GC facing bankruptcy?

[jaxson50 645]

1 hour ago, jaxson50 said:

The government didn't loan money to GM, the government bought GM. Then sold it at a gain. As a side note. The government did something no other buyer could do. They forgave debt held by GM. 

 

1. If a private entity did this they would pay capital gains tax.  The government is exempt from paying taxes.

2,  The government doesn't have money, it takes money away from its citizens.

BTW  I wasn't in favor of stimulus going to "big business "  

 

[gdecant1 61]

1 hour ago, Mr. Gibson said:

Capital gains is the biggest ripoff, I bought land with money I paid tax on,can't write it off because land doesn't depreciate, but if I sell it I pay capital gains.

Here’s how you do it. Plant crops. Let the cows in. They eat all your crops. Use the lost crops as a tax write off. Not only did they eat all your crops they pooped all over the place and devalued the land. Plow the land and get a tax write off for remediating  the pollution and repeat next year!  Never pay taxes again! Might work!😁

Edited October 29, 2020 by gdecant1

['Scales 548]

You guys in the US don't pay capital gains tax on your home do you?

[Sgt. Pepper 1,043]

3 minutes ago, 'Scales said:

You guys in the US don't pay capital gains tax on your home do you?

If you make over a certain amount when you sell it, we sure do. I remember learning in History class that the US broke away form England to get away from taxes, and now that is all they want us to do.

Edited October 29, 2020 by Sgt. Pepper

[ghost_of_fl 349]

3 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

I remember learning in History class that the US broke away form England to get away from taxes

It was to get away from taxation without representation.

['Scales 548]

Just now, Sgt. Pepper said:

If you make over a certain amount when yo sell it, we sure do.

Interesting. Here it's only on investments, not you place of residence. Rationale is that investments are a business and its treated as realised income from that business in the year you sell and CGT is actually income tax for that year - albeit with bix tax reductions if you've held the investment more than 12 months. If you have capital losses they can offset the gains.

i believe you (in US) can deduct home loan interest payments against income tax though (we cannot for our homes, but can for investments - we get no tax breaks relating to our homes) so maybe that's part of the trade offs?

['Scales 548]

The most dodgy tax we have in Oz is Land Tax (state level)...basically if you have land over a certain value you pay tax each year....so you neither buy nor sell anything but are taxed anyway without consuming or receiving income. Total rort!

[Mr. Gibson 618]

18 minutes ago, 'Scales said:

The most dodgy tax we have in Oz is Land Tax (state level)...basically if you have land over a certain value you pay tax each year....so you neither buy nor sell anything but are taxed anyway without consuming or receiving income. Total rort!

We have real estate tax here also we pay to the county based on value, a large part goes to support schools. It went up 14.5% last year and now it looks like another 14.5% this year. It went down few years back on acct. of oil boom,but when the oil boom went bust they came back at us. On  2500 acres we are paying roughly about 15K. If you don't pay it,you'll lose the land for taxes.

[jaxson50 645]

8 hours ago, 'Scales said:

You guys in the US don't pay capital gains tax on your home do you?

When you sell your home ( the last time we did was 20 years ago, I don't know if the law has changed) capital gains , the difference between what you paid for it and the amount it sells for, is taxed but you have ( I think) six months to use that money to purchase another home and avoid paying . Of course you will be buy I g another home that will cost more than your previous one did. 

 

[jaxson50 645]

This is an example of how the employees get hosed in these deals

 

[Retired 976]

Now I wish we wouldn't have bought a 3 year warranty for that Riviera guitar we just got from Guitar Center. 

[Notes_Norton 593]

I tried to support my local music store. I bought my strings there (paid an extra $0.50/pack), reeds, music and had him order big items. On the big things he always matched or beat the GC price.

But GC moved to town and too many people went to GC to get strings, cables and whatever, and my local guy eventually went out of business. Now when GC is gone we'll have nothing.

Local music stores are important. Patronize them. They need cash flow to stay alive. In return you get fair policies, expert advice, no restocking fee, and favors a big box store cannot provide.

Insights and incites by Notes

[Sgt. Pepper 1,043]

16 minutes ago, Notes_Norton said:

I tried to support my local music store. I bought my strings there (paid an extra $0.50/pack), reeds, music and had him order big items. On the big things he always matched or beat the GC price.

