Read this and understand the Impact of Obama's Tax Plans

> Long, but interesting perspective.
>
> The Employee Meeting:
>
>
>
> I would like to start by thanking you for attending this
> meeting, though it's not like you had much of a choice. After all,
> attendance was mandatory. I'm also glad many of you accepted my
> invitation to your family members to be here as well. I have a few
> remarks to make to all of you, and then we'll retire to the ballroom
> for a great lunch and some employee awards.
>
> I felt that this meeting was important enough to close all
> 12 of our tire and automotive shops today so that you could be here.
> To reassure you, everybody is being paid for the day --- except me.
> Since our stores are closed we're making no money. That economic loss
> is mine to sustain. Carrington Automotive has 157 full time employees
> and around 30 additional part-timers. All of you are here. I thank you
> for that.
>
> When you walked into this auditorium you were handed a
> rather thick 78-page document. Many of you have already taken a peek.
> You were probably surprised to see that it's my personal tax return
> for 2008. Those of you who are adept at reading these tax returns will
> see that last year my taxable income was $534,000.00. Now I'm sure
> this seems rather high to many of you. So ... let's talk about this
> tax return.
>
> Carrington Automotive Enterprises is what we call a Sub-S
> - a Subchapter S corporation. The name comes from a particular part of
> our tax code. Sub-S status means that the income from all 12 of our
> stores is reported on my personal tax return. Businesses that report
> their income on the owner's personal tax return are referred to as
> "small businesses." So, you see now that this $534,000 is really the
> total taxable income - the total combined profit from all 12 of our
> stores. That works out to an average of a bit over $44,000 per store.
>
> Why did I feel it important for you to see my actual 2008
> tax return? Well, there's a lot of rhetoric being thrown around today
> about taxes, small businesses and rich people. To the people in charge
> in Washington right now I'm a wealthy American making over a
> half-million dollars a year. Most Americans would agree: I'm just
> another rich guy; after all ... I had over a half-million in income
> last year, right? In this room we know that the reality is that I'm a
> small business owner who runs 12 retail establishments and employs 187
> people. Now here's something that shouldn't surprise you, but it will:
> Just under 100 percent ... make that 99.7 percent of all employers in

> this country are small businesses, just like ours.
>
> Every one of these businesses reports their income on a
> personal income tax return. You need to understand that small
> businesses like ours are responsible for about 80 percent of all
> private sector jobs in this country, and about 70 percent of all jobs
> that have been created over the past year. You also need to know that
> when you hear some politician talking about rich people who earn over
> $200,000 or $500,000 a year, they're talking about the people who
> create the jobs.
>
> The people who are now running the show in Washington have
> been talking for months about raising taxes on wealthy Americans. I
> already know that in two years my federal income taxes are going to go
> up by about 4.5 percent. That happens when Obama and the Democrats
> allow the Bush tax cuts to expire. When my taxes climb by 4.5 percent
> the Democrats will be on television saying that this really isn't a
> tax increase. They'll explain that the Bush tax cuts have expired ..
> nothing more. Here at Carrington we'll know that almost 5% has been
> taken right off of our bottom line. And that means it will be coming
> off your bottom line.
>
> Numbers are boring, I know ... but let's talk a bit more
> about that $534,000. That's the money that was left last year from
> company revenues after I paid all of the salaries and expenses of
> running this business. Now I could have kept every penny of that for
> myself, but that would have left us with nothing to grow our business,
> to attract new customers and to hire new employees. You're aware that
> we've been talking about opening new stores in Virginia Beach and
> Newport News . To do that I will have to buy or lease property,
> construct a building and purchase inventory. I also have to hire
> additional people to work in those stores. These people wouldn't
> immediately be earning their pay. So, where do you think the money for
> all of this comes from? Right out of our profits .. right out of that
> $534,000. I need to advertise to bring customers in, especially in
> these tough times. Where do you think that money comes from? Oh sure,
> I can count it as an expense when I file my next income tax return ...
> but for right now that comes from either current revenues or last
> year's profits. Revenues right now aren't all that hot ... so do the
> math. A good effective advertising campaign might cost us more than
> $300,000.
>
> Is this all starting to come together for you now?
>
> Right now the Democrats are pushing a nationalized health
> care plan that, depending on who's doing the talking, will add
> anywhere from another two percent to an additional 4.6 percent to my
> taxes. If I add a few more stores, which I would like to do, and if
> the economy improves, my taxable income .... our business income ....
> could go over one million dollars! If that happens the Democrats have
> yet another tax waiting, another five percent plus! I've really lost
> track of all of the new government programs the Democrats and
> President Obama are proposing that they claim they will be able to
> finance with new taxes on what they call "wealthy Americans."
>
> And while we're talking about health care, let me explain
> something else to you. I understand that possibly your biggest
> complaint with our company is that we don't provide you with health
> insurance. That is because as your employer I believe that it is my
> responsibility to provide you with a safe workplace and a fair wage
> and to do all that I can to preserve and grow this company that
> provides us all with income. I no more have a responsibility to
> provide you with health insurance than I do with life, auto or
> homeowner's insurance. As you know, I have periodically invited agents
> for health insurance companies here to provide you with information on
> private health insurance plans.
