Tax Update Blog: Permalink

« Previous · Tax Update Blog Home · Next »

I WAS DRUNK THE DAY MY LOBBYIST GOT OUT OF PRISON...

November 30, 2005

With apologies to Steve Goodman, it appears Congress may enact the perfect country & western songwriter tax loophole. Under a rule proposed by congresscritter and country music fan Ron Lewis of Kentucky, songwriters would get capital gain treatment for selling the rights to their own songs to others (e.g., Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson).

Professor Maule is unimpressed:

The point is that song writers have decided that their compensation income ought to be taxed at rates lower than folks whose services are rendered working in factories, mowing lawns, bagging groceries, sweeping floors, tending the sick, fighting fires, etc. The song writers think they are special. Note that even other artists, such as novelists, painters, sculptors, and designers, aren't covered by this proposed legislation. They, it appears, aren't special.

Of course, we have our own loophole for other artists.

The professor lacks sympathy for the plight of the poor songwriter, who may only have one hit in a lifetime:

One song writer notes that because she hasn't had a hit in five years she has to make that money last, "When the hits do come, we have to be like squirrels and bury the money." Of course. So do all the other folks whose incomes peak and sag. Folks like farmers who deal with drought and floods, computer programmers and video game authors who hit the big time one year and then watch other designers' efforts get the attention of the game players, authors who have one great book followed by years of writers' block, professional athletes who rarely earn in middle age what they pulled down in their twenties, and so on. Yeah, it's called planning and budgeting. The fact you need to do this doesn't mean you deserve a tax break. Unless, of course, all taxpayers who need to plan and budget get the same tax break. Fat chance.

Precisely. Except now all the folks he listed will call their lobbyists to get in on the songwriter break.

      Bookmark: del.icio.us • Digg • reddit