But GC moved to town and too many people went to GC to get strings, cables and whatever, and my local guy eventually went out of business. Now when GC is gone we'll have nothing.

Local music stores are important. Patronize them. They need cash flow to stay alive. In return you get fair policies, expert advice, no restocking fee, and favors a big box store cannot provide.

Insights and incites by Notes

I have a mom and pop shop I go to and I bought an SG there and 4 of my Martins. He always has great prices on Martin's, but sometimes its just easier to shop on line for strings ect.

[Retired 976]

10 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

I tried to support my local music store. I bought my strings there (paid an extra $0.50/pack), reeds, music and had him order big items. On the big things he always matched or beat the GC price.

But GC moved to town and too many people went to GC to get strings, cables and whatever, and my local guy eventually went out of business. Now when GC is gone we'll have nothing.

Local music stores are important. Patronize them. They need cash flow to stay alive. In return you get fair policies, expert advice, no restocking fee, and favors a big box store cannot provide.

Insights and incites by Notes

I tried to support our local music store and I told them I gave them 4 months to produce my Riviera when they told me I would get it in 10 to 12 days. 4 months later and 3 times they said its coming. Never arrived and the last time they said, "We can't guarantee you will get it next year."  That's when I saw Guitar Center finally had 2 in the shop so I bought from them. 

[rct 1,720]

10 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

I tried to support my local music store. I bought my strings there (paid an extra $0.50/pack), reeds, music and had him order big items. On the big things he always matched or beat the GC price.

But GC moved to town and too many people went to GC to get strings, cables and whatever, and my local guy eventually went out of business. Now when GC is gone we'll have nothing.

Local music stores are important. Patronize them. They need cash flow to stay alive. In return you get fair policies, expert advice, no restocking fee, and favors a big box store cannot provide.

Insights and incites by Notes

 

I've tried to support the local guys.  Well, the few left, and they are an hour away at best.  They can't/don't get the big names, can't afford to, so they have stores full of 300 dollar guitars, which are great, but not something I need.  Not something many need really.  And buying strings from them is like a car dealer that only sells windshield wiper blades.  They won't be around long, they have to sell the cars to put the blades on.  It sucks, but that is how it is.  It's just too bad these big distribution deals have become normal, the little guys are out.

rct

[ghost_of_fl 349]

In Long Island, we had 2 Sam Ash stores.  Then GC came to town.  Still, plenty of smaller stores were able to survive.  I guess it depends on the area.  My first guitar came from a small shop.   I mostly shopped at Sam Ash after that. The problem is the small stores usually don't move enough merch to become authorized dealers for any bigger company products like Fender or Gibson.  

[jaxson50 645]

Same here,  all we had was small shops tga t were doing ok till GC came to town,  some folded, but most stay in business by concentrating on other markets like band instruments,  orchestra instruments some have music academies with recital facilities while others deal primarily in vintage stuff.

One of the best purely guitar stores in our downtown area just folded , and the owner was a friend of mine, it was hard to see what he we t through because before GC came around he was the go to place for Gibson and Martin and Taylor, and as such, he received a lot of support from those makers in the form of clinics put on by big name endorsers,  and that is a big deal. It brings buyer from miles away.  In order to be a good level dealer for big name brand's like Gibson,  Martin and Taylor and Fender you have to purchase a lot of stuff. He was on the hook for 100k per year in products from Gibson alone.  When GC opened it sucked the buyers away and left him bankrupt. 

[merciful-evans 990]

My favourite small shop was PJ's Guitar Store. The owner Pete was a player and enthusiast. I liked him a lot. I bought a couple of guitars, an amp and lots of smaller stuff from him. He was lucky, he retired and sold the business on.

The new owners moved premises to another part of Portsmouth. When I first visited, it was bristling with guitars and busy. There was a expensive guitar hanging from the ceiling I wanted to try. I asked and was told, 'yeah I'll fetch it down later'. They didn't fetch it down. I waited & asked again and was told the same thing. I eventually got p1ssed off and left. It seemed like a cliquey place for 'friends'. That was 20 years ago. I last went in there 5 years back. It's still a cliquey place for 'friends', but now they have next to no stock and almost no turnover. My luthier supports it. They have trouble trying to pay their tax on the place now. 

