April 2014

There’s an old saying among frequent users of the Internet: “Don’t feed the trolls”. By this is meant, don’t respond to people who deliberately make controversial or misleading statements (as doing so just gives them the attention or business that they crave and don’t deserve).

I try to honor this advice when I can. But occasionally I feel compelled to feed a troll in order to keep the public from being misled. You see, the problem with trolls is…sometimes they wear a disguise. In fact, by all appearances, some trolls may even appear to the uninformed public to be unbiased “experts” on the matters upon which they opine. Believe it or not, some trolls are even lawyers.

Take, for example, attorney Jay Adkisson. About once a quarter or so, Jay decides to publish some pretty scary and confusing things about captive insurance companies—things which seem designed to steer business away from his competitors and toward his own firm or favored third parties. Anyone knowing what I know, which includes an ever-increasing percentage of the captive insurance industry, easily sees through Jay’s charade. But, the problem is…the general public doesn’t usually know what I know, and so they are susceptible to being misled.

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Over time, taxes can take a heavy toll on a business and its owners.  Year after year, profits are stripped away to pay taxes often resulting in a business that is less prepared for the challenges and risks it may face in the future.  Congress doesn’t want small and mid-size businesses and business owners to be hollowed out by excessive taxation either. 

It’s April 15, and business owners across America are mailing checks to the IRS.  One way to look at mailing a large check to the IRS is, “it’s a good thing because it means we made money.”  Another way to look at mailing a large check to the IRS is, “what tax avoidance vehicles would enable us to better serve our business and hold on to hard earned profits for the future?”  To what lengths should business owners and professionals go to reduce their taxes

A wise man (Stephen Covey) said “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” It seems that the Captive Insurance Association (CICA) doesn’t understand small businesses and small business owners.  This myopia is not hard to understand.  Many members of CICA’s board are associated with large captives and large corporations.  The great danger is that misunderstanding can lead to misrepresentation.  Because they don’t understand the unique challenges and risks that small businesses face, it is easy to misunderstand and misrepresent small businesses