The IRS warns high-income taxpayers about abusive transactions involving Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts (CRATs) and monetized installment sales. These types of transactions can be abused by promoters of tax schemes with the taxpayer being on the hook for potential penalties.
These schemes can take many shapes, ranging from abusive deals involving syndicated conservation easements and micro-captive insurance arrangements. They can also involve an international component, such as hiding cash and digital assets offshore or using Maltese foreign individual retirement accounts or foreign captive insurance.
If a tax plan seems too good to be true, or the promoter tells you their plan is proprietary, or asks you to sign a non-disclosure agreement it might just be bogus. Before investing be sure to talk to an independent tax professional who is not affiliated with the promoter.