Tweaking tax code could spur green energy: senator [Reuters]
Chris Coons will introduce legislation on Thursday that would allow a broad range of renewable power generation and transmission projects to qualify for a tax structure used widely by pipeline and other energy-related companies. The bill is unlikely to be considered until after the November presidential election, but may give lawmakers food for thought as they wrestle with whether to extend tax breaks for green energy set to expire this year. The "master limited partnership," or MLP, structure allows certain types of companies to raise money in the stock market, while having income taxed only at the unit holder level, avoiding corporate income taxes. "It's something that's been used for decades," said Coons, who represents Delaware, a state where financing has fallen short for offshore wind power projects. "This is one energy financing vehicle that we should all be able to agree on," he said in an interview.
Obama holds position on Bush-era tax rates despite comments from Clinton [
The Hill]
The White House on Wednesday rejected renewed GOP calls to maintain current tax rates for the wealthy after former President Clinton appeared to endorse the idea. Clinton’s suggestion that Congress temporarily extend all of the current rates to protect the economy caused yet another political headache for the White House and congressional Democrats, who have vowed to do away with tax cuts for the wealthy. Clinton’s office issued a clarification, but not before senior Republicans seized on his remarks, made in a CNBC interview, to buttress their argument for a full extension of all the Bush-era rates.
Officer sentenced in tax fraud scheme [
TBO via
Tax Update]
A former police officer was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $874,000 in restitution for helping conspirators in a Tampa tax fraud scheme to cash U.S. Treasury checks. Investigators say Dana Brown used his access as an Ocala police officer to look up personal information in a state driver's license database that could be used to produce fake identifications matching the names on the Treasury checks. "The defendant essentially sold his badge as a police officer," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Kaiser. Brown told the court he had sold his soul — and was sorry.
Office Workers Run Amok [
WSJ]
Unlike marathons and triathlons run on roads and trails, obstacle races cover far shorter distances but ask participants to do far crazier things. Participants on a 10-to-12 mile Tough Mudder course wade through waist-deep mud, crawl under barbed wire, submerge themselves in ice water and jump through fire. At the "electroshock therapy" obstacle, they pass through a dangling curtain of electrical wires, some carrying "10,000 volts of electric shock," the company says. (The current, measured in amps, is low. It "feels like a major rubber band," a spokesman says.) Spartan Race's three-to-eight mile courses have featured abandoned mine tunnels, and a barrier of costumed "gladiators" just before the finish line. […] Justin Deiter, 29, senior vice president at LIS Investments in Melville, N.Y., says the events are his chance to "cut loose" after 80-hour workweeks. He just finished his sixth Tough Mudder in May in Pennsylvania and plans to run another three this fall. He likes the competitive angle. "Every guy in the boardroom thinks he's the toughest guy in there," says Mr. Deiter, whose mother goes to the events to watch him compete.
Meet Ponzify, the Next Hot Tech I.P.O. [
DealBook]
What could go wrong?
A Little 'Like' Can Mean Big Trouble [
WSJ]
A simple click of Facebook's "like" button can also set in motion a surprising—and potentially negative—chain of events, as seen in the case of Peter TerVeer, a former Library of Congress employee. According to his attorney, Mr. TerVeer endured harassment, discrimination and a hostile work environment after his former superior found out that Mr. TerVeer "liked" a group that supports gays and lesbians. These recent cases highlight an important point: You may face repercussions at work for your behavior on sites such as Facebook. With Facebook users generating billions of "likes" and comments every day, there's plenty of potential for workplace problems. While some employers monitor social-media use, in many cases Facebook "friends" and co-workers alert management about posts. Philip Gordon, an employment lawyer in Denver, cites one situation in which an employee photographed another whose underwear was showing, and then posted the picture on Facebook. "One of the other employees was offended and reported it to human resources," Mr. Gordon says.
'Franklin & Bash' star Mark-Paul Gosselaar on 'Saved by the Bell': 'It's not a great show' [
Yahoo]
“The writing is kind of hokey… it’s very much a piece of that time.”
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