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Archive for October, 2005

Teletaxation

Monday, October 31st, 2005

If I ever go the consulting route again and am planning on telecommuting, I’ll seriously consider nixing New York off my list, unless the companies I work for are willing to pay additional income to cover New York’s bogus non-resident state income laws. Or at least take the added cost into consideration when searching for jobs.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court refused Monday to disturb New York’s system of taxing the income of telecommuters who live elsewhere but are employed by companies in the Empire state.

Justices passed up a chance to hear the appeal of a Tennessee computer programmer who claimed that New York’s tax law is unconstitutional.

Thomas Huckaby had been ordered to pay New York income tax for his full salary, not just the time he spent at the New York offices of the union for which he worked. He lived 900 miles away in Nashville.

The case gave the court a chance to clarify when states could pursue income taxes based on the location of the corporate headquarters, not the worker.

“This case brings to the fore the plight of every telecommuter who works in one state for an employer located in another,” justices were told in a filing by Peter Faber, the lawyer for the worker.

He said more than 40 million people perform at least some work from their home, and that one-in-five teleworkers report to a supervisor in a different state.

New York lawyers argued that the state was entitled to tax Huckaby’s earnings because the worker chose to live in another state “solely for his own convenience.” The income would have been exempt if he were required to work elsewhere, under the state system.

Huckaby paid some New York taxes, based on time he spent in New York state. But state courts said all his income should be taxed. The issue had split the lower court.

“New York has the right to tax 100 percent of a nonresident employee’s income derived from New York sources,” according to the 4-3 decision by the Court of Appeals of New York, which acknowledged the decision could discourage telecommuting.

I found an interesting discussion on the subject when it first came up in March here. What concerns me is that with this law, the individual has to pay tax on his entire salary, and that salary is also subject to taxation by the state he or she lives in, assuming the two states don’t have some sort of arrangement. Hopefully California won’t pull a stunt like this any time soon… but considering their budget woes, and the fact that in they have taxed pension benefits for people who no longer live in the state, I suppose it’s possible they might consider something like this. New York is apparently considered a trend setter on taxation law. Joy.

Holding off on the Nano?

Monday, October 31st, 2005

Maybe I should hold off, and just pick up a next generation mp3 enabled RAZR once Cingular gets their mp3 act together? I’m a big fan of one device, one service fits all.

That’s gonna ruin someone’s morning in Cupertino.

I haven’t gotten into the whole “carry your mp3 player around all the time” gig because there are some situations where I just can’t use an mp3 player. For example, i’m not going to plug earbuds in when I’m driving, I just don’t find that safe, so somebody needs to figure out an easy, built in way to get my mp3 player plugged into my car stereo. Second, I don’t like plugging earbuds in when I’m at work, because I might miss a call. The same goes for when I’m driving, I’d miss any calls on my cell. Because of these limitations, my current mp3 is only used when I’m not wired in, usually when I’m jogging.

Now, the phone / mp3 player combo fixes two of these issues, and a car with a jack I can plug my mp3 player into would fix the third. The ROKR doesn’t cut it, not enough storage, no Windows media support, and honestly, the phone is just plain butt ass ugly. No go. Give me a slick looking phone like the RAZR that does all of what I need? Perfect. Throw in the ability to download music to it over the cell network, no computer required? Priceless.

Audi TT Roadster

Sunday, October 30th, 2005

I might have to take back my commitment to the Z4 after spotting one of these today. This is a pretty slick little ride. Having suffered through the ownership of a VW in the past – a little 1981 rabbit when I was in high school, I’m a little leery. The Rabbit was arguably one of the most unreliable cars ever produced by man. But considering a new TT would be under warranty, and is rated OK by Consumer Reports, I might reconsider. It’s based on the new Beetle underneath, which makes me wonder how good it handles. It has about the same price point as the Z4, with a slightly different approach in style – A bit less ‘male’ might be the best way to describe it.

The Z4 has a higher CR rating, but I’ll definitely test drive both before I make a decision.

Modern Day Halloween

Sunday, October 30th, 2005

What ever happened to Halloween? When I was a kid, Halloween ranked right up there as the #2 all time coolest holiday, seconded only by Christmas, and just slightly better than the 4th of July. (Easter ran as distant fourth – hard boiled eggs and church, yuck!) These day, even in sleepy little communities like the one I live in, I rarely get any trick or treaters. Was the whole Halloween thing ruined by paranoid baby boomers and the 80′s urban legend of razor blade laced Apples? I wonder if there are still communities out there where kids dress up, walk around all night collecting candy having a good time? If there are, and I have kids, I’ll move there. In the mean time, I’ll have to be happy with all my leftover candy. No complaints there. Boo!

Patrick Fitzgerald

Friday, October 28th, 2005

I’ve just watched Patrick’s news conference. All I have to say is, thank you Patrick. This crazy country needs more centrists, and I think your doing a bang up job.

Just for fun:

.. liberals who thought that perjury was a trivial procedural detail in 1998 will be full of outrage. Conservatives who then believed that perjury was right there in the 7th or 8th circle of Hell will now characterize it as “driving 56.”

Yeah I know.. I know, it’s different this time. Not.

Google Base

Thursday, October 27th, 2005

If I were Craig, I’d be saying.. bring it on. If I were Google, I’d be praying… for a miracle. The concept behind Base is kind of cool though, a general purpose structured data database. But I’m not sure your average Joe will ever get it, or understand how to use it. “eBay killer” and “Craigs killer” is a bit over the top.

The Best Spam Filter

Thursday, October 27th, 2005

Consumer Report – Outlook 2003 has the best spam filtering

This made perfect sense to me, I have Outlook 2003, and I rarely get spam in my inbox, despite a constant spam flow from my various addresses that fills my trash bin with about 50 messages a day. I especially appreciate the regular updates, which Windows Update brings down automatically. As spammers figure out ways to spoof the current filtering, Microsoft is quick to bring down updates that put them back in their place.

A Slice of Y

Thursday, October 27th, 2005

Generation Y, courtesy of Mark “The Cobra Snake” Hunter out in L.A. and various other places. The central theme: youth, alcohol, cigarettes, music, and tattoos. Some things never change. One thing is different, these kids are totally wired into thier network all the time.

Off the side: So what is it about youth that allows insanely silly outfits to look so dam hip?

retro? crap.

Make sure and check out Mark’s previous work on Polaroid Scene.

(Some imagery on thecobrasnake.com NSFW)

American Princess

Thursday, October 27th, 2005

I really dig the American Princess. I don’t always agree with her, but I really enjoy strong minded woman bloggers. I especially like the women of The Cotillion. This post struck a chord, since I’m of the opinion that woman who seek equality with men are actually taking a step down in status.

But feminism sought, and still probably seeks to a more extreme degree, to diminsh the difference between the sexes. We want to be equal to the point of being indistinguishable, like a bunch of Calvin Klein models with bad hair, but at the same point, as women, we want desperately to hold on to what made us different, what made us special. While we may want to play with the boys, we still want the boys to make sure that they give us the right-of-way, and hold the door open and pay for dinner on the first date.

 

Review: Grandaddy

Thursday, October 27th, 2005