“From what little is known of Mr. Trump’s tax returns, he used losses to offset virtually all of his taxable income for years by generating something called net operating loss carry-overs.”
― James B. Stewart
“A major way that losses are generated in real estate ventures is through depreciation, which is supposed to reflect the way that assets lose value over time. But a well-maintained building typically gains value.”
― James B. Stewart
“My experience bears out an adage about airlines: People almost always opt for convenience and price, even while complaining loudly about crowded planes and a dearth of amenities.”
― James B. Stewart
“The rationale for eliminating the alternative minimum tax is that such a backup system should not be necessary if the tax code is fundamentally fair and eliminates all the loopholes that made it possible for high-income taxpayers to escape taxation in the first place.”
― James B. Stewart
“Tax reform advocates generally agree that a fair code shouldn’t single out certain groups for favorable treatment at the expense of others.”
― James B. Stewart
“Republicans seem to be gambling that most Americans won’t care about a few rich private equity managers if their own taxes go down, their stock portfolio goes up, and economic growth accelerates.”
― James B. Stewart
“Amazon deliberately provides cafeteria space for only a third of its employees, which encourages people to venture out of the office.”
― James B. Stewart
“Seattle was hardly a tech magnet before Amazon, Microsoft, and then a host of once-fledgling technology firms set up operations there.”
― James B. Stewart
“I’m hardly a smartphone addict. I rarely look at social media.”
― James B. Stewart
“Almost everyone agrees that corporate tax rates need to be cut because of global competition. Companies should not be able to stash earnings overseas tax-free.”
― James B. Stewart
“The appreciation of capital assets is already taxed at an extremely favorable rate compared to labor. That’s why the rich pay such a low effective tax rate no matter what their marginal tax bracket.”
― James B. Stewart
“Various justifications for lower capital-gains rates have been proffered over the years, none of them self-evident. But even conceding the wisdom of lower capital-gains rates, why should they never be taxed at all, even as they are passed from generation to generation?”
― James B. Stewart
“As a global disrupter, Uber is no stranger to conflict, and its instinct has always been pugilistic.”
― James B. Stewart
“As in many cities, Uber has disrupted powerful interests in London, starting with the drivers of black cabs, who trace their lineage to 1634, and their influential Licensed Taxi Drivers Association.”
― James B. Stewart
“Many people in London – and in the rest of Europe – view giant American technology companies, and Uber in particular, with intense suspicion and resentment.”
― James B. Stewart
“The biggest revenue target is the preferential rate for long-term capital gains, which raises a perennial question: Why should capital income be taxed at a much lower rate than ordinary income? Capital assets are owned overwhelmingly by the rich.”
― James B. Stewart
“If Republicans are correct that lower rates spur economic growth, then lower rates on all income – made possible in part by raising capital-gains rates – should bolster economic growth across the economy.”
― James B. Stewart
“The idea that content is king has long rested on the notion that distribution – in whatever form it takes – is a low-margin commodity, and the biggest share of profits flows to the creators of original programming, who can sell to the highest bidder.”
― James B. Stewart
“There’s no question that the Internet generally, and Netflix specifically, upended the traditional content-distribution supply chain and caused profound changes in the entertainment industry.”
― James B. Stewart
“The bar for a chief executive of a public corporation to repudiate a United States president is extraordinarily high. Corporate leaders aren’t given their power, prestige, responsibility, and nine-figure pay packages to use the corner office as their personal soapbox.”
― James B. Stewart
“Under Armour’s success depends in part on endorsements from celebrity athletes, many of whom – like Stephen Curry, the basketball star – are African-American.”
― James B. Stewart
“Historically, corporate aversion to politics has at times held firm even under national leadership that threatens the health of the economy, and with it the well-being of every company.”
― James B. Stewart
“Comparing the Trump administration to the Nazis may be a stretch, but many business leaders are concerned that stirring up deep-seated racial and nationalist animosities could be destabilizing, leading to riots, property damage and widespread civil unrest reminiscent of the late 1960s.”
― James B. Stewart
“When it comes to valuation, there’s only one thing stock investors really care about, which is earnings.”
― James B. Stewart
“The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that in 2016, the corporate income tax raised $300 billion in revenue, while what it called ‘targeted subsidies’ cost about $270 billion. In other words, Congress could eliminate the subsidies and cut the corporate rate nearly in half without any significant loss in revenue.”
― James B. Stewart
“Most European countries fund their low corporate taxes with some form of a value-added tax, on consumption rather than income.”
― James B. Stewart
“President Trump named Rand his favorite writer and ‘The Fountainhead’ his favorite novel.”
