State budget deal (CA) includes tax break for family firm

[Francesca9]

Source: LA Times

"The roughly $30-million provision will let the Humboldt Redwood Co., owned by the influential Fisher family, deduct old losses and will cover penalties and interest."

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget-taxbreak-20101005,0,4949728.story

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Budget crisis - no problem - offer up some tax breaks

[CountAllVotes]

1. how very disgusting!!

"This is a total special-interest grab," said Lenny Goldberg, executive director of the California Tax Reform Assn. and a critic of corporate tax breaks. "I'm sure there are lots of companies that would like to take these losses."

The Fishers' company paid about $500 million in a 2008 deal to buy land in Mendocino County owned by the former Pacific Lumber Co. The Fishers were counting on writing off the old owners' $20-million tax liability, but the Legislature suspended the practice of allowing such write-offs in the effort to close the 2008 budget gap.

"The rules changed after the fact, to the unique and substantial disadvantage of only us," Dean said. "Most other people, if they had to pay the $20 million, would have been able to get it back.

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Money grab, power grab or just plain greed? :argh:

:kick:

[Tansy_Gold]

4. Explain this to me.

Pacific Lumber Co. has a $20 million tax debt.

Humbolt Lumber buys Pacific Lumber, including the $20 million tax debt????

Humbolt Lumber pays the $20 million tax debt??? or do they just write it off without paying it?

Or did Pacific Lumber have to pay it out of the proceeds of the sale, in order for the sale to go through, but now Humbolt wants to be able to write it off?


TG, wondering

[SoapBox]

2. WTF!

...the scum, Dem or RushThug, that put this in the budget needs to be outted.

And Ahnold...if you signed off on this, you are one slimey asswipe.

[Tempest]

3. It was a Repuke

From the L.A. Times article:

Republican leaders demanded new tax breaks before they would agree to other changes in tax rules that Democrats wanted. Democratic leaders accepted the proposal that would help the Fishers' company.