Brad,<br><br>Whatever you were trying to say, the text didn't make it.<br><br>Rik<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 10:53 AM, Brad Haslett <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:flybrad@gmail.com">flybrad@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div><div></div><div class="h5">On 5/6/09, Eric Sandberg <<a href="mailto:sanderico1@gmail.com">sanderico1@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Brad,<br>
><br>
> It's hard to know whether to laugh or cry over this shit. You have to wonder<br>
> who those dumb asses thought the O one was talking about during the campaign<br>
> when he continually spoke of taxing corps. that did business outside the<br>
> country. He not only talked about it, he beat it like a drum. Now that he's<br>
> actually close to implementing his ideas it's .... but wait, we didn't think<br>
> you were talking about us .....<br>
><br>
> Seems like about everyone who voted for the guy and has since taken a<br>
> beating, didn't think he was talking about them.<br>
><br>
> Stupider and stupider.<br>
><br>
> Rik<br>
><br>
> On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 7:17 AM, Brad Haslett <<a href="mailto:flybrad@gmail.com">flybrad@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
><br>
>> This couldn't happen to a better bunch of guys. Remember during the<br>
>> campaign when all the Silicon Valley 'techies' were telling us how<br>
>> brilliant The One (tm) was? Well, you reap what you sow! So far in<br>
>> the first 100+ days, we've nationalized banks, we're nationalizing the<br>
>> auto industry (by seizing assets from secured creditors), we plan to<br>
>> pay off our debts (mostly to China) with inflated dollars, and the<br>
>> health-care industry is next in the cross-hairs. Yeah, the United<br>
>> States is a great place to invest, just like Argentina.<br>
>><br>
>> Brad<br>
>><br>
>> ---------------------<br>
>><br>
>> Obama riles high-tech exec over outsourcing<br>
>><br>
>> Andrew S. Ross<br>
>><br>
>> Tuesday, May 5, 2009<br>
>> President Barack Obama's proposal to impose taxes on corp...<br>
>><br>
>> Carl Guardino usually comes across as an amenable, mild-mannered<br>
>> Silicon Valley executive. But not on Monday. Not when he watched<br>
>> President Obama promising to end overseas tax breaks for U.S.<br>
>> companies that "create a job in Bangalore, India, (rather than) one in<br>
>> Buffalo, N.Y." Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group,<br>
>> angrily described Obama's language as "not only discouraging, but<br>
>> divisive." The president's implication that companies such as Cisco<br>
>> Systems and Hewlett-Packard merely "ship jobs overseas," and are being<br>
>> rewarded in the bargain, came as a shock to Guardino, who otherwise<br>
>> described the president as "brilliant and respected by so many in the<br>
>> tech sector who are counting on the administration as their ally."<br>
>><br>
>> Indeed, Obama's proposal to limit U.S. companies' ability to defer<br>
>> paying U.S. taxes on offshore earnings does put Bay Area companies<br>
>> doing a lot of business overseas directly in the crosshairs. "It would<br>
>> adversely impact our ability to invest and grow our business in the<br>
>> (United States) and to compete against our foreign competitors," said<br>
>> a spokesman for Cisco.<br>
>><br>
>> Google, whose CEO, Eric Schmidt, is supposed to be a close buddy of<br>
>> Obama's, said it is "too early to evaluate the potential effect on<br>
>> Google's operations, as there will likely be multiple proposals<br>
>> considered."<br>
>><br>
>> High stakes: Now, to put things in perspective, Cisco, Google and<br>
>> others have done very well by the current setup. Cisco, which had<br>
>> north of $30 billion in cash at last count, earned $5.6 billion<br>
>> overseas in 2008. By deferring taxes on those earnings, it enjoyed a<br>
>> 16 percent reduction in its U.S. tax rate, according to a Wall Street<br>
>> Journal analysis of SEC filings. Google got a 17.4 percent break<br>
>> thanks to tax deferrals on $7.7 billion of overseas earnings. HP,<br>
>> which reported a net profit of $1.8 billion in its last quarter, can<br>
>> defer taxes on $12.9 billion worth of foreign earnings, which it plans<br>
>> to reinvest overseas indefinitely, according to an SEC filing reported<br>
>> by the San Jose Mercury News.<br>
>><br>
>> So, doth Guardino et. al. protest too much? Not according to Atulya<br>
>> Sarin, a professor of finance at Santa Clara University. "It's a bad<br>
>> idea from the word go," said Sarin, who has consulted with the<br>
>> Internal Revenue Service and with Fortune 100 companies on<br>
>> international tax issues. "Increasing these taxes will reduce<br>
>> after-tax profits, which will reduce incentives. Right now, the<br>
>> administration should be helping Silicon Valley maintain its<br>
>> competitive edge, not making it less so. I hope saner minds will<br>
>> prevail."<br>
>><br>
>> Sang Kim, an international tax attorney at DLA Piper in East Palo<br>
>> Alto, decried Obama's Bangalore-Buffalo reference as "patently unfair<br>
>> and false." While he said the proposals were enticing, given the<br>
>> administration's drive to stimulate the domestic economy and raise<br>
>> more tax revenue, he warned of unintended consequences, including the<br>
>> possibility that more, not fewer, jobs could be shipped overseas.<br>
>> "Let's hope everyone thinks this through," he said.<br>
>><br>
>> That's the message Guardino and his 50-strong delegation of Silicon<br>
>> Valley executives - who just happen to be in Washington, D.C. - will<br>
>> be taking to their hometown representatives today. How much joy they<br>
>> get remains to be seen. In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi<br>
>> said she "welcome(s) the strong initiative outlined by President Obama<br>
>> that will restore fairness to the tax code by closing international<br>
>> tax loopholes." Pelosi said, "I look forward to working with the<br>
>> president and members of Congress to advance these proposals and close<br>
>> these loopholes." In the past, Sen. Barbara Boxer has pointed out<br>
>> there is "a great deal of misunderstanding surrounding these tax<br>
>> issues," said her senior adviser, Natalie Ravitz. Boxer also wants to<br>
>> be sure that any changes "do not result in unintended consequences,"<br>
>> Ravitz said.<br>
>><br>
>> "This may not be Mount Everest, but it's going to be quite a climb,"<br>
>> said Guardino, who is also due to meet with White House officials<br>
>> today. "They're smart people and doing their best. But clearly they<br>
>> see the world a little differently than Silicon Valley."<br>
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