In the age of the internet a troll is someone who posts inflammatory or insulting comments on a blog or website. But the legendary description of a troll is a grotesque and dangerous supernatural creature that hides under a bridge waiting to pounce on hapless travelers. Being a fan of horror movies, I like the second definition better. But this is a financial column after all, and the troll I’m talking about is currently hiding under the bridge, but make no mistake about it, it’s getting ready to pounce.

There are a great number of tax-saving opportunities available to business owners. Sad to say, many of these opportunities are not well known and often ignored even by tax planners, CPAs and attorneys. By not using them, you will have “volunteered” to pay more taxes. Let’s get one thing out in the open at the get-go: Everything I will tell you is legal, audit-tested and rooted well within the IRC (Internal Revenue Code.) So let’s get started keeping more of that hard-earned money from your business.

If you just read the headlines or watch CNN and other mainstream medial, you may well believe the economy has stalled, global credit markets are frozen and we’re heading toward another vicious recession, the infamous “Double Dip.” This all reminds me of an old joke in journalism that you should never let the facts get in the way of a good story, and as we learned in Part one of this series, “If it ain’t bad, it ain’t news.” So here’re are some facts to consider: