How much of KO's reported 14mil buyout ought to go for taxes?

[Kaleva]

Poll question: How much of KO's reported 14mil buyout ought to go for taxes?

[Mojambo]

1. After the first 4 mill or so, 80%. n/t

[Maru Kitteh]

52. Everybody should get their first 4M per year free? Even the rich like Keith O?

Or should he have special rules?

[Mojambo]

53. Well, the first 4 million wouldn't be free. It would be taxed at the lower rate just like any income

I think it should jump up to the higher number at a certain margin. What number that should be is up for debate. I just threw out 4 million out of my ass. It could, and probably should be lower.

[hlthe2b]

2. What prompted this?

I think KO, himself would agree that the Clinton era tax rates for the wealthiest, should apply. :shrug:

[Kaleva]

10. Do you think he'd agree that the FDR era rates should apply?

I asked the poll question as there has been a great deal of discussion here about how much tax the wealthy ought to pay and, IMO, KO qualifies as being a member of the wealthy class.

[hlthe2b]

30. I fyou mean 80% , I don't even agree with that.

[DesertFlower]

3. 80% is too much.

give the guy a break.

[Kaleva]

9. The top bracket was 92% during the time of FDR, Truman and Ike.

[grahamhgreen]

15. I think it was 90+ % over 50 million in adjusted dollars...?

[Kaleva]

22. In '44, those who made over $200k paid 88%

In today's dollars, that's about $2 1/2 million.

[safeinOhio]

28. The effective tax rate, back then,

was no where near that. The beauty of those high rates was that it encouraged high earners to invest or reinvest to avoid tax.

[grahamhgreen]

36. That was 88% on everything over 2.5m?

[yurbud]

4. about half as much pols should be taxed for every corporate job they take after they leave office

[steve2470]

5. If he pays what the tax law says without complaining at all, I'm happy.

Your typical RW Republican would be bitching all the way to the post office.

[DesertFlower]

6. i agree. nt

[NotThisTime]

29. +1

[Incitatus]

7. Other- IMO, everything over 1 million should be taxed 50%.

[bluestateguy]

8. Obama's tax compromise will save him quite a bit of money

35% to the feds, 6.85% for New York state, and 3.648% for New York City residents.

[Cant trust em]

11. Define "ought"

Based on what we think is just, or based on what current law is?

[Kaleva]

13. Based on what we think is just.

[cherokeeprogressive]

12. He should be allowed to keep ALL of his $14,000,000.00

He earned it by being the only voice of reason, right?

[Xenotime]

37. if it was a RW ceo you would say different

[aquart]

14. What spiteful garbage is this?

If I were a suspicious person, I would wonder why anyone would come to DU for the purpose of making us hostile to Keith Olbermann.

Because this does have the look of a calculated attempt to make us feel he is not one of us, but one of them instead.

And I would wonder why doing such a thing would be important to ...who?

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. Why would it be okay for KO to make $14,000,000.00 a year when High School Teachers

make less than $55,000.00?

Have there been no threads stating that sports figures, movie stars, or the like shouldn't make that much more money than Teachers? I ask this as one who taught for 10 years and got out of the profession when I was asked to pay for consumables such as dry erase markers, printer ink, and mouse pads out of my own pocket.

[Gravel Democrat]

26. You nailed it . There should be a "Media Tax" or something like it

It's simply insane that people like Charlie Sheen make $1 1/4 MILLION DOLLARS for a 40 minute episode.

We the people own these airwaves that make this crap possible and why not tax it? If Charlie Sheen made $500k per episode he'd be overpaid by a long shot.

Jerry Seinfelds net worth: Over $800 MILLION dollars. His children's children's children will never have to lift a fracking finger. For what? Because Jerry made a few jokes?

Oprah Winfrey $315 million
Judge Judy Sheindlin $45 million
David Letterman (The Late Show) $28 million
Jay Leno (The Tonight Show) $25 million
Conan O'Brien (The Conan O'Brien Show) $10 million

Matt Lauer (Today) $16 million +
Katie Couric (CBS) $15 million
Brian Williams (NBC) $12.5 million
Diane Sawyer (ABC) $12 million
Meredith Vieira (Today) $11 million
Bill O'Reilly (Fox News) $10 million

Kim Kardashian will make $6 MILLION DOLLARS this year for what exactly? And some people go into fires to pull out survivors and have to get along on $40K/yr?

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Top-TV-Earners-1021717.aspx

It's like we've allowed a whole new caste of royalty to be created while we're being nickeled and dimed to death. It's insanity to allow this much transfer of wealth for basically zero long term return.


The only reason this is tolerated is because these "personalities" draw eyeballs so that Geico or Frito Lay can sell us more overpriced stuff.

Instead of always raising taxes on the peons via tobacco or soft drinks or whatever the latest scheme is, us citizens should demand a media tax. If there ever was one, which I am unaware of, the value of the airwaves OWNED BY US has increased exponentially. Unlike the fixed payments the commoners get.

That would be a start.

[Kaleva]

19. So, how much of his 14mil buyout ought to go for taxes?

I picked 80%.

[The Straight Story]

21. You are looking at the question as though it were really about KO

It is not, at least IMHO. Look at the principle involved.