We have a large PMT (chain) store nearby and its handy, but its basically a place to shift boxes. 

[Larsongs 234]

On October 28, 2020 at 6:33 AM, ghost_of_fl said:

Kinda same idea:

From "Investopedia":

Laws That Protect You
A company's pension finances are separate from its own finances. That means a company can be bankrupt but still have an adequately funded pension, or it can be doing great and have an underfunded pension. This separation also means that creditors can't claim a bankrupt company's pension assets.

Although Companies & Corporations have been known to dip into those Pension funds. In some cases leaving the Pension fund empty. 

Most Pension funds are part of a Company, LLC, Corp. or some type of Entity while an IRA can be held by an Individual with no ties to a Company, LLC or Corp. 

Big difference....

Edited October 31, 2020 by Larsongs

[ghost_of_fl 349]

The point being:

"This separation also means that creditors can't claim a bankrupt company's pension assets."

Granted, if the company you work for is mismanaged, it's mismanaged. 

[Notes_Norton 593]

Our last local store had a Gibson/Epi franchise. The one that went out out of business before that one did had a Fender franchise.

Right before GC came in, the remaining local store lost the franchise. Gibson decided he needed to carry more guitars than he could fit in the store or give up the franchise. He had no choice.

I had him order an Ibanez nylon for my wife, a Sennheiser mic, a couple of AmpSim/FX pedals for my guitar, a new on-stage mixer, and they were all at competitive prices. He loaned me gear to try on the gig before I buy (no credit card, no deposit, just trust) with no restocking fee if returned in saleable condition, and seemed to always know exactly what I needed after I explained what I was trying to do.

He gave me his personal phone number and said that if anything failed on the gig, I cold give him a call, he would stop what he was doing, and deliver something to save the gig. I carry redundant gear and never needed that, but it felt good having that safety net.

I bought my strings, reeds, and other small items there because I know he needed cash flow to keep the store open.

Then GC came to town, charged 50 cents less for a 3 pack of strings, the same price for major gear but with a restocking fee, hired clerks that didn't have the experience and wisdom that the owner of the local store had, employed salespeople who wanted to sell what benefited them instead of the customer, wannabe rock stars playing too loud in the store, and a bad experience all around.

Sadly my local guy is teaching lessons out of his home now and doesn't have a store anymore. If CG goes belly-up, they came conquered and deserted the community.

Another local store in the town about 20 miles south also disappeared.

It's tough competing with the giants as so many people would rather save a penny than have expert advice and great service.

I have to shop on-line now. I usually choose Sweetwater.

Insights and incites by Notes

[badbluesplayer 667]

On 10/29/2020 at 3:25 PM, Sgt. Pepper said:

If you make over a certain amount when you sell it, we sure do. I remember learning in History class that the US broke away form England to get away from taxes, and now that is all they want us to do.

And at the same time, capital gains rates are flat, so rich guys pay the same rate as poor guys on investment type capital gains.  They're not like income taxes, where the rich guys are paying a higher marginal rate.  So rich guys kind of get a break on their "rich guy" income compared to how their regular income taxed.

It's a complicated system that's not consistent with the rest of the tax system.

[Retired 976]

37 minutes ago, badbluesplayer said:

And at the same time, capital gains rates are flat, so rich guys pay the same rate as poor guys on investment type capital gains.  They're not like income taxes, where the rich guys are paying a higher marginal rate.  So rich guys kind of get a break on their "rich guy" income compared to how their regular income taxed.

It's a complicated system that's not consistent with the rest of the tax system.

Plus I hear, a few very rich people pay no taxes at all.  Since this is not political, I won't say more but how do they get away with it? 

[Larsongs 234]

Which is why I kept & handled my own Retirement Accounts...  

[Larsongs 234]

Tax Laws are passed by Congress.. If the People don't like the Tax Laws change your Congress men & women. The People have the power of the Vote... 

That said, the People really need to do their own due diligence. Not just except the Medias Sound Byte of the minute as Fact... Look at it from all points of view & decide for yourself...