My assumption is that this is just a moving forward of the regular dividend from next tax year to this year ... if the rates increase, there could be a tax savings but if the tax rates do not change (this is a possibility since the House/Senate/President will have a grand bargain and dividend taxation rates might be one that Obama may give on to get the top rate increased) ... but let's remember that it moves the taxes into this year, which will increase tax revenues this year moving the debt ceiling out.
But it isn't the Walton's that should get the attention for moving the income from one tax year to the next (other companies have done that for years, for example PepsiCo ... heck, even TCF Bank has issued split interest payments to distinguish interest earned prior to 12/31 and after 1/1). There are over 300 companies that have moved-up or issued "special" dividends this year ... for example, Oracle yanked into December a dividend of 18 cents per share, to replace the dividends it would have paid over the next three quarters --- that's not moving January's payment into December that is moving January, April and July's payment and benefiting the most will be billionaire CEO Larry Ellison, who owns about 23 percent of the company's stock.
More attention needs to go to those 68 corporations that declare special dividends ... did you know that companies are paying special dividends at four times the pace of last year ? Who benefits ... how about the people that make the decisions to authorize the special dividends ? Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), the casino company led by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, voted a special dividend that will pay Adelson about $1.2 billion. Brown-Forman Corp. (BF/A), the owner of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, will pay a $4-a-share special payment. Based on proxy filings, Brown family members who own 58.5 million Class A voting shares will receive approximately $234 million from the dividend. Costco last month declared a special dividend of $7 per share, or about $3 billion. To pay for it, the company borrowed $3.5 billion.
National Beverage Corp., the company behind Faygo and Shasta soft drinks, set the size of its special dividend at $2.55 per share, totaling, $118.1 million. The decision was based in part on "a commitment by our largest shareholder to make available additional equity should the occasion develop," chairman and CEO Nick Caporella said in the announcement.
Caporella was referring to himself. He owns 74 percent of the company's outstanding shares, either directly or through a company he controls. For him, the special dividend was worth $87.3 million before taxes. Under the current tax rate, he will pay about $13.1 million on the dividend. By taking money out of the company early, Caporella saved for himself as much as $24.5 million that might have gone to the government. In announcing the Special Dividend, it rationalized it as "'Patriotism' - If Only We Could Bottle It!"
Yep, good times ahead ... after all what else could these Job Creators do with their dividend checks ?
My assumption is that this is just a moving forward of the regular dividend from next tax year to this year ... if the rates increase, there could be a tax savings but if the tax rates do not change (this is a possibility since the House/Senate/President will have a grand bargain and dividend taxation rates might be one that Obama may give on to get the top rate increased) ... but let's remember that it moves the taxes into this year, which will increase tax revenues this year moving the debt ceiling out.
ReplyDeleteBut it isn't the Walton's that should get the attention for moving the income from one tax year to the next (other companies have done that for years, for example PepsiCo ... heck, even TCF Bank has issued split interest payments to distinguish interest earned prior to 12/31 and after 1/1). There are over 300 companies that have moved-up or issued "special" dividends this year ... for example, Oracle yanked into December a dividend of 18 cents per share, to replace the dividends it would have paid over the next three quarters --- that's not moving January's payment into December that is moving January, April and July's payment and benefiting the most will be billionaire CEO Larry Ellison, who owns about 23 percent of the company's stock.
More attention needs to go to those 68 corporations that declare special dividends ... did you know that companies are paying special dividends at four times the pace of last year ?
Who benefits ... how about the people that make the decisions to authorize the special dividends ?
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), the casino company led by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, voted a special dividend that will pay Adelson about $1.2 billion.
Brown-Forman Corp. (BF/A), the owner of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, will pay a $4-a-share special payment. Based on proxy filings, Brown family members who own 58.5 million Class A voting shares will receive approximately $234 million from the dividend.
Costco last month declared a special dividend of $7 per share, or about $3 billion. To pay for it, the company borrowed $3.5 billion.
National Beverage Corp., the company behind Faygo and Shasta soft drinks, set the size of its special dividend at $2.55 per share, totaling, $118.1 million. The decision was based in part on "a commitment by our largest shareholder to make available additional equity should the occasion develop," chairman and CEO Nick Caporella said in the announcement.
Caporella was referring to himself. He owns 74 percent of the company's outstanding shares, either directly or through a company he controls. For him, the special dividend was worth $87.3 million before taxes.
Under the current tax rate, he will pay about $13.1 million on the dividend. By taking money out of the company early, Caporella saved for himself as much as $24.5 million that might have gone to the government. In announcing the Special Dividend, it rationalized it as "'Patriotism' - If Only We Could Bottle It!"
Yep, good times ahead ... after all what else could these Job Creators do with their dividend checks ?