Monday News Round Up

Hi All,

Its first full week of 2009, so we’re getting down to businesses.

Here is the best of recent news that fit to print.

The Obama stimulus plan is looking like a whopper. The NY Times is reporting that it includes up to $300 billion in tax cuts, changed tax rules regarding depreciation, tax credits for job creation and direct rebate payments to individuals. It looks comprehensive, but will almost certainly run up the federal deficit.

Don’t Mess With Taxes has a nice little posting on the practice of “Grossing Up”. Grossing up is when companies add enough money to their workers checks to cover any added tax on bonuses. Look for more fatcats to avoid taxation with this.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing adding the power to tax livestock to its rulemaking authority. They are thinking of adding a tax of up to $175 per cow and $20 per pig. Farmers with more than 50 animals would be required to obtain a permit. The farm bureau says it would add 8 cents to each gallon of milk. Good luck with that.

Charles Rangel is looking more corrupt every day. He hit up failed insurance giant AIG for $10 million, and then approved a big time tax loophole so AIG could write off a ton of foreign income. The full story is at the TaxProf blog.

The economic picture is looking more optimistic. Construction spending wasn’t as bad as expected, and Walgreen’s sales were up 10%. That said, the feds should watch out because the Chinese are starting to say they don’t want our debt.

Best,

James