Archive for November 18th, 2011

Best tax loophole: millionaires writing off gambling losses

November 18, 2011

Sen. Tom Coburn issued a report called: “Subsidies of the rich & famous.”

I thought I’d get a couple of posts out it, but it turned out to be old news (Bon Jovi calling his estate a bee farm and paying practically no taxes) … and the result of not means testing Social Security and Medicare.

Two of the subsidies did catch my eye:

1)  Millionaires deducted more than  $20 billion in gambling losses … though, even that’s not such a big deal since they simply offset gambling winning … they don’t deduct from ordinary income.

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2) Millionaires copped  almost $21 million in Unemployment Insurance … not a big amount, but c’mon man.

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Kicking over the Cracker Barrel

November 18, 2011

Cracker Barrel is one my favorite stops along a travel route.

Now, it’s in the sights of a takeover guy whose formula is slashing costs.

Isn’t anything sacred any more?

A Buffett Devotee Riles His Targets .

He likes restaurants and insurers, runs a company called “BH” and writes long, self-effacing annual letters to shareholders.

Sardar Biglari,— the self-described Warren Buffett wannabe – runs the Steak ‘n Shake restaurant chain alongside stock investments and other holdings.

Today, entryways to Steak ‘n Shake restaurants, which he turned around in part by slashing costs and closing unprofitable locations, display large photos of a grinning Mr. Biglari.

Now, he has  set his sights on Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.

“We blame the board for mediocrity,” he said in a Sept. 12 letter to Cracker Barrel shareholders. “I intend to raise expectations.”

Cracker Barrel, a down-home restaurant and gift store whose results have turned south with the slow economy, initially tried to accommodate Mr. Biglari’s requests.

But as his demands grew more intrusive, relations soured. The company recently adopted a poison-pill antitakeover provision, and Mr. Biglari launched a proxy fight to get himself elected to the board.

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