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Quiz on Tax Rates 18 y
This is a buddy's blog
According to OECD, which country -- of the largest 15 -- has the highest ratio of overall taxes to GDP? And the answer is --
Sweden.
See, that was easy.
And which country has the highest marginal personal income tax rates?
And the answer is Germany. Also not too difficult to guess.
One more question. And which country has the highest corporate income tax rates?
And the answer is.
The United States.
That sounds like a pretty bassackwards tax policy to me.
Given that no one really likes to pay taxes, and that no politician likes to vote for higher taxes -- but also given that ta ... read more Financial College on Ethics 18 y
This is my alma Mater, and I tell you it is first class and they train at a high level- first time I had to retake a test in my life was with this group- and I've taken a lot of tests!
New Center for Ethics at The American College to Feature Financial Services Leaders at Inaugural Event
Recent reports in the media have focused on allegations of financial impropriety and a lack of professional ethics at some major corporations. Enron, Worldcom, HealthSouth, and market timing issues have all been the subject of significant media attention. In an effort to be proactive about issues of concern, leading thought makers on business ethics will share their insights at a special panel discussion sponsored by the only ethics center of its kind at The American College on ... read more Pox on both Houses 18 y
Are you a sovereign individual, sounds a little like the microcosom of all collectives, eh? Rang some bells as I read it!
My comments in the January 11 A-Letter about the warrant-less wiretapping of American citizens by President Bush, Judge Alito’s record on privacy issues, and the record of the Supreme Court, elicited a flurry of angry responses from some of our more ”conservative” readers.
One said: ”... you have adopted the same thrust as our Liberal friends i.e. Teddy the swimmer, Barbara the Boxer etc...” Others thought I must be a ”liberal” because I didn’t point out Bill Clinton’s abuses of power, only those of Bush. I was told that I was stating only half the story about Judge Alito’s rulings. Sev ... read more Convertibe Bonds 18 y
Money Managers of covertible bond funds have the ability (if managed by say Bill Gross- the Warren Buffett of bonds) to prosper when stocks begin to be the vogue investment again. The Senate has found some money maybe ...ah well, corporations will adeptly find a new loophole if this one is closed- Investments are compliance eveolutionary in nature
Senate Targets Some Convertible Bonds
Under a current provision that might be eliminated, corporate issuers of certain hybrid securities can deduct the costs they would have incurred had they issued a higher-interest traditional bond.
Stephen Taub, CFO.com
January 18, 2006
Some convertible bonds may soon be less appealing to issuers.
These hybrid securities, which that pay interest but also enable investors to convert them into stock, typically offer lower interest rates for this reason. Under current tax rules, corporate issuers can deduct the costs they would have incurred h ... read more Bonds... 18 y
I'm wondering if the fed will rachet rates as they have been slowing but surely doing...then it's not so sure what Eric is presuming..or if like landing a bloated C3 carrier we will bump into another growth period...Magical Thinking
Dear A-Letter Reader:
Over the last two years, investors have barely kept pace with inflation in benchmark intermediate term US Treasury bonds. After enjoying a massive rally since 2000, bond yields hit a 40 year low in 2003 at 3.3%. Despite thirteen Federal Reserve rate hikes since June 2004, bond yields have actually declined twenty basis points (0.20%), a worrisome signal Chairman Greenspan called a ”conundrum” last fall. Yield curve inversion is a dangerous anomaly because it portends to economic weakness; the last three inversions all resulted in economic recessions.
Indeed, the ... read more Economically Perverse=Pensions? 18 y
My now that IBM has frozen their Defined beenfit plan- it turns out defined benefit plans were economically perverse- for whom- the worker...ummm not my guess, for the corporation- ah I see the corporation paying retired workers is perverse..Kinda the what have you done for me lately corporate tune?
TWO PENSION CRISES PLUS HEALTH CARE - The U.S. pension system is heading toward a double crisis. For employees, the crisis is a lack of funding. S&P says the companies in their S&P 500 with traditional pension plans will need another $40 billion to get their plans back up to speed. The second impending crisis is an accounting change that may make pension issues more painful for corporations. Regulations for both pensions and retiree health care cost changes will be implemented over the next five years. Health coverage for retirees is even scarier for employees. The same S&P 500 companie ... read more Home Office Deductions 18 y
The ins and outs of filings forms, which forms (pdf files), and what deductions with retirement and health plan deductions
Depreciation Appreciation 101: The Ins and Outs of Deducting for a Home Office
By DAMON DARLIN
Published: January 14, 2006
Every year at tax time, Robert Sigal, a San Diego chemical engineer specializing in computer simulations of chemical plants, would take his home office as a deduction.
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Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times
Robert Sigal, a San Diego chemical engineer, often works from his home office.
Explanation of the home-office deduction:
Business Use of Home
IRS Publication 587 (PDF) (See page 14, bottom of the first ... read more Canada and US 18 y
Huh, wonder if we count different...This actually has other ramifications that spell the divide between Can and US philosophy...better to think global in accounting-?
U.S. GAAP Won’t Fly North of the Border
Canada will align its accounting rules with international financial reporting standards.
Stephen Taub, CFO.com
January 11, 2006
Canada’s Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has decided to scrap the standards known as Canadian GAAP, but not in favor of the U.S version.
Instead, reported the Toronto Globe and Mail, during the next five years or so, Canada will align its accounting rules with international financial reporting standards (IFRS).
AcSB chairman Paul Cheery said the decision came after extensive discussions with Canadian ... read more Mistaken Identity 18 y
10 years in jail and 1 Million fine, yea I'd say "It was him- not me!" I do think there are voice Id machines that can identify voices on tape- maybe that's just TV!
Enron Audiotape Prompts Second Thoughts
After listening to the evidence, a former executive now maintains that a misleading statement was made not by him, but by Jeffrey Skilling.
Stephen Taub, CFO.com
January 10, 2006
Mark Koenig, the former head of investor relations for Enron Corp., now maintains that a false statement he admitted to making was actually made by former chief executive officer Jeffrey Skilling, according to the Houston Chronicle.
In August 2004, Koenig pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting securities fraud and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. He is expec ... read more Bush~ Supreme Court 18 y
Who can check the Presidential Powers?
Our Presidential Era: Who Can Check the President?
E-Mail This
By NOAH FELDMAN
Published: January 8, 2006
I. OUR PRESIDENTIAL ERA
Forum: Issues Before the Supreme Court
Not since Watergate has the question of presidential power been as salient as it is today. The recent revelation that President George W. Bush ordered secret wiretaps in the United States without judicial approval has set off the latest round of arguments over what the president can and cannot do in the name of his office. Over the past few years, the war on terror has led to the use of executive orders ... read more There IS Enough!!!! 18 y
We can make a difference- now -there is "enough", we are enough, and we have the power to "make a difference". A Bucky coinage!
This is one of my personal experiences so according to my usual it would be under Cold Water blog but it is about my doings last night and money!
Guess who I saw after lovemaker went back home? Lynne Twist the author of ”The Soul of Money”, if you haven’t read this book-Do...it is not really about money but sufficiency About having enough..and KNOWING when we have enough It’s about sharing and realizing there is enough for everybody and only our distribution process is broken.
Is our distribution broken? Is our heart broken? We live on the earth-Do we poison our own water-the w ... read more |