taxes

A South Korean court on Wednesday found former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee guilty of tax evasion and sentenced the former executive to a three-year jail sentence, according to an Associated Press report.

But Lee will not be going to jail at this point, since his prison sentence was suspended for five years. Prosecutors had been seeking a seven-year prison sentence.

Lee, however, will have to pay a fine of 110 billion won, or $109 million, as restitution for the tax evasion conviction. Prosecutors had been seeking substantially more--a fine of 350 billion won, or $347 million. Lee is the … Read more

Smoke cigars, do a partial load of laundry, drink bottled water, and feel no shame. That's what a campaign against a carbon trading bill is urging.

The latest parody of the proliferation of "green" social-networking sites and eco-friendly events comes via "Carbon Belch Day," a campaign from the conservative Grassfire.org alliance that encourages people to pollute as much as possible on June 12.

So far, more than 140,000 people have signed a petition against "climate alarmism," according to Ron De Jong, spokesman for Grassfire.org. If the effort attracts half a … Read more

Overstock.com has filed a lawsuit challenging a New York law that expands the state's requirements for online retailers to collect sales taxes.

The Utah-based company announced Friday that it is asking the court to issue an injunction and declare the law unconstitutional.

In April, Gov. David Paterson signed a new law requiring companies that pay New York-based entities for "directly or indirectly referring customers" to their retail business to collect sales taxes from New York-based customers. The new law goes into effect Sunday. It's an attempt to get around a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court … Read more

I already own a hybrid (a Ford Escape) but am toying with the idea of going for the gusto by trading in the old Ford for a gas-sipping Honda Civic or Toyota Prius hybrid. When I bought my Ford, Uncle Sam sweetened the deal by giving me a tax credit of around $2,000, so my expectation was a similar financial incentive if I went for a more economical model. Not so fast! In its infinite wisdom, the federal government created one of the dumber set of guidelines you could ever imagine.

Once a manufacturer (for instance, Ford, Honda, Toyota, … Read more

The Bush administration on Wednesday hit out at the European Union for imposing taxes on imports of certain electronics in alleged violation of an existing trade agreement.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said the United States has filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization, which means that U.S. and European officials now have 60 days to consult about the dispute. If they don't reach a resolution at that point, the United States can call for a panel to determine whether the EU is complying with its World Trade Organization obligations under the 1996 Information Technology Agreement (PDF). … Read more

Grand Theft Auto: Atlanta, anyone?

That title may not be far off, if the state of Georgia gets its way. Its latest goal, in the name of economic development, is to become the video game production capital of the United States.

Earlier this week, the state's Republican governor, Sonny Purdue, signed into law a proposal to offer greater tax incentives not only to game producers, but also to music video, movie, and TV production projects.

"The new incentives will put Georgia among the top five states in the U.S., in terms of financial competitiveness for entertainment projects,&… Read more

New York's expansive new online sales-tax requirements are drawing mixed responses from major e-tailers that haven't previously collected such fees in the Empire State.

Despite a pending lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality, Amazon.com has said on its Web site that it still plans to abide by the law and add sales tax to orders shipped to New York when the mandate kicks in June 1.

But online outlet store Overstock.com wants nothing to do with collecting the new tax, according to reports at the Affiliate Tip blog and The New York Times.

A few weeks … Read more

The Federal Economic Stimulus program checks are in the mail. When you get yours try and be a good consumer and spend it right away. That'll help our economy and remember the checks will do the most good if they're spent on made in America products. One of my favorite high-value, high-end audio brands, Outlaw Audio, would be a good place to start. Its multi-channel home theater power amplifiers are in fact proudly made in the USA. Outlaw sells direct on its website and all of their amps are now on sale--with free FedEx Ground shipping! If you'… Read more

Reportedly inspired by an ongoing legal skirmish in New York, tax officials in Texas are investigating whether Amazon.com should be collecting sales taxes from the Lone Star State's residents.

According to recent reports in the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Comptroller's office is currently looking into whether the Seattle-based e-tailer can be held responsible for paying as many as four years' worth--potentially millions of dollars--of back taxes. Some Texas officials said they weren't aware that Amazon had been operating a distribution center in Irving, Texas, since 2006, until receiving a call from a Morning News reporter … Read more