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Comment: Re:What's With All The RIM Hate? (Score 1) 214

by Kotoku (#40150693) Attached to: RIM May Need To Write Off $1 Billion In Inventory
Android apps I need for work include a full office suite, usb host control, document converter, checklist maker, photo editing apps, SSH, wireless printing, a web browser that doesnt stink, ability for 4g speeds to push and receive video.....should I go on? Blackberry isnt as productive and personally I cant type well on those tiny keys but get 60wpm on screen via my galaxy s2. Oh ... its also fun when not working.

Comment: Re:Yah You Know, CEOs (Score 1) 393

by Kotoku (#39731541) Attached to: Ellison Doesn't Know If Java Is Free
This story is about a day old...so if you are interested I hope it still gets to you.

Without knowing your situation it is hard to say as two primary employee stock option plans exist, NSO and ISO plans. Under an NSO, if given an option to purchase stock at a fixed price you, for all intents and purposes, own the stock but are able to delay paying taxes until you want to actually purchase even if an ascertainable market value exists that would reflect the value of your options. Suppose that options to purchase the stock are exercised at a price of $2.00 a share. If, at the time of exercise, the fair market value of your company stock is $3.50 per share, then $1.50 per share (the difference between the fair market value of the stock and the exercise price) would be treated as compensation income. If the stock is held for more than one year and subsequently sold for $5.00 per share, the additional $1.50 per share of appreciation can qualify for capital gain treatment. Depending on the options available to you this may be preferable than an immediate liquidation to cover tax costs as those shares could be held longer and receive capital gain treatment which it doesn't sound like yours currently are. So many situations exist it would take me hours to cover them all but it is a starting point to think about.

It is double taxation in this sense:

Situation 1: Make $100, all put into 401k, able to buy $100 in stock. Later, stock is sold and taxes paid - 1 instance of taxation.
Situation 2: Make $100, paid out to you via your check with 10% Income Tax. Able to buy $90 in stock. Later, stock is sold and taxes paid - 2 instances of taxation.

To answer your last question, I can't explain why the tax law is like it is in regards to heirs cost basis upon inheritance, just the potential savings it entails. On a side note to that though, you'll find that good financial planners warn about variable annuities as opposed to an investment like previously mentioned because that specific type of investment burns the heirs by making them pay ordinary income tax rates on the gain. Makes it a little crazier thinking that one financial instrument gets treated so differently than another. :)

Comment: Re:Yah You Know, CEOs (Score 5, Interesting) 393

by Kotoku (#39720691) Attached to: Ellison Doesn't Know If Java Is Free
As someone with a tax accounting background (but not currently working in that field) I'll do my best to add a little clarity to the issue.

Stock compensation will require an immediate tax payment ONLY if it is without conditions. If, for example, the company granting the stock to you puts a two year period in which you must maintain employment before you can sell the stock then you can avoid immediate payment of taxes and it gives you time to take advantage of some benefits (though it gets pretty hairy from that point trying to claim value reductions or reduced value for the limitation of liquidity).

In response to your other comment about being able to take a like amount of cash and buy the stock at fair-market value to achieve the same tax rate that is not true because you would expose yourself to double taxation (which is the reason most people put a before-tax investment into their 401k). If you received a million dollars in cash you would end up paying your income taxes on that amount and then capital gains taxes on the stock as well.

As a side note, if a company is trying to reduce tax liability themselves they can compensate employees in stock, treat it as an expense akin to cash payouts, and reduce their overall burden. Corporations always win on matters like that.

One of the real brilliant things these billionaires do is, after covering basic taxes, not sell the stock at all. If you don't sell it you avoid tax consequences. Larry Ellison "borrowed" against the value of his stock to buy his giant yacht and doesn't pay a dime in taxes. If he keeps them for his whole life he can pass them to his heirs and the income tax will never have been paid (heirs only pay a tax on appreciation of value since the death of the owner, often a fraction of the true value of the stock).

-Not To Be Taken As Professional Advice, Consult A CPA/Lawyer before making any decisions.-

Comment: Re:Whats up with the "mars trees"? (Score 1) 172

by Kotoku (#39672057) Attached to: New Study Suggests Mars Viking Robots Found Life

i. e. http://mmmgroup2.altervista.org/e-trees.html While I guess that these are just "dendritic structures", I wonder if there were later any better close-ups of them done by the orbiting satellites?

Dry Ice, formations made by super heated sand getting frozen.

http://discovermagazine.com/2001/nov/breakghost

Comment: Two of the Best Given the Shaft? (Score 2) 272

by Kotoku (#38933811) Attached to: Google Pulls Support For CDMA Devices
This is a bit disappointing to me, or maybe I just don't see the point? I can't forsee the carriers opening up their network infrastructure, getting qualcomm to open up their chipsets, or a move to GSM for these major CDMA carriers any time soon. With these options not possible I don't know what the point of this is (feel free to enlighten me). In the mean time we see damage to the value of the Android platform on the two best networks for Android owners. 1) Sprint has been a major player in the Android ecosystem, one of the early adopters (right alongside T-Mobile) and having rolled out the most cutting edge hardware and largest bevy of phones ahead of the others. They are also the only partner network for Google Wallet in the US. 2) Verizon, while a much more closed network, offers the fastest and most widespread 4G LTE network. Android power users (with a little cash to burn) flock to Android phones on this network for blazing speeds on the go. A frequent techies commuter dream. On the other hand, we have T-Mobile who has been limping along with the (in comparison to the other networks) under powered variant of the GS2 and no plans for the Galaxy Nexus at this time. We also have AT&T who hasn't been doing too badly but does not roll out near as many Android devices as any of the other networks, has been rated worst in customer serivce, tends to focus on their iPhone sales, and has encountered frequent network capacity issues. Just doesn't make sense to me right now.

Comment: Subsidize the USPS (Score 1) 713

by Kotoku (#38263070) Attached to: USPS Ending Overnight First-Class Letter Service
This is going to be a little bias as I ship a lot of packages but I think to compete with cheap imported goods from other nations we should subsidize package delivery in this country. When I can order something from China for $3 including shipping something is wrong. Shipping costs account for nearly 15% of my costs and in an economy where so many items are ordered online subsidies to shipping companies would benefit us all.

The only two things that motivate me and that matter to me are revenge and guilt. -- Elvis Costello

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