>
> The Democrats are proposing to levy yet
> another tax against Carrington in the amount of 8 percent of my
> payroll as a penalty for not providing you with health insurance. You
> should know that if they do this I will be reducing every person's
> salary or hourly wage by that same 8 percent. This will not be done to
> put any more money in my pocket. It will be done to make sure that I
> don't suffer financially from the Democrat's efforts to place our
> healthcare under the control of the federal government. It is your
> health, not mine. It is your healthcare, not mine. These are your
> expenses, not mine. If you think I'm wrong about all this, I would
> sure love to hear your reasoning.
>
> Try to understand what I'm telling you here. Those people
> that Obama and the Democrats call "wealthy Americans" are, in very
> large part, America's small business owners. I'm one of them. You have
> the evidence, and surely you don't think that the owner of a bunch of
> tire stores is anything special. That $534,000 figure on my income tax
> return puts me squarely in Democrat crosshairs when it comes to tax
> increases.
>
> Let's be clear about this ... crystal clear.
> Any federal tax increase on me is going to cost you money, not me. Any
> new taxes on Carrington Automotive will be new taxes that you, or the
> people I don't hire to staff the new stores I won't be building, will
> be paying. Do you understand what I'm telling you? You've heard about
> things rolling downhill, right? Fine .. then you need to know that
> taxes, like that other stuff, roll downhill. Now you and I may
> understand that you are not among those that the Democrats call
> "wealthy Americans," but when this "tax the rich" thing comes down you
> are going to be standing at the bottom of the mud slide, if you get my
> drift. That's life in the big city, my friends ... where elections
> have consequences.
>
> You know our economy is very weak right now. I've pledged
> to get us through this without layoffs or cuts in your wages and
> benefits. It's too bad the politicians can't get us through this
> without attacking our profits. To insure our survival I have to take a
> substantial portion of that $534,000 and set it aside for unexpected
> expenses and a worsening economy. Trouble is, the government is eyeing
> that money too ... and they have the guns. If they want it, they can
> take it.
>
> I don't want to make this too long. There's a great lunch
> waiting for us all. But you need to understand what's happening here.
> I've worked hard for 23 years to create this business. There were many
> years where I couldn't take a penny in income because every dollar was
> being dedicated to expanding the business. There were tough times when
> it took every dollar of revenues to replenish our inventory and cover
> your paychecks. During those times I earned nothing. If you want to
> see those tax returns, just let me know.
>
> OK ... I know I'm repeating myself here. I don't hire
> stupid people, and you are probably getting it now. So let me just
> ramble for a few more minutes.Most Americans don't realize that when
> the Democrats talk about raising taxes on people making more than $250
> thousand a year, they're talking about raising taxes on small
> businesses. The U.S. Treasury Department says that six out of every
> ten individuals in this country with incomes of more than $280,000 are
> actually small business owners. About one-half of the income in this
> country that would be subject to these increased taxes is from small
> businesses like ours. Depending on how many of these wonderful new
> taxes the Democrats manage to pass, this company could see its tax
> burden increase by as much as $60,000. Perhaps more.
>
> I know a lot of you voted for President
> Obama. A lot of you voted for Democrats across the board. Whether you
> voted out of support for some specific policies, or because you liked
> his slogans, you need to learn one very valuable lesson from this
> election. Elections have consequences. You might have thought it would
> be cool to have a president who looks like you; or a president who is
> young, has a buff body, and speaks eloquently when there's a
> teleprompter in the neighborhood. Maybe you liked his promises to tax
> the rich. Maybe you believed his promise not to raise taxes on people
> earning less than a certain amount. Maybe you actually bought into his
> promise to cut taxes on millions of Americans who actually don't pay
> income taxes in the first place. Whatever the reason .. your vote had
> consequences; and here they are.
>
> Bottom line? I'm not taking this hit alone. As soon as the
> Democrats manage to get their tax increases on the books, I'm going to
> take steps to make sure that my family isn't affected. When you own
> the business, that is what you're allowed to do. I built this business
> over a period of 23 years, and I'm not going to see my family suffer
> because we have a president and a congress who think that wealth is
> distributed rather than earned. Any additional taxes, of whatever
> description, that President Obama and the Democrats inflict on this
> business will come straight out of any funds I have set aside for
> expansion or pay and benefit increases. Any plans I might have had to
> hire additional employees for new stores will be put aside. Any plans
> for raises for the people I now have working for me will be shelved.
> Year-end bonuses might well be eliminated. That may sound rough, but
> that's the reality.
>
> You're going to continue to hear a lot of anti-wealth
> rhetoric out there from the media and from the left. You can chose to
> believe what you wish .. ..but when it comes to Carrington Automotive
> you will know the truth. The books are open to any of you at any time.
> I have nothing to hide. I would hope that other small business owners
> out there would hold meetings like this one, but I know it won't
> happen that often. One of the lessons to be learned here is that taxes
> .... all taxes ... and all regulatory costs that are placed on
> businesses anywhere in this country, will eventually be passed right
> on down to individuals; individuals such as yourself. This hasn't been
> about admonishing anyone and it hasn't been about issuing threats.
> This is part of the education you should have received in the
> government schools, but didn't. Class is now dismissed.