If someone gets $14 million for 2 years' worth of work, what % of that income do you think should go to taxes? Pretend, if you like, it is bush or rove or some ceo of an oil company making that money.

[Kaleva]

24. It isn't just about KO. It's about anyone who makes that kind of money.

I've been pretty consistent over the past three years advocating a return to the tax rates as they were during the time of FDR, Truman and Eisenhower. At least for the more wealthy. And more recently, I've posted several times expressing my view that the Bush tax cuts ought not be extended.

I don't think KO would complain one bit if he had to pay much higher taxes as long as everyone else who made as much or more then he had to do the same.

[Renew Deal]

40. How does this make you hostile to KO?

It's not really even about him.

[Judi Lynn]

17. Keith Olbermann is about the last person I'd expect to pitch a fit over taxes.

Seems like a very useless excercise in obsessing about how much money he's getting.

He has already stressed his opposition toward people trying to throw the scales in their own favor at the expense of the needy.

[Kaleva]

23. I don't think he'd pitch a fit either but that's not the question.

[krispos42]

18. Whatever federal laws says it should.

If you're asking what DUers think the tax code should say, well, that's an entirely different question.

[Kaleva]

20. I'm asking DUers what they think the tax code should say.

[bettyellen]

33. then why did you make it about KO, sounds like you might want a different standard for him?

or to make an example of some sorts, out of his situation?

[Kaleva]

47. So what answer did you choose?

[bettyellen]

49. I think it should be taxed much higher than the current rate, same as I feel about

all the other super earners. i just wonder why you chose KO to pick on? Please explain.

[Raine]

25. As much or as little as the government expects him to pay

it's probably a smaller percentage than a lower wager earner has to pay but that's the way it's done here. :shrug:

[LooseWilly]

27. Marginal tax rate on $14 million is 35% -> $4.9 million.

If it were capital gains it would be 15% -> $2.1 million.

That's the difference between being paid in stock options (assuming that there is some mechanism to make them over 1 year of ownership so they're long term) vs. income... and that's why the CEOs get paid so much in preferred stocks... because the 15% capital gains rate was put into place by Bush Tax Cuts. If Obama hadn't made the deal... then every CEO would have to pay that 35%, vs. 15%, on their $14 millions... hell on anything over about $400K... whether it was payroll or stock options.

If KO is getting paid in stock options, he'll save $2.8 million thanks to Obama and all the Democrats that folded. Somehow I doubt that he bothered to make sure his contract would stipulate such a thing... but if he can manage it, well I'll begrudge him less than all the other assholes in the country that likewise profit off the loophole.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

31. He will use the same tax avoidance means he already has in place

And it is safe to assume they are they. Avoidance is quite legal and he pays someone a fair amount to insure he gets to keep as much as he can.

[PBS Poll-435]

32. 17 Million

:shrug:

[datasuspect]

34. they should confiscate all of it and garnish his future income in perpetuity through 7000

generations of his heirs.























































































































































.

[On the Road]

35. I Assume This is For Personal Income Taxes

at a federal level. My personal preference is for a highest bracket of 50%.

[TheKentuckian]

38. My guess is the "sweet spot" for the most benefit to the greater economy is between 55 and 60%

I believe we are way too low now but the Eisenhower rates were too high and actually did stifle the return on investment.

The purpose of an economy is to distribute resources to people, it is more machine than magic. There are places along the continuum where efficiency is greater than others, and where distribution is more limited or broadly shared.

[backscatter712]

41. Yep. That's my impression too.

The GOP talks about the Laffer curve, and they claim we need to keep lowering taxes because of the Laffer curve.

But we're waaaaaay past the point where lower taxes gives us benefits, in fact, our government and public goods are being gutted.

I'm with you in thinking the sweet-spot for the top bracket in taxation is about 60%.

[Renew Deal]

39. I think this is a great question for DU.

:bounce:

[WinkyDink]

42. Awholehelluvalot, that's how much.

[H2O Man]

43. At very least,

all of it. Maybe more.

[Motown_Johnny]

44. 60 % Total. (It isn't like he is going to create any jobs with it)

Fed, State, local and sales tax on anything purchased with the money







I would go with a top Federal bracket of around 45%, then around 8% for State and 3% for city/local which leaves 4% for sales tax.




It would end up being a little less than this due to deductions but since I don't know what the sales tax is in NY I am going to leave these as a rough guess.

[Yavin4]

45. The Top Tax Rate Should Be About 40%

Which it was under Clinton, and at that rate, we ran a surplus.

Can it be lowered? Yes, it should be lowered if we had an actual defense budget instead of a military empirical budget.

Ultimately, I believe that the top tax rate should be 25%, but that's if we had a single payer health system and extremely stripped down military spending. We can provide government services at extremely reduced rates.

[Iggo]

46. Whatever's the going rate, I suppose.

:shrug:

[xchrom]

48. Of course - the OP is trying to discredit KO in some

Lame fashion.

[jillan]

50. Um - that depends on his tax bracket, and I'm sure Keith has an accountant who will figure it out &

whether it's 80% or 10%, I'm sure Keith will be happy to pay his share.

[fortyfeetunder]

51. I like pie.

n/t