Steve Ballmer Gets Billion-Dollar Tax Write-Off For Being Basketball Baron

McGruber (1417641) writes "According to a report published by The Financial Times (paywalled), ex-Microsoft CEO Billionaire Steve Ballmer will be able to write off about a billion dollars of his basketball team's purchase price from the taxable income he makes over the next 15 years. "Under an exception in US law, buyers of sports franchises can use an accounting treatment known as goodwill against their other taxable income. This feature is commonly used by tax specialists to structure deals for sports teams. Goodwill is the difference between the purchase price of an asset and the actual cash and other fixed assets belonging to the team."

Comments

If you tax the rich, they'll leave

[CRCulver]

This is a wise policy. If you tax the rich too much, then they won't buy local basketball teams and instead will look elsewhere. Eventually there wouldn't be any professional sports at all in our great and beautiful nation. Instead of sitting down to watch the NBA on their televisions, Americans would instead see only short-statured, low-wage Chinese tossing a ball around instead. Kudos to the government for allowing an entrepreneur like Ballmer to keep his local business going.

Re:If you tax the rich, they'll leave

[nucrash]

I thought he would most likely send the Basket Ball team, the Clippy's to India.

Re: If you tax the rich, they'll leave

[frikken lazerz]

Good, let em leave. (Most, because there are a few exceptions) rich folks are assholes who got their riches by taking advantage of others or stuck up pricks who were born into wealth and have no idea what it's like to struggle (no, deciding between a BMW and Mercedes for your third car is NOT a struggle). They soon they go, the better. Get them out of the country, or just send them all the New Jersey (that place is beyond help anyway).

Re: If you tax the rich, they'll leave

[Anonymous Coward]

YES, send them ALL the New Jersey. But first, can we ship them to the moon with the Chinese? The A ship leaves soon.

I don't want the New Jersey anyway.

Re:If you tax the rich, they'll leave

[Applehu Akbar]

Ballmer also wouldn't be able to work on the problem the Clippers have been having lately: in the middle of a game, all the players suddenly stop right where they happen to be in action and freeze in place. Whenever this happens, you have to restart the game from the beginning. The team doctor says that a large load of viruses seems to be responsible.

Everyone is equal before the law.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Americans, do not give into class warfare arguments. You too have the right to buy sports franchises and write off billion dollars from your taxable income. You too have the right to create a SuperPAC and spend a million dollars to launch attack ads against the politicians who you don't like. Every one is equal before the law. And America has the best political system money can buy, let no one try to convince you otherwise.