Celebs to get taxed on gift bags?

[cosmogrl5]

This made me feel just a tad less jealous that I don't get cool free stuff everday. I thought it might help some others make peace with their lives as well.

Celebs To Get Taxed on Gift Bags


Some of Hollywood's biggest names are going to be taxed on their Emmy Award
gift bags.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences - who will give out the gongs at
a lavish event in Los Angeles on August 27 - have told recipients they have
to declare their bags of swag to the IRS as they are considered as "taxable
income".

Organisers have even gone as far as to get guests to sign a waiver
confirming they have received and read the letter.

The gift bags - which are worth between $27,000 and $30,000 - include
holidays, luggage, jewellery, mobile phones, skincare products, clothes,
chocolates and gift certificates.


TMZ

This is not the first time celebrities have been stung by a levy on their
luxuries.

The US government clawed back almost $1.2 million in taxes from goodie bags
handed out at the Oscars in March.

At the time, IRS Commissioner Mark Everson said: "As the world watches the
glamour and glitz of the Academy Awards, it's important to keep in mind that
movie stars face the same tax obligations as ordinary Americans."

Items expected to be included in the gift bags, include a five-day stay at
Old Bahama Bay on Grand Bahama Island, a $329 Sprint Fusic mobile phone, a
string of pearls from Pearl Paradise and a luxury chocolate assortment among
many others.

source: hollywoodrag.com

[VainJane]

That's awesome. I just don't get why celebs get all these things (for FREE!) when they can actually afford it, unlike most of America.

I consider those 'swag' bags to be a bit gross....I mean, companies are wasting away thousands of dollars worth of products/goods to these people who have the money to buy these products and don't actually need them-- while there are people down the street from the Academy Awards who are poor, homeless, trying to find jobs.

I'm certainly not one to act 'holier than thou' but I just can't ignore the fact that all this money is spent on giving celebs freebies ( freebies that the celebs can afford, mind you) instead of spending it on cancer research, feeding the hungry, building schools.

Luckily, the tax ON these goodies might actually be used to help those less fortunate.

[fashionista-ta]

bwa-ha-ha I wonder if any actors who are starting out will return the stuff they don't want so they don't have to pay taxes on it

[LoveMyBoots]

There shouldn't be a question mark next to that title, and there should never be.

The whole point of these freebies is free publicity. But, truthfully (and obviously) companies who donate products into those bags are simply wasting their money. Free Lasic Eye Surgery? How is giving that to a celebrity going to promote that product? Same goes for holidays and chocolate... Having a celebrity mention them in one interview isn't even going to be likely.

[eternitygoddess]

^Maybe with surgery one celeb will recommend it to another and another.

[*mette-marit*]

how can a GIFT that someone chooses to give to you be classes as income that you should be TAXED on? I think this is madness!
Of course there are people who need the money more (there always is) but I got a pearl necklace for my birthday from my parents. they chose to give it to me, it is technically useless and frivolous (though I love it) should I be forced to pay tax on it? where is this comming from?

[serena775]

Originally Posted by *mette-marit*

how can a GIFT that someone chooses to give to you be classes as income that you should be TAXED on? I think this is madness!
Of course there are people who need the money more (there always is) but I got a pearl necklace for my birthday from my parents. they chose to give it to me, it is technically useless and frivolous (though I love it) should I be forced to pay tax on it? where is this comming from?

Not when the gift is worth as much as a luxury vehicle, they should be taxed or not given gifts at all.

[Bel]

Since when can you get taxed on gifts? Not that it matters to the celebs who will have to pay it, but really? If I got an equally expensive gift from someone, would I have to pay tax for it?

[VainJane]

how can a GIFT that someone chooses to give to you be classes as income that you should be TAXED on? I think this is madness!

I always fall asleep when it comes to IRS stuff but....correct me if I'm wrong, I think that a gift will not be taxed as long as it is under a certain price range (like $10,000 or something). I think if it passes that price range (say a gift worth $15,000) it is taxed.

And I don't think the IRS taxes gifts given casually (i.e. a pearl necklace given to a friend, a ring given to a daughter) but if it is an official gift (the Oscars) or a money gift involving a bank transfer, I think it falls under that jurisdiction.

