northernsky
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cosmogrl5 said:
that sounds like a pretty bad job he has.
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Celebs to get taxed on gift bags?
- Thread starter cosmogrl5
- Start date
that sounds like a pretty bad job he has.
A new Palm Treo was in each gift bag this year! So that explains why the cameras kept showing "guests" using "their" Palm Treo's. When it says the guests have to pay tax on the gift bags, this is sales tax right? CA sales tax is 8%. With a $27,000 or more handbag, a brand new Treo, and god knows whatelse, that actually amounts to a alotta freakin' doh. Damn, that really does take out some of the charm of so-called freebies.
with consumer sales at an all-time low in the US, companies are doing what they can to make up for the losses.
with consumer sales at an all-time low in the US, companies are doing what they can to make up for the losses.
CTstyle said:
No, not sales tax but income tax which at these celebrities' tax bracket is probably about 50% of the RETAIL value of the goods. Since a lot of these goods (gift bags) are in exchange for a performance or appearance they are considered compensation.
MaxHavoc said:
that was hilarious what someone said about Jessica Simpson being all shocked that her "freebies" from LV are really just discounts. What do celebs expect, especially in this economy with consumer spending at an all-time low? Companies have to compensate their losses, which are huge these days. Retail is the worst business to be in nowadays. The big companies like LV are always the most aggressive about these losses, not the most generous.
I also wonder if some celebs try to return their gifts to get out of paying the taxes.
I've been to functions where i always get gift bags worth 
great sums of money and the gift worth getting. but celebrity gift bags have gone overboard that when you sum it up it is worth the downpayment of a house, worse, the amount of a mortgage (high six figures!)! you can thank the Emmy and Oscars for this. Sponsors has gotten themselves so out of touch with reality that shell their products to celebrities just so they get that recognition but in the end , when auditors come in they lose out while celebrities they kiss *ss wins. 
great sums of money and the gift worth getting. but celebrity gift bags have gone overboard that when you sum it up it is worth the downpayment of a house, worse, the amount of a mortgage (high six figures!)! you can thank the Emmy and Oscars for this. Sponsors has gotten themselves so out of touch with reality that shell their products to celebrities just so they get that recognition but in the end , when auditors come in they lose out while celebrities they kiss *ss wins. Globes Do Away with Goody Bags
Los Angeles (E! Online) - If there's anything less glamorous than taxes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association doesn't want to hear about it.
So, due to the very unsexy Internal Revenue Service's recent crackdown on award show swag, the HFPA has decided to forgo the traditional gift baskets for presenters at next week's Golden Globes.
The HFPA made its announcement Wednesday, shortly after the IRS stated that the two organizations had reached an agreement, in that the HFPA would take care of the back taxes for all gifts handed out until 2005 and provide celebrities who received goodies in 2006 with the appropriate income tax forms.
"We thought it only proper that we assume the tax burden for 2004 and 2005," HFPA president Philip Berk said. "We felt it didn't seem fair to ask those who had donated their services to pay additional tax after they have already filed tax returns for those years."
There was no word on just how much the IRS collected from the Globe purveyors.
Last year's bag, stuffed with gadgets, jewelry, spa certificates, trip vouchers and the like, was valued at $40,000, all taxable income. Because vendors and other swag providers can generally write off the items as the cost of doing business (advertising, etc.), the IRS does not recognize the gift baskets as "gifts." And since the A-listers technically receive the "gifts" in exchange for appearing at an event—that's where the income part plays into it.
To avoid further confusion, everyone who attends the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Monday will receive a no-taxes-required gift package worth $600.
"The fact this gift bag practice grew so quickly is stranger than fiction," IRS Commissioner Mark Everson said. "We're happy the Hollywood Foreign Press Association stepped forward to resolve this issue."
This latest move comes in light of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' announcement in August that it, too, had settled up with the IRS for past swag until 2005 and would no longer be doling out the usual "freebies" to Oscar presenters. It was reported last year that the IRS was looking at a $1.2 million haul from the Academy Awards alone.
2006 Emmy presenters, meanwhile, got a letter along with their $33,000 swag bags, explaining the ensuing tax obligations, and a waiver absolving the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences of financial liability if any defiant celebs tried to pocket their "earnings" without paying the IRS piper.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20070111/en_industry_eo/407c4d94_edb54126_b81b_ae2784f56cb3
Los Angeles (E! Online) - If there's anything less glamorous than taxes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association doesn't want to hear about it.
So, due to the very unsexy Internal Revenue Service's recent crackdown on award show swag, the HFPA has decided to forgo the traditional gift baskets for presenters at next week's Golden Globes.
The HFPA made its announcement Wednesday, shortly after the IRS stated that the two organizations had reached an agreement, in that the HFPA would take care of the back taxes for all gifts handed out until 2005 and provide celebrities who received goodies in 2006 with the appropriate income tax forms.
"We thought it only proper that we assume the tax burden for 2004 and 2005," HFPA president Philip Berk said. "We felt it didn't seem fair to ask those who had donated their services to pay additional tax after they have already filed tax returns for those years."
There was no word on just how much the IRS collected from the Globe purveyors.
Last year's bag, stuffed with gadgets, jewelry, spa certificates, trip vouchers and the like, was valued at $40,000, all taxable income. Because vendors and other swag providers can generally write off the items as the cost of doing business (advertising, etc.), the IRS does not recognize the gift baskets as "gifts." And since the A-listers technically receive the "gifts" in exchange for appearing at an event—that's where the income part plays into it.
To avoid further confusion, everyone who attends the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Monday will receive a no-taxes-required gift package worth $600.
"The fact this gift bag practice grew so quickly is stranger than fiction," IRS Commissioner Mark Everson said. "We're happy the Hollywood Foreign Press Association stepped forward to resolve this issue."
This latest move comes in light of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' announcement in August that it, too, had settled up with the IRS for past swag until 2005 and would no longer be doling out the usual "freebies" to Oscar presenters. It was reported last year that the IRS was looking at a $1.2 million haul from the Academy Awards alone.
2006 Emmy presenters, meanwhile, got a letter along with their $33,000 swag bags, explaining the ensuing tax obligations, and a waiver absolving the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences of financial liability if any defiant celebs tried to pocket their "earnings" without paying the IRS piper.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20070111/en_industry_eo/407c4d94_edb54126_b81b_ae2784f56cb3
Lonewalker
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In my opinion they shouldn't be taxed, since it's a gift but whatever...
