meanie meanie bo-beanie (golden globes live blog)
The IRS strikes again.
Each year, as I sit on my couch watching the Golden Globes and the Oscars, I say to myself, "Man, I really have to get that screenplay written, produced and acclaimed. Or at least become an international movie star." Is it the fame that draws me? The fortune? The prestige?
No way, man. It's the swag. The fabled "gift bags" given to presenters, chock full of dazzling jewelry, iPods, gym memberships, cameras and vacation vouchers. Last year's swag was worth around $20,000. Yes, please!
But the IRS has ruined that for me forever. According to a story on The Associated Press wire tonight, the gifts are considered taxable income by the IRS if they're worth more than $600 ... and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (which runs the Golden Globes) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (which runs ... duh ... the Academy Awards) had to pay back taxes on all gifts given to celebrity presenters up through 2005.
Now, the Academy is planning not to offer any more swag to presenters, forcing all those poor celebrities to walk away from the shows with only the satisfaction of being the center of attention and envy for their evening in the spotlight. The HFPA is reportedly offering tote bags worth up to $600, which is the IRS cutoff -- any more valuable, and they'd have to be taxed. If presenters leave the Globes with more than $600 worth of stuff, they'll have to fill out the appropriate IRS forms and pay income tax on it.
The bright side of all this, I guess, is that now I don't have to aspire to stardom anymore.