― James B. Stewart
“While there continue to be critics of the Comcast-NBC merger, it’s hard to argue that competition in news and entertainment has diminished as a result, given the rise of Netflix and Amazon and the explosion in entertainment options that followed the merger.”
― James B. Stewart
“Divestitures have long been the preferred remedy for horizontal mergers, where there’s an overlap between the two companies. Airlines, for example, may have to sell routes or airport gates where the two airlines compete; cable operators may have to sell operations in cities where both companies operate.”
― James B. Stewart
“A study by the Federal Trade Commission found that concerns about every vertical merger examined by the commission from 2006 to 2012 were resolved through ‘conduct remedies’ rather than divestitures, and that all these remedies had been successful at protecting competition.”
― James B. Stewart
“A large and growing body of academic research suggests there are market anomalies that can be exploited to beat a strict index approach. Some of that research has been recognized with Nobels in economic science – William F. Sharpe in 1990 and Eugene F. Fama in 2013.”
― James B. Stewart
“Low-volatility funds, which tend to smooth out performance, have been especially popular since the financial crisis. The PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Fund is the oldest, begun in 2011.”
― James B. Stewart
“September 2001 turned out to be an unusually bad time to sell stocks: By New Year’s Day 2002, little more than three months after the post-9/11 low reached on Sept. 21, the S&P 500 had gained close to 20 percent.”
― James B. Stewart
“It’s often said that the most important qualities in a chief executive are character and judgment.”
― James B. Stewart
“During his campaign, Donald J. Trump embraced the cause of fiscal responsibility and accused President Barack Obama of shackling the country with a ‘mountain of debt.’”
― James B. Stewart
“Mr. Trump has said he strongly supports immediate expensing of capital expenditures, which many economists agree would encourage growth.”
― James B. Stewart
“Many tax experts say a key element to any fundamental overhaul is getting rid of certain deductions for businesses – the ‘special-interest giveaways that are masked as tax breaks,’ as House Republicans describe many of them in their own proposal.”
― James B. Stewart
“The National Multifamily Housing Council, a trade association of apartment owners, managers, developers and lenders, has come to the defense of the interest deduction and other provisions favorable to the real estate industry, describing them as ‘core principles’ and promising a fight.”
― James B. Stewart
“The real estate lobby has prominent allies in both parties. After the last major overhaul of the tax code, in 1986 – under a Republican president, Ronald Reagan, a Republican Senate and a Democratic House – it was a Democrat, Bill Clinton, who signed legislation that restored lost real estate tax breaks seven years later.”
― James B. Stewart
“Advocates of a tax overhaul often point to the 1986 act as a model for a comprehensive approach that ushered in a long period of economic growth.”
― James B. Stewart
“Earning high returns isn’t just a matter of bragging rights – endowment income supports the missions of nonprofit institutions, whether education, as with college and universities, or broader social programs, as at many private foundations.”
― James B. Stewart
“Amazon and Snap both have stories that are compelling for many investors: Amazon has transformed retailing and is destined to dominate it. Snap is reinventing communication, at least for millennials and those even younger.”
― James B. Stewart
“Early investors in Uber and Airbnb, though they remain private companies, have valued them at stratospheric multiples based largely on the notion that Uber will transform and dominate local transportation and Airbnb will revolutionize the hotel industry.”
― James B. Stewart
“For every Tesla or Uber, there’s a Valeant Pharmaceuticals or Theranos – two story stocks that seduced an astounding array of prominent investors and supporters based on stories that did turn out to be too good to be true.”
― James B. Stewart
“Like or loathe Donald J. Trump, you have to give him this: He’s done more to shine a spotlight on the loopholes and fundamental unfairness of the tax code than any other American president.”
― James B. Stewart
“The A.M.T. is a parallel system for calculating tax liability intended to ensure that high-income taxpayers pay a substantial amount in federal tax even if they have large deductions or other items to offset income.”
― James B. Stewart
“The A.M.T. is much reviled by tax experts across the political spectrum for its unintended consequences and fiendish complexity.”
― James B. Stewart
“Losses from partnerships and limited-liability companies, the entities through which the Trumps report much of their income, do not have to be added back as part of the A.M.T. calculation.”
― James B. Stewart
“Mr. Trump had no political or military experience, the traditional routes to high political office. Virtually his only qualification was his business career, and a checkered one at that, considering his own brush with personal bankruptcy.”
― James B. Stewart
“Mr. Trump’s election has caused a tectonic shift in advertising – just as it has in media more generally – and themes that might have once seemed innocuous or patriotic have suddenly become politically charged, controversial, and divisive.”
― James B. Stewart
“Cadillacs have been used by every president since Woodrow Wilson.”
― James B. Stewart
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