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0704 - Carried

The OO and our on-Staff Senior Counsel have always thought both the U.S. tax system (if "system" is the right term) and the Anguilla tax "system" (same interjection) to be hilarious. Yes, they are funny, often intensely complex and always inexplicable. The latest Washington tax fuss has to do with the arcane subject of "Carried Interests". As you may know, if you are a hapless wage-earner in the U.S. you pay income tax. If you buy something like a building or a stock, that is a "Capital Asset" and if you sell it after a year, or longer, you have a "Long Term Capital Gain", which is blessed, and your tax is limited to 15% of the gain. If your sale takes place after only 11 months, you have a Short Term Capital Gain, which is evil, like under-age sex, and must pay higher ordinary income tax. The Bush Administration proudly got a Cap Gains tax reduction to 15%, as well as lowering the Income Tax rate on big incomes. These may expire, and the threat is called an attack on wealth or such by those threatened.

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