If you’re in the $200k+ club, a hedge fund manager or corporate jet owner, you won’t be pleased. From Reuters:
— A limit on itemized deductions and certain exemptions on individuals who earn over $200,000 and families who earn over $250,000, which would raise roughly $400 billion over 10 years.
— A proposal to treat carried interest earned by investment fund managers as ordinary income rather than taxing it at capital gains rates, which would raise $18 billion.
— Eliminating certain oil and gas industry tax breaks that would raise $40 billion.
— A change in corporate jet depreciation rules that would raise $3 billion.
When asked whether it is “evil” to pay a 6% federal tax rate, he laughed it off. “I don’t make the laws,” he said. “I’m just like every other corporation.” [Fortune]
When I was in college I had a roommate who had an odd taste in television. Sure, he liked some sports, Adam Sandler movies and free soft-core porn like the rest of us but what he really enjoyed, what he absolutely relished in, was infomercials.
He recited Ron Popeil demonstrations like he wrote the script. He even took the human interaction down to the psych level (it was his major, after all), telling me that he thought Ron was belittling Nancy for her perpetual doubt about the capabilities of any invention that Ron’s brain could muster. I always thought that Ron was simply too passionate about his products and was simply bringing that passion out in responding to Nancy. That, plus his machines have the noise-making capability of a bulldozer, so he had to yell over them. This usually resulted in a shouting match between myself and my roommate and then we probably got blind drunk.
According to public records, Ronco Inventions LLC owes the state $170,392 in delinquent taxes — or three easy payments of $56,797. Ronco is famed for products such as the parody-worthy Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, and rotisserie ovens. Popeil has turned the infomercial into an art form thanks to catch phrases — “Set it, and forget it!”, “But wait, there’s more!” — and studio audience members who clap like their lives depend on it.
Since Ron is the brains of Ronco, it’s likely that he treats tax issues much like he treated Nancy: with spirited indifference. Which now leads me to wonder if she’s the one in charge of the accounting department. Judge for yourself:
The whole IRS/UBS tango has gotten to the point where we’ll take any kind of resolution.
Like if the IRS decided that it was too much trouble and said, “We don’t need no stinking names”, we’d be thrilled. Or if UBS decided to hand over a truckload of Toblerones in order to bury the hatchet we’d think, “that was our idea” .
But no, the standoff continues, as the parties confirmed Friday’s meeting today to discuss the progress they’ve made in reaching a settlement. Regardless if a settlement is announced on Friday or the stalemate continues and the case starts on Monday the sooner this thing is over, the better. UBS, IRS to Meet on Friday [WSJ]
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