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    I have a few basic questions about trading as a career...

    real traders don't talk in absolute terms. they talk in %'s. everything in %'s, ok? what does this mean? well, obviously it means the real return is based off of more than just the ability to trade well -- its also based off the ability to trade large amounts of capital well. if you are...
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    Where are all the amateurs?

    LOL....do you really think ET is made of up 'pros'??? really? :D
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    TradeStar, trading the grail

    this is my vote for the most stupid post today.... :confused:
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    New member - Help with my system please!

    he meant he'll post another idea for ET members to test tomorrow. :confused:
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    New member - Help with my system please!

    but it SEEMS like it would work! maybe it could? :D
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    College Basketball vs. Pro Basketball

    indoor soccer (MISL for those of you who know what i'm talking about...the old days) for some reason this sport never caught on with the public. most exciting game ever created...great sport to play as well! :D
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    New member - Help with my system please!

    i assume you have a computer , since you are writing to this thread, and trading (paper trading). so am i missing something? get some backtesting software (the best ones out there are pretty cheap in comparison to the amount of risk capital you'll probably be trading). it might take a few...
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    Private Annuities

    thanks intel for your post. all of this of course comes down to law and court cases, and how willing the IRS is to defend ambiguous tax code. as i look into this further, i am nowhere near capitalized enough anyway to make such a structure work in my favor yet, so its kind of a wash right now...
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    Best way to convert cap. gains into earned income?

    gms, i like to educate myself about what i'm getting into BEFORE i give my hard-earned money to tax professionals. there are sooooooooooo many people out there willing to take your money that it isn't even funny. :D
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    Best way to convert cap. gains into earned income?

    ahh, another thing to think about: HOW to get the profits paid out BACK into the LLC!!! hehehehe do you just 'invest' in the llc through stock? and then this gets back around to the 30% capital investment rule maybe? arrrghhh headache..... one idea is that me and my spouse could GIFT...
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    Best way to convert cap. gains into earned income?

    thanks for the few that responded to this thread ... this has given me alot to chew on and i appreciate it!!! those of you who see my conclusion and think there is still something wrong, please post! this can really help me and many other traders out :D thanks !!!!
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    Best way to convert cap. gains into earned income?

    yes, i think this is the best way in this scenario. have a relative OWN the LLC, and they will then pay you a salary. FICA/SS is then taken out on each paycheck (half paid by relative, half paid by employee). then when you file taxes, there is NO SE. the effect of this is that you will...
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    Best way to convert cap. gains into earned income?

    is there a way to avoid self-employment taxes, paying them instead as regular FICA/SS taxes? if i had a relative own a corporation and it paid me, i wouldn't be paying SE taxes right? i ask this because SE taxes get applied to earned income BEFORE the foreign earned income exemption, and...
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    Best way to convert cap. gains into earned income?

    "If you are self–employed, and both capital investment and personal services are factors in producing your income, your earned income is the smaller of the value of your personal services or 30% of net profits" anyone care to comment on this? this is from the IRS. sounds like trouble for...
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    Best way to convert cap. gains into earned income?

    "earned income" gets the "foreign earned income exclusion". :D further investigation looks like the 12% would be taxed BEFORE the exemption, not AFTER. so gms was indeed correct.... so the revised scenario: option 1. bob pays 35% (155k+ rate), or 70k. option 2. bob and his spouse are...
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    Best way to convert cap. gains into earned income?

    ah ha! there is the catch. now what happens if my relatives are the members....hmmmm, time to call mom and pop :)
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    What happens if we find fossils on Mars?

    well, so far we have found that water existed (large amounts), and that the water was moving (river or waves). today, mars express found that there is METHANE in the atmosphere !!!!!!!! http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/marsexpress/040330methane.html what does this mean? well, METHANE...
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    Best way to convert cap. gains into earned income?

    http://www.medlawplus.com/library/legal/definitions/fica.htm looks like you are incorrect. basically, once the LLC pays out all of its profits to the 'employees', it doesn't owe any taxes. But the remaining FICA taxes for the employees ARE around 7%...
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    Best way to convert cap. gains into earned income?

    gms, thanks for your input....some corrections though.... you don't deduct housing expenses as the business expense. there is a little thing called the foreign housing exclusion, and the foreign housing deduction which enables you to deduct any rent/utilities above 11k for the year (see...
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