 2 November 16, 2010

Posted by Jeff Nabers in : Business Start-Ups, Money, Personal Enjoyment, Personal Productivity, real estate, Self Directed IRA Solo 401k, Small Business Lending , 7comments

In the last post, you learned about how doing an active “entrepreneurship-ish” deal inside your IRA is an open invitation for the IRS to tax the hell out of you.

In this post, you’ll learn the solution.

The solution is to structure both your active entrepreneurship and your passive investment activity in a way that that puts you in the most control. Put another way, avoid giving the IRS an open invitation to tax attack you.

I bet you can guess where this is going (one commenter had a pretty good (more…)

Internet Business Not Waiting For Government’s Proposed “Small Business Lending Fund” February 5, 2010

Posted by admin2 in : Business Start-Ups, Small Business Lending , 1 comment so far

“One of the issues is should we be spending 30 billion on small business investment when there’s this big deficit that we need to address and that certainly concerns me,” says Internet small business CEO, Elizabeth Pitt. She’s not alone. The cries to stop the government spending are being heard everywhere. In the President’s State of the Union address, he outlined his solutions to help Main Street. However, it could be just another band aid. One part of the solution diverts funds from the large bank repaid TARP money to more banks…this time, banks that have less than $10 billion in assets with the hope that they’ll lend the money to small businesses. But one self-employed businesswoman isn’t waiting for a handout… instead, Pitt is already taking in cash flow from her company. Watch this video to see how this entrepreneur successfully chose an online niche market and learn how small businesses can save America.

Take action now and make America Great by building your business. Call Nabers Group: 877-903-2220. Read more about preserving and increasing your wealth: Five Steps to Freedom: How to Cut Your Dependence on Institutions and Escape Financial Slavery. For more helpful information visit: Your Financial News: video stories to help you succeed in business.