So, everytime I see one of these Hollywood types on TV bashing Bush for giving tax cuts to the rich, I want to puke. So imagine my amazement wen I find this article. So who do they really want to pay the taxes? I guess you can’t expect the rules that we “The Great Unwashed” have to live by would apply to them. DOn’t get me wrong, I am for tax breaks for everyone who pays taxes, and have no problem with them getting them if they don’t have a problem when I get them. According to them they are burdening the children with defecits, while they live in their fat cat mansions, all the while asking for more tax breaks.
Excerpt from NY Times
In his speech at the convention, Bill Clinton delighted the crowd by complaining about the unnecessary tax cut he had received. At a breakfast with Florida delegates, the actor Ben Affleck got into specifics, explaining that the Bush tax cuts had provided him with $1 million last year that he didn’t need.
It was a smart strategy to please the faithful in Boston, but the protests may raise a question for some voters: If you think the government has a better use for the money, why not give it back? When The Nation urged readers to send their tax rebates to the magazine, the editors were criticized for hypocrisy: given their beliefs, shouldn’t they want those rebates to pay for public programs instead of remaining in the private sector?
We asked Mr. Affleck if he had considered sending the $1 million back to Washington. “No,” he said. “I’m not Jesus Christ of the tax code. I can’t completely martyr myself.”
and this…
A cast of Hollywood stars may soon swarm Beacon Hill to charm rumpled state lawmakers while touting public subsidies for the movie industry.
The big-name actors with local roots are ready to lobby for tax ``incentives'' for major movie companies that shoot their productions in the Bay State, film industry supporters say..
Cambridge shooting star Ben Affleck and his pal, ``Bourne Supremacy'' idol Matt Damon; HBO's ``Entourage'' producer Mark Wahlberg, of Dorchester, and fellow Dot guy Neal McDonough of TV's ``Medical Investigation;'' and deadly serious thespian Chris Cooper, currently residing in the Hub's suburbs: they're all ready to make the tax relief pitch, according to state film industry cheerleader Robin Dawson and another movie maven working on the project.
In fact, some of the big stars have signaled their readiness for local politicking - even if it means sitting down for chats withBay State politicos and testifying at drearyState House hearings,says Dawson, head of the Massachusetts Film Bureau.
The star support comes as local entertainment industry boosters and their allieson Beacon Hill prepare to unleash a campaign to make Massachusetts more Tinseltown friendly.
But some critics, like taxpayer advocate Barbara Anderson, are unimpressed.
``I think there is a word for it, isn't there? Extortion,'' said Anderson, head of Citizens for Limited Taxation..
Film hungry locales like New Mexico are offering everything from massive tax breaks to millions in no interest loans to Hollywood moguls, noted Carol Patton, publisher of Imagine Magazine, who promises to produce Wahlberg and other celebrities to back up an upcoming proposal by state Rep. Brian Wallace (D-South Boston).
``It's a question of dollars and cents,'' argued Wallace - a novelist with two books optioned by filmmakers. `I don't think it's a question of trying to help fat cats get fatter,'' he said.
Wallace is preparing a legislation ``package'' that may include millions in rebates for movie companies that spend big locally.
Meanwhile, some of the movies' biggest stars may soon appear in local theaters asking you to open your wallet or purse.
Affleck, Damon, Cooper, and Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood recently taped a short trailer that Dawson's Massachusetts Film Bureau hopes to run in local theaters. The big guns tout the joys of filming in Massachusetts.
They argue that state taxpayers should pony up for Dawson's Massachusetts Film Bureau.At the segment's end, Cooper offers up a general statement of support for tax incentives for movies that are shot locally.
) in south africa, they were based around the corner from the pizza take away place i managed at the time
I always heard that didn’t work. The reality is when people have money they spend it, how they want. Seems reasonable since they earned it.
