Jay-Z, Buffett and Forbes on Success and Giving Back

From Forbes.com:

Neither Jay-Z nor Buffett would admit to being nervous. It was their behavior that gave them away. Jay-Z the wordsmith said little at first but stared at Buffett intently, taking in every word. He ordered what Buffett ordered: a strawberry malt, thin. He barely touched it. Buffett never stopped talking, telling childhood stories about stealing syrup from nickel Coke machines and peeling off zingers. "When you see me reach for the check," he told the photographer, "you'll know I'm posing." They warmed up quickly and were soon laughing every minute or so. As they left Jay-Z headed over toward his Escalade. Warren called him back, "I'll give you a lift. Sit up in the front with me. My rates are very competitive."

Steve Forbes: You two are unique. In very different spheres you've each reached a level of success that's almost legendary. What did you do that made you different?

Warren Buffett: Well, I was lucky that I got started early. My dad happened to be in the investment business, so I would go down to his office on Saturdays. At age 7 or so I started reading these books that were around the place. I knew what I wanted to do early. That's a huge advantage.

You don't need a lot of brains in this business. I've always said if you've got an IQ of 160, give away 30 points to somebody else, because you don't need it in investments. What you need is emotional stability. You have to be able to think independently, and when you come to a conclusion you have to really not care what other people say. Just follow the facts and your reasoning. That's tough for a lot of people. But that part, I was just lucky with. I was born that way.

Read more here

Tax Hikes Loom For Businesses

Congress is going to have a handful of tax issues to consider when they return from summer recess, many of which will affect American businesses. According to Forbes.com, legislators will need to take on bills dealing with expiring tax cuts, tax relief for businesses, and energy laws likely to have significant tax implications.

The difficult part: Paying for it all. No member of Congress wants to be viewed as raising taxes in the weeks before Election Day. Much of the work can--and probably will--be done in the "lame-duck" session following the election, but the dynamics of such sessions are notoriously unpredictable. At the same time, lawmakers will be feeling pressure to trim the $1.4 trillion federal budget deficit. The president's Fiscal Commission suggesting steps to do this is due by Dec. 1.

Business is watching closely. Congress is also cooking up an alphabet soup of tax measures to offset some of the outlays, and how it turns out is anyone's guess.

"Everything that has been in any bill that has been passed by the House or Senate is fair game and is at high risk of being done," warns Clint Stretch, managing principal for tax policy in the Washington office of Deloitte Tax.

The most debated item is whether to extend the Bush tax cuts, which expire at the end of the year. The Obama administration has proposed keeping them in place for about 98% of all Americans, but letting the top marginal income tax rates rise for individuals earning more than $200,000 per year and couples who make more than $250,000. The top two rates would be 36% and 39.6%, up from 33% and 35%, respectively, at present.

Continue reading at Forbes.com…

New Orleans Saints Dispute IRS Claims

As a result of a report from Forbes magazine accusing the New Orleans Saints of avoiding income taxes on an $8.5 million payment from the state of Louisiana, the team has asserted in tax court that they are not guilty of tax avoidance. According to USA Today, the team’s lawyers claimed the payment was nontaxable "working capital" and was part of 10 years of "inducement payments" given to the team.

Forbes reported that the lawsuit claimed the money was intended to help the team "acquire additional and higher-priced player contacts" to make the team "more competitive in the NFL."

The Saints reached a long-term deal to remain in the Superdome in 2009.

Continue reading at USA Today.com…

IRS Spending More Time Auditing Small Businesses

Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) highlights an upsetting fact in a new report. As if April 15 isn’t stressful enough for small-business owners, over the last five years, the Internal Revenue Service has increased the hours it spends auditing small businesses with less than $10 million in assets, by 30%, while in the mean time reducing the time it spends auditing large corporations with $250 million or more in assets by 33%. During the same period, audit hours devoted to mid-size corporations ($10 million to $250 million in assets) grew by 13%.

The author of this article on Forbes.com, Dean Zerbe, says he has “just scratched the surface of this insightful report, which should be available to the general public Monday morning, [April 19th, 2010] at TRACs website."

Read Dean Zerbe’s full article about this audit increase here: IRS Audits Small Biz More, Big Guys Less Forbes.com.

Money For Life: Forbes.com Publishes their 2010 Tax Guide

Forbes.com recently published their annual tax guide, with dozens of informative articles written by financial experts from across the country. I have listed a few of my favorite guides below, be sure to click on the links to access the full articles.

Earn Tax-Free Income

Tax rates are going up, so it pays to find sources of income that the tax collector can't touch. Here are 20 of them.

Stimulus Creates New Tax-Time Headaches

IRS computers are rejecting retirees' 1040s. Working couples are facing unexpected bills. The stimulus created both traps--and money-saving opportunities--on 2009 returns.

Will Your Tax Pro Get You Audited?

The IRS doesn't regulate preparers--yet. Here's how to spot and avoid a problem pro now.

Second Homes Bring Tax Traps

Homeownership has lots of tax benefits. But owning a second home is trickier.

Most States Not Raising Gas Taxes

According to Forbes.com only seven states raised their gas tax rates over the past year. With Washington having the highest increase with an addition 2-cent tax. While Iowa and Nebraska both saw their gas tax rates drop by fractions of a penny. However, most states haven't raised gas taxes in the past year.