This is seriously not good, particularly since extending unemployment benefits is one of the preferred mechanisms for economic stimulus (unlike other ways of getting money to citizens, this mechanism is likely to lead to pretty much all being spent, which is the object of the exercise). Now some way will be found to make sure […]
Read more...In the geeky but important category, the California legislature attempted but failed to pass a budget that included a provision that effectively repudiated the recent Treasury directive to eliminate the limitation on acquiring banks’ ability to use the net operating losses of acquired banks. That rule change was widely described as instrumental in the catfight […]
Read more...We had mentioned in Links a few weeks ago tax law change allowing banks acquiring other banks with crappy assets to use the tax losses (the net operating loss carryforward) of the acquired company: Major Tax Incentive For Bank Purchases: IRS Eliminates the Limitation on Banks’ Built-In Losses Post-Purchase Jones Day (hat tip reader Richard). […]
Read more...Personally, I would lay more blame for any damage to the Swiss banking brand to the fear of the possible compromise of Switzerland’s standing as a tax haven. However, as we will discuss, the giant Swiss bank UBS has lost a lot of prvate banking clients over worries about the bank’s soundness, something completely contrary […]
Read more...More detail on all the lovely goodies larded in via Karim Bardeesy at The Big Money (both someone at TBM and reader Jennifer pointed out the piece). Note that this is a partial list: DIVISION C-TAX EXTENDERS AND ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX RELIEF SEC. 308. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON COVER OVER OF RUM EXCISE TAX TO […]
Read more...Repeat after me: bye bye the US’s AAA rating and the dollar. Although the Paulson’s plan is only sketchy, on the surface, it is utterly ridiculous. The authorities propose to save the economy by buying mortgage paper at market prices. Why do we need the government to create a massive and costly effort to buy […]
Read more...I bet every on-the-ropes corporate borrower would like to get the tax bennie that the Treasury extended to the GSEs today, namely, giving them what amounts to a private waiver for their net operating loss carryforwards. As much as one can argue that the Frannie and Freddie salvage operation is a unique situation, the notion […]
Read more...Princeton economics professor Alan Blinder’s article in today’s New York Times provides a useful summary of a new book by a Princeton colleague, Larry Bartels, which finds consistent differences in economic performance and income inequality trends between Democratic and Republican administrations. From the New York Times: Many Americans know that there are characteristic policy differences […]
Read more...One of the shifts in leading edge conventional wisdom is the “cities are cool” sentiment. It’s a lagging indicator, so lagging as to set for a near-term reversal. Mind you, I like cities and particularly like not owning a car, which limits me to particularly densely populated and/or enlightened metropolises. The logic of the new-found […]
Read more...It would be nice if Fannie and Freddie would have the good taste to stay out of the spotlight, particularly since bad news is a sign of higher odds that Things Are Not Going Well, Especially for Bagholders Taxpayers. However, it looks like we may not be so lucky. Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weil did some digging […]
Read more...There are some interesting cross currents in the day’s offerings on oil. What a difference a year makes. Not so long ago, the peak oil crowd was seen in much the same light as the discredited Club of Rome: worrywarts about a bad future that would probably take a long time to arrive. Now everyone […]
Read more...An odd set of voices is beginning to question the wisdom of America’s extraordinarily generous subsidies to homeowners. Paul Krugman once remarked that American like to consume houses, while the French prefer to consume vacations, but we shouldn’t overlook the role of incentives in those choices. At the Milken Institute Global Conference, a true disciple […]
Read more...The rebate checks haven’t yet arrived, and they are already being deemed likely to have little impact on the economy. That isn’t surprising. What is perplexing it that they were successfully portrayed for a short while as likely to do anything other than increase the Federal deficit. Readers may recall at the time the idea […]
Read more...I nearly fell off my chair. Ben Stein’s column this week, “What McCain Could Do About Taxes,” is sensible and vastly more tightly written and argued than his previous work. No free association or gratuitous name-dropping, no leaps of logic, no wishful thinking. More shocking, not only does he take issue with the Republican party […]
Read more...The Fortune article by Allan Sloan, “BofA’s awesome Countrywide tax break‘ was more blunt, pointing out that we taxpayers are helping subsidize Bank of America’s purchase and Mozilo’s payout. The tax savings are reported to be worth a half a billion over the first five years after the deal close, due to Bank of America […]
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