“When intertwined with public funding through state and federal tax incentives, the practice of movie and television write-downs represents a troubling exploitation of taxpayer funds. Coupled with rapidly expanding state tax incentives, it represents a multibillion-dollar Rube Goldberg machine that culminates in a nickel being pulled from your pocket, strapped to an Acme rocket, and fired directly into the bank accounts of movie studios.”
The chain breaks here because studios typically owe very little in state taxes -- so much so that they don't even use the credits they receive from (for instance GA) to offset their own taxes. They sell them to folks that have enough of a bill to make use of them in full.
He wasn't the main speaker that day, Edward Everett was. He spoke for 2 hours about the significance of the battle. Lincoln's address was only 10 sentences and he delivered it so quickly there are no photographs of him speaking.
Interestingly, the speech itself speaks to the insignificance of anything he could say that day. And yet the speech is unquestionably more well-known than the battle.
This week for Insights I wrote about the new "junk food law" in #Colombia that carries with it an interesting ultra-processed food tax. The goal is to use the revenue generated by said tax to subsidize healthier options. The #VAT system means it would result in the prices on healthy options at the shelf being lower. Pretty cool.
It will target ultra-processed foods with an additional 10% surcharge, which will increase to 20% in ’25.
Fri 11/17 - Wall Street Firms Build #DEI Practices, Louisville Breonna Taylor Mistrial, Macy*s PAGA to 9th Circuit and CA Bar Passes AI Guidelines
We have Wall Street firms building out diversity, equity and inclusion practices, a mistrial in Louisville civil rights trial against Breonna Taylor shooter, Macy*s brings PAGA back to 9th circuit, and the #CA bar passes guidelines for use and billing of AI.
“This day in legal history, November 16, 1973, President Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act. This Act marked a significant shift in the nation's approach to energy resource development and environmental policy. By sanctioning the construction of an 800-mile oil pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, the Act aimed to alleviate the 1973 oil crisis by tapping into the vast oil reserves of Alaska's North Slope.”
"On November 14th, in the context of legal history, the story of Ruby Bridges stands out as a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, particularly in the desegregation of American schools. Born on September 8, 1954, … Ruby Bridges became a symbol of the civil rights movement … when she became the first African American child to integrate an all-white elementary school in the South, specifically William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans.”
Tues 11/14 - SCOTUS "Code" "of" "Ethics," Special Counsel Says Trump Wants a Carnival, BK Judge Ethics Fallout, NYC Real Estate Brokerage Sued and Amazon <3s Casino Apps
#SCOTUS adopts a nonbinding, voluntary, code of ethics, Special counsel says #Trump is trying to start a carnival in court, more bankruptcy judge ethics fallout, #NYC real estate brokerages and #Amazon sued.
In this weeks column I outline the utter failure the #TCJA has been from the perspective of combatting offshoring of profits and suggest a simple alternative.
“As the calendar flips over to 2024, the TCJA’s shortcomings are laid bare—but there’s a potential path forward in the form of a global minimum tax. It won’t get rid of offshoring, but it reimagines tax policy toward a recognition of a global, interlinked system of policies.”
SCOTUS adopting a self-imposed ethics code is not the same as being subject to a real ethics code. This is theater. Bad theater.
Community theater where the show they have on the sign isn't what you see and there is gum on your seat and the people on stage spit on you and when you stand up and demand an apology they put the big light on you and everyone laughs and your shoes fall off when you try to run out of the building.
Mon 11/13 - Fortnite Dance Copyright Suit, ASC 606 Here to Stay, Trump Wants TV Cameras in Courtroom and CA Bar Passage is Down
We have a #Fortnite choreography suit revived, revenue rules are a hassle but no changes are coming, #Trump wants TV cameras in the courtroom, and the CA bar passage rate takes a down turn.
Does any #lawfedi folk know, or have a contact that would know, about rules/restrictions regarding using a "granny cam" in a nursing or rehab facility? Reckon its state-specific, this would be New Jersey for what its worth.
@andrew@law It generally comes down to a question of resident rights, particularly HIPAA privacy when it comes to cares. If it's a shared room, they're generally prohibited without the consent of both residents. Facilities tend to have policies against them for that reason unless the state requires them to be allowed.
Weds 11/8 - Big Law Bonus, Cravath Nonequity Partnership, Ivanka to Testify, WeWork Bankruptcy, Amazon Antitrust Defense Preview and Column on Estate Tax and George Steinbrenner
#BigLaw bonus season begins, #Cravath adds a nonequity partner tier, #Ivanka to testify in #Trump trial, #WeWork wants to restructure, #Amazon previews its antitrust defense plan and a column on the estate tax.
I managed to (albeit obliquely) reference #Seinfeld and #baseball in my column this week on the federal estate tax. High water mark, career-wise.
"Steinbrenner died in 2010 during a period where there was no federal estate tax. The rate was 45% a year prior and 55% the year after. Steinbrenner saved his inheritor sons at least $495 million dollars.
...
A more speculative investment, such as Apple Inc., would see their holdings balloon to $28 billion.”
"On this day in legal history, November 6, 1917, New York state adopted a state constitutional amendment granting the vote to women.
...
Amendment 1, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, granted women equal voting rights in the state. This landmark decision was the culmination of nearly seven decades of tireless advocacy since the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848."