Obama’s Small Business Tax Cuts May Hurt Economic Growth:
In a speech last month at the venerable Brookings Institution, President Barack Obama laid out a series of objectives meant to stimulate economic activity. As he put it, “Our work is far from done.”
Obama’s proposed economic package includes an elimination of capital gains taxes on small-business investment as well as an extension of business equipment write-offs. Small businesses would be allowed to write off 100% of their capital equipment purchases, while large businesses could deduct 50% of those expenses in the first year.
Somewhat surprisingly, noted tax experts and supply-side thinkers Ernest Christian and Gary Robbins endorsed Obama’s tax pledge in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. They argue that the tax proposals were “the one right thing” in Obama’s address, the cuts being “a proven job-creating machine in the private sector.” Discounting that businesses are decidedly not in business to create jobs– the proposed cuts are at best geared toward a business climate that no longer exists; at worst they are merely subsidies masked as tax cuts.
First, supply-side tax policy is, at its core, all about incentives. But judging by his plan, Obama is creating incentives for businesses to remain small. As evidenced by the less favorable tax treatment proposed for large businesses, those that start small but grow into something larger will be penalized for doing so. Full Story Here
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Looking to snag shares of Facebook before it goes public? Felix Investments, a New York City investment manager, is giving rich clients a chance to do just that. The firm touts in a letter to potential investors: “Opportunities like this do not come along every day and we have not seen an opportunity like this since Google in 2004!”
Maybe for good reason. Felix is among a handful of firms vying to get an early jump on Facebook’s initial public offering (though the company says it has no plans of doing one). These firms have been pooling clients’ money to buy blocks of employee-held shares of the social network company before any IPO.
Felix Investments wouldn’t comment, but sources say the firm is looking to pay around $25 per share of Facebook, which values the company at close to $11 billion, according to private share marketplace SharesPost. Full Story Here
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Do you have trouble keeping New Year’s resolutions that involve losing weight or reading more? Maybe it’s time to put your time instead into resolutions that will pay real dividends down the road. Invest a few hours in making some simple money moves that will bulk up your portfolio and give you a solid chance of exiting 2010 more prosperous than you enter it.
Tough as the past year has been financially, the economy has provided a good opportunity to take a fresh, objective look at your financial future, says Roger Wohlner, financial planner in Arlington Heights, Ill.
“Periods of ups and downs in the market are very common, but rarely have we seen anything as extreme as we’ve seen over the last 15 months,” he says. “This is an especially opportune time for somebody to reassess his or her portfolio, retirement strategy and whole financial plan.”
Often the smartest moves you can make are tried-and-true ones–not the sort of stuff that’s been spawned as newfangled ways to protect yourself. In Depth: 10 Smart Money Moves For 2010
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