My mom wanted to give my sister money for her to buy a house (around $30,000), but in order for it to not be taxed, my mom had to give it to my sister and her husband in small batches.

Again, this is all a guess so don't rake me over the coals if I'm wrong.

[BohemianBeauty22]

Why, this does help me sleep alittle better at night knowing that they will be taxing these items....and the government funds are getting low so why not?

I think you are right Vainjane, my cousin got a gift from his father in law so they could move and it had to be in a certain amount so it wasn't taxed either.

[kissmesweet]

It's good that they have to get taxed, but honestly the government is gonna piss it all away and that's not very good, is it now?

[VainJane]

It's good that they have to get taxed, but honestly the government is gonna piss it all away and that's not very good, is it now?

Eh...I dunno. My mom's a teacher and the taxes help pay her salary, so it kinda helps

[daddyslittlegrl8]

Good...They should pay. Actually recently on the Sopranos they did an episode which covered something along the lines of this.

dlg

[cosmogrl5]

This sort of relates to the overall topic...plus, the last part is funny.

Jessica Simpson is one greedy swag hag
Quote:
Is Jessica Simpson the Queen of Swag or - as her flack insists - Our Lady of Largess?
After the perky pop tart was caught with an amazing haul of freebies during last week's MTV Video Music Awards - tens of thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry, clothes, high-tech electronic gadgets and a $50,000 Chrysler convertible - Simpson's damage-control guru, Rob Shuter, vowed that she'll donate her VMA gift bag to Operation Smile.

"People like her don't really need these things because they already have everything," Shuter told The News, explaining that she's giving to the charity that provides cosmetic surgery to children with facial deformities. Sometime later, Shuter hastily notified Operation Smile.

"He didn't say anything specific, but she wanted to donate some stuff," the group's celebrity liaison, Dee Dee Sides, told Lowdown. "I think the car. Maybe we'll do an online auction? I don't really know."

But still later, Simpson's flack appeared to backtrack.

"I don't think she has thought about it yet," Shuter E-mailed Lowdown.

Meanwhile, Simpson's stylist, Jessica Paster, hit up the Sirius Suites at the W Times Square for 10 pairs of shades from the Solstice Sunglass Boutique - including the Dior and Gucci glasses that Simpson was later photographed using. Jessica was sporting the Diors when she picked out more goodies from Luxottica in the Style Villa at the Bryant Park Hotel - three pairs of Ray-Ban aviators, and a pair each of Wayfarers and Shield shades, selected after her posse told her they looked fabulous.

Stockpiling $4,000 worth of G-Star denim, Simpson told PR reps, "I know we're taking a lot. I promise I'll wear it." Meanwhile Paster also scarfed up G-Star items for Simpson's younger sister, Ashlee.

Simpson also walked off with a bagful of Freeze 24-7's anti-wrinkle cream - for the Operation Smile kids? - and picked up three New Era hats while checking the fit of a Penguin shirt. Leaving the Style Villa, Simpson flashed a diamond Rosalina ring she'd picked out upstairs, and at the VMAs showed off a different Rosalina sparkler.

At the preshow cocktail party at Radio City, a Lowdown spy overheard Jessica - suffering from a burst blood vessel in her vocal cords - hoarsely interrogating Manhattan attorney Salvatore Strazzullo about the tax implications of swag.

"Just out of curiosity, how would the government find out about these gifts that everybody is getting?" Simpson croaked.

He replied: "Each company has to file gift tax returns pertaining to everybody that received gifts, and then the IRS will compare those to the individual tax returns of the recipients."

Simpson, said the spy, looked dumbfounded.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/sto...p-378342c.html

[VainJane]

^ Great article Cosmo

The amount of crap she grabbed is insane.....I hope Jessica gets taxed out the butt for all those things.

And, if the article is correct, she isn't planning on donating everything to charity

If she was paying for all this stuff, I'd be okay with it....but these celebs are getting it for free! A $50,000 convertible?! I think the companies that give out the free swag should instead donate the money to a bunch of charities and then give each celeb a piece of paper saying " We donated such-and-such amount of money in your name to such-and-such charity".