105 replies to this topic

[gospodin shuttlesworth]

http://readingisfors...nal-golfer.html

Whoa. Sounds kind of drastic to quit your career entirely, but I guess if the government is confiscating that much of your hard earned money, then there's probably really little incentive to continue, right?

Well, I was curious to see how much money the poor guy would be left with after Obama's IRS Gestapos were through raiding his wallet. It seems in 2011, he was merely the second highest paid athlete, with a pitiful $62 million (both salary and endorsements).

So let's do some quick calculations. If we take that number and tax it at the rate Mickelson claims, 63% (it almost certainly wouldn't actually be that high since we have progressive taxation, and things like Social security taxes only apply to the first $108k, but I digress), his after tax income comes in at an utterly depressing $23 million. Who the hell can live on such a meager amount, I ask?! You might as well make nothing!

Q. How do you balance that against the TOUR’s retirement plan which by all standards is the best retirement plan in sports?

PHIL MICKELSON: I don’t understand. What do you mean?

Q. Well, I mean I understand the 60 percent part of the equation, but in the TOUR’s plan, you guys put about as much money aside as you want. It’s treated differently under tax laws than most anybody else’s tax plans. Where most people can only put away $45,000 or $50,000, you guys can put as much away as you want. And so at the end you guys end up with a much larger pot of gold than most people can.

PHIL MICKELSON: But when it comes out, it’s still taxed at the same 62 percent rate.

Q. Well, you’re still making that kind of money. That’s if you’re still in that bracket.

PHIL MICKELSON: (No response.)

let us all weep for some dipshit professional golfer

[pstall]

well, he is sponsored by KPMG.

[longtriad]

Doesn't work that way

You hear about corporations moving out of the US every day. Surely making his $$$ he'd be incorporated.

[Davidson Deac II]

I don't blame him for wanting to leave Cali.

Personally I don't blame anyone for wanting to leave California, at least the urban parts of it anyway.

[Davidson Deac II]

You hear about corporations moving out of the US every day. Surely making his $$$ he'd be incorporated.

That is the perception, but its not necessarily the reality. Relatively speaking, very few companies move their hq from one country to another. And outsourcing is not as popular as it use to be. The rising cost of transportation has leveled the playing field to an extent.

Factories leaving China

U.S. companies are leaving China and heading to other parts of the world, including back home. One of the reasons, of course, is rising wage costs in mainland China compared to other nations in the region, and declining wages in the U.S.
Highlighted in a feature report in China Daily on Wednesday, a California LED light company called Seesmart said it was building factories in California and Illinois, instead of expanding their presence in China.
“When we do the numbers we’re actually ahead manufacturing here instead of paying for air freight and dealing with the logistical issues that we’re having in China,” Raymond Sjolseth, the company’s president and co-founder, was quoted as saying in the paper on Wednesday

Taxes are only one of the issues to consider when deciding where to put a company or its manufacturing centers.

[Kevin Greene]

Phil, Phil, Phil.

Now come on Lefty you know you're not going to quit just because the tax man takes 10s of millions per year out of your pocket.

Make your primary residence somewhere other than Ca yeah. Feinstein, Pelosi and Brown are doing their best to tax and spend this state into oblivion
And like Biscuit says, work on that putter.

[Darth Biscuit]

let us all weep for some dipshit professional golfer

Curious how much you know about Mickelson... I realize its your schtick to immediately play the "I'm an asshole, lets call names" card, but he's actually a pretty damned good guy. He gives a ton to charities and like pretty much everyone else except you, Delhommey and Panthro, he prefers not to give large chunks of his money to the government and instead choose who he gives it to...

[pstall]

the govt is the all knowing all understanding frugal steward of our money. they are our savior. just ask Newsweek.

[Happy Panther]

You hear about corporations moving out of the US every day. Surely making his $$$ he'd be incorporated.

That is the perception, but its not necessarily the reality. Relatively speaking, very few companies move their hq from one country to another. And outsourcing is not as popular as it use to be. The rising cost of transportation has leveled the playing field to an extent.

I know what you are saying but it still doesn't matter.

Phil can incorporate his LLC in Cayman Islands (which is a tax free haven) for example and he still has to pay tax on the income he earns in the united states. Maybe there is someway that Phil could set up as a C-Corp and leave his international earnings overseas...but as soon as he repatriates that money it gets taxed.

I'm an S-Corp and if my accountant could find me a legal way to hide money in Bermuda I would do it in a second. Let me know if you know a way.

And he can't simply renounce his citizenship. The US makes it very difficult and you will still have a huge tax bill.

Companies can move out of the US if they like but it doesn't affect US tax Burden. GE has a headquarters in Ireland and Bermuda and pretty much everywhere so that it can move it's overseas income around. Google "double irish arrangement." That's why people think GE is tax dodging. Trust me they pay every dollar they are legally obligated to pay in the US.

There are few overseas solutions for Phil. There are some exotic things he may be doing in the very grey areas of international tax accounting but my guess is he isn't doing them these days. Everyone is pretty sensitive to this sort of thing. Recall this case in 2003:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KPMG_tax_shelter_fraud

[gospodin shuttlesworth]

Curious how much you know about Mickelson... I realize its your schtick to immediately play the "I'm an asshole, lets call names" card, but he's actually a pretty damned good guy. He gives a ton to charities and like pretty much everyone else except you, Delhommey and Panthro, he prefers not to give large chunks of his money to the government and instead choose who he gives it to...

no one is going to willingly stop making millions of dollars just because it's taxed and to suggest that he would retire because of it is basically total bullshit and reeks of "b-b-but it's not FAIR that i have to pay taxes"

oh and really i don't give a poo about how "good of a guy" some rich as fug person is when they're crying about the taxes that they have to pay to earn money in america. i fully support his decision to move to another state or even another country tbqh, and he is certainly free to do so. good luck making that kind of money while playing golf in some third world country where taxation is practically non-existent though

oh and btw why didn't this "good guy" make his ideological stand, say, back in the 90s when the marginal rates were even higher?

[gospodin shuttlesworth]

this system is perfectly fine to get rich in as you can see by the immense wealth i have accumulated while playing fuging golf, however BOOHOOHOOHOOO I'M RICH NOW AND HAVE TO PAY TAXES ON IT

phil can fug right off on this topic, i don't really care how good of a guy you think he is

[SmootsDaddy89]

[Delhommey]

Phil is routinely voted to be one of the biggest jerks in sports (by all accounts he's Shooter Mcgavin made flesh), but seriously he gives to a lot of charities so he's an upstanding guy.

[Gazi]

You want more money? Make more money

[gospodin shuttlesworth]

serious question: how many of you are uninterested in making millions because you will hit the highest marginal rate?