Zaki Tamir is a lawyer and a partner in the law firm Tamir Markus LLP, he is the chairman of the board of the CHJCC, an organization that provides social services to the residents of Brooklyn, New York. He is the CEO of TGC LLC, a consulting company that operates from his office at the United Nations Plaza, in New York City. He is also a student in Boston University School of Law, studying for a degree in tax law. He is not a tax expert (yet) and therefore offers no tax related advice by virtue of this article. It relates Tamir's own experience with finding creative ways to grow wealth taking advantage of the business opportunities available to him and to his clients. Any practical steps towards action on the reader's part should be reviewed carefully with a tax professional.
Being a former Assistant District Attorney in Kings County, one of the busiest cities in the U.S., and expanding his practice to commercial litigation, you'd think that Zaki Tamir would be content with some of the civil cases or business / corporate counseling he does.
Maybe, but he always had his sights on a G5 airplane . . . and he wanted to figure out how to get one . . . for free.
Zaki Tamir was born in Miami Beach, Florida. He was always attracted to the drama and excitement of law. Growing up he would watch TV and movies in the law genre and it was something that he saw in these stories that inspired him to want to push his life forward in that direction and to do good in the world. He also saw it as a playbook for how people can get what they want in their lives and make their dreams a reality. Raised in an orthodox Chassidic Jewish home, he studied the Torah, and even became a Rabbi. One interesting parallel, Tamir noticed that Jewish laws had an interesting structure, much like case law. This fascinated him and he knew this would help him excel in this field.
Tamir is the managing member of Tamir Group Consulting LLC (TGC) which serves international clients in three countries: The United States, The United Arab Emirates, and Israel. With the support from The United States, the 2014 Abraham Accords between The United Arab Emirates and Israel opened the way for free trade between the two countries and there was a concerted effort apparent in Dubai's high society to attract wealthy international investors and stimulate the economy by offering incentives to invest in real estate and other ventures in Dubai. One of the incentives offered was the zero taxes on real estate investments. . . This incentive gave him the idea for acquiring a free airplane.
This zero-tax incentive was completely unheard of before, and caused a huge buzz among the rich and famous residing in the U.S., and even more so in Israel. Indeed, the Prince of Dubai and his government did a very good job at creating a dream-like environment of luxury in Dubai, but it is a grueling 13-hour flight from New York. Emirates Airline, a government owned subsidiary, goes to great lengths to ease the burden of travel. For example, the business class has a lounge and full bar, and included in the price of the business class plane ticket, passengers enjoy luxurious transportation by limousine to their hotel or another destination from the airport. But even with the extra perks it is a very long way from home.
Israel is a mere 3-hour flight from Dubai and since 2014 the Israelis can't get enough of this. Compared to a ride upstate or a flight to Miami from New York, traveling in style is a luxury that they have grown to love and appreciate.
TGC would offer a full-service 5-star trip to Dubai on a private jet for a one-week tour of the sites, real estate properties, buildings, and hotels for sale. The main developer in Dubai, Emaar, would be asked to sponsor the flights for up to 19 passengers from the US and Israel. The plane, a Gulfstream G5.
The G5 is the newest model from Gulfstream and boasts significant improvement from the previous G4 model. The luxury on the private jet is intended to make the travel part of the experience fun and excites traveler's appetites and their desire for real estate purchases.
Emaar would lease the plane from TGC for $8,000.00 per hour (not including the cost of gas or flight crew). A typical flight from NYC to Dubai (approximately six trips per year) would cost approximately $160K each way, and the average sales in real estate could be upward of $12 million every two tours. From Israel to Dubai (approximately two tours per year) the cost would be approximately $40K each way and the average sales would be estimated at approximately $3.5 million every two tours. Emaar would be paying out approximately $3 million for flights every year and realized a gross income of approximately $36 million. It was a viable dream that could materialize into a successful model.
The proverbial lightbulb turned on in Tamir's head and he started to consider buying the actual plane. The shopping began. But any plane that TGC could afford was below any standard expected to be acceptable to Emaar, and most of the planes could not even make it that far. The G5 was $59 million, and even with financing it seemed to not be a viable option, not to mention that of the 193 total planes in existence, no pre-owned G5's were available for sale, only new ones. So TGC put the plane purchase project on ice-until . . .
In 2022 Zaki Tamir went to study tax law at Boston University School of Law, to study Tax Law. The goal? To take his tax knowledge to the next level. For Tamir, this was the next best option. In the movie, The Matrix, Keanu Reeves plays Thomas A. Anderson, a programmer who plugs his brain into a computer to input new data. In that vein, he listened to every word, studied every concept, and used what he learned for the G5 project and more. He realized that these new skills would give him and his clients an enormous advantage. "I gleaned from my education and one of the things that I learned in studying tax laws is that the IRS and the US government is very reasonable and accommodating toward the success of honest entrepreneurs and taxpayers. There are so many provisions built in to help a business grow. So many businesses . . . and lawyers are just missing them."
One such provision is the Bonus Depreciation/ Accelerated Depreciation credit that is offered by… none other than Uncle Sam! In laymen terms this offer allows any US business to purchase machinery and /or equipment for the use in a trade or business and get back the entire purchase price back from the US Government. The purchase of an airplane for use in the taxpayers' trade or business is specifically included in the provision. The general concept of this offer has been around for some time but in 2017 and pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("TCJA"), a small business owner can access this type of dream-offer. For example, before the TCJA, if a taxpayer wanted to purchase the plane it had to be a purchase of new plane, it also had to be an outright purchase excluding financing, and the return would be over a number of years. The current laws are insane in the benefit that is now available to the US citizen. Now, used planes are included; the taxpayer can make the purchase with financing paying for the plane over many years while generating income from the business and yet still receive the entire purchase price back from the government in the first year of use in dollar-for-dollar tax credits, essentially, getting tax credits from the government on the full purchase price before the plane is even fully paid for. That's right dollar-for-dollar tax credits immediately year-one. Additionally, the interest payments on the financing could be tax deductible and there are a number of other additional tax benefits for related expenses that could be excluded as a business expenses.
The catch? Yes, there is one single catch. The insanely generous offer by the US Government expires on December 31st, 2022. The plane (or other machine including cars and trucks…) must be in use for the trade or business before the end of this year.
Working on an idea like this does take out-of-the-box thinking. Looking back, Tamir says he spent his childhood trying very hard to fit in the box. As an adult, he realized climbing out of the confines of his own mind would become his greatest strength-to dare to do something bold. For example, as an Assistant DA on drug cases, he had to examine closely every detail, inspect every element, have photos blown up during trials to reveal and scrutinize the tiniest of essential details. Doing so allowed him to win cases, to achieve the results and justice he sought. Now, it's about finding the smallest of details in tax law, and using this knowledge to build and to help other businesses and entrepreneurs to get ahead and achieve their own financial goals, dreams, and success.
It's the Good Life that we all search and hope to realize. TGC has grown from God's blessing in Zaki Tamir's steadfast and creative approach to business and has allowed him to help families raise money, get government funding, and help change lives for the better.
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Zaki Tamir
Email: ztamir@tamir.law
Website: https://www.tamir.law
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