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Non-Tech : Kirk's Market Thoughts -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (154)	11/8/2012 12:58:28 PM
From: puborectalis	1 Recommendation Respond to of 27038

but he didn't win and you will agonize another 4 years..........unless you move to Caymans

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (154)	1/10/2013 11:07:02 AM
From: Kirk ©	1 Recommendation Respond to of 27038

More proof CA has no clue about how to attract small and large business. In my opinion, the state is now governed by a dumbest "phucks" ever assembled. sfgate.com I bet the new tax costs the retailers far more than it raises for the State. New state tax on wood products confusing Kathleen Pender Updated 8:44 pm, Wednesday, January 9, 2013 Read more: sfgate.com To the surprise of many, since Jan. 1, California retailers have been required to collect an extra 1 percent tax on sales of certain lumber products including plywood, 2-by-4s and unfinished decking, fencing and railings. But products that have had a little more work done - such as indoor finished flooring, baseboards, doors and windows - are exempt. The state Senate and Assembly approved the tax with a slim two-thirds majority and Gov. Jerry Brown signed it in September, so there was no need to put it to voters. As a result, it escaped the attention of many consumers, contractors and retailers. The new tax is expected to generate $30 million to $35 million a year to help the state enforce its stringent timber-harvesting regulations. Implementing the new tax has been a headache for retailers large and small. It's much more complicated than a change in the sales tax rate, such as the quarter-cent increase in the state rate that also took effect Jan. 1. Out of thousands of lumber items, retailers must figure out which are taxable (there is no comprehensive list), individually tag those products in their software systems and answer questions from customers about the charge, which must be shown separately on receipts. Because of technical problems, some retailers, including Home Depot, have not even started charging it in all of their California stores. If retailers fail to collect the tax and get audited, they have to pay it themselves. If they collect it in error, they are required to refund it to customers. The Board of Equalization is letting lumber-product retailers keep $250 in sales tax per location to reimburse them for startup costs, but some say that is not nearly enough. The West Coast Lumber and Building Material Association, which represents independent retailers, has asked the board to provide up to $4,500 per location in reimbursement the first year and $1,500 annually thereafter to handle updates and product changes. The board is holding an "interested parties" meeting from 10 a.m. until noon Thursday to get input on whether the reimbursement should be increased. Puzzling list Even at $250, it will be years before some stores generate enough tax to offset the reimbursement. Eugene Pedrotti, owner of Pedrotti Ace Hardware in Benicia, says it took several hours to determine how to comply with the new requirement. In then end, only 28 items he carries are taxable. He figures those products will generate about $6 to $7 per month in lumber taxes. "It's like sending a Brink's truck to collect a roll of quarters," he says. Pedrotti found the list of taxable items puzzling. "It is my understanding that unfinished wood shelving is taxable and laminated shelving is not," he says. Larry Bair, a buyer with Cliff's Variety in San Francisco, agrees. "We had to do quite a bit of research to see what (the tax) applied to." A list provided by the Board of Equalization "was quite vague," but after a call to the board, the store learned that dowels of less than 1.25 inches in diameter (the type used in crafts) are exempt, but ones that size and larger are taxable. "It was a lot of work for a little bit of merchandise," Bair says. Read more: sfgate.com

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (154)	4/22/2013 11:46:31 AM
From: Kirk ©	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27038

More monkey business I see: U.S. economy set to grow 3% - due to accounting change. The U.S. economy will become 3% larger in July as the government becomes one of the first to use a new international standard for GDP accounting. Among other things, statisticians will now take into account R&D investment, which will add just over 2%, and creative works, which will add another 0.5%. The government will backdate the alterations to 1929, so there are unlikely to be changes in trends or cycles. I'm not sure I like this... what about when all the VC invested in fiber in 2000 and 90% of them crashed and they lost all their money? Or the internet bubble investment that crashed at the same time... or more recently the R&D put into Solar to get tax credits from the government and have IPOs to sell stocks that failed to the public.... What if everyone digs a hole in the ground and calls it "R&D" for a future shortcut "high speed rail" to China.... what happens when the investment fails to produce results? Do they subtract it from GDP?