taxes

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg may be on the hook for $2 billion in taxes with his company going public. But he's not necessarily all that upset about it.

As The New York Times' David Kocieniewski reports, the 27-year-old CEO plans to exercise options worth about $5 billion, and with such transactions generally being treated by the IRS as regular compensation, Zuckerberg would be liable for the $2 billion figure--perhaps one of the highest tax payouts by an individual ever.

Zuckerberg owns 413 million B shares of Facebook stock and was granted options in 2005 to buy 120 million shares … Read more

Apple earnings reach record highs, Xbox rumors ramp up, and Obama tackles energy and tech industry concerns in his State of the Union address.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Rep. Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Judiciary committee, proudly announced last month that Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform had endorsed his controversial Stop Online Piracy Act.

Smith, a close ally of Hollywood on copyright law, cited ATR by name when saying that his bill enjoys "broad support across the aisle here in the House, across the street in the Senate and across the country." SOPA and a similar bill in the Senate called Protect IP would levy an Internet death penalty against allegedly piratical Web sites.

In the last few weeks, though, the famously combative … Read more

The second show for the year has its share of bumps, but CNET's Bridget Carey and CBS MoneyWatch's Jill Schlesinger come to save the day, while offering their insights on toys and finances.

In this 404 episode, Jill tells us how she gets fans from The 404 calling into her financial advice show, and that has her producers bewildered by the number of 20-somethings interested in some money-saving tips for things like getting married. One thing that doesn't save a lot of money is having kids. That's got Jeff excited. And it reminds Wilson that kids these days are spoiled. They want iPhones and iPads for Christmas. We remember growing up and thinking a Transformers action figure was good enough.… Read more

Amazon said it supports a federal law that would let states collect sales tax from online retailers, but only if smaller businesses are not exempt.

Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president for global public policy, yesterday expressed support for an "even-handed" method of collecting state sales taxes from Internet vendors in congressional testimony (PDF).

"Congress should authorize the states to require collection, with the great objects of protecting states' rights, addressing the states' needs, and leveling the playing field for all sellers," Misener said, according to a transcript of his testimony.

But the Amazon executive argued … Read more

eBay is preparing to amplify its attack on a proposed law that would usher in sales taxes on Internet shopping, CNET has learned.

The online auctioneer plans to tell a congressional panel considering the legislation tomorrow that the measure would merely consolidate the market power of Amazon.com and the largest big box retailers while putting eBay's small sellers out of business.

In fact, says Tod Cohen, eBay's deputy general counsel, online retailers with less than $10 million in sales--eBay sellers, in other words--have seen their share of electronic commerce fall from 31 percent in 2008 to 19 … Read more

A Senate bill introduced today has reignited a long-simmering debate over whether Americans should be required to pay Internet sales taxes when they go shopping online.

The legislation, which CNET reported on last week, would allow states to force Amazon.com, Overstock.com, Blue Nile, and other out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes.

It was introduced by Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and is backed by Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Home Depot, and other companies that have stores in nearly every state and are currently required to collect sales taxes in both their physical … Read more

iPhone users must have felt a bit drained this week.

Apple finally broke radio silence over criticisms of lackluster battery life affecting iPhones old and new since releasing iOS 5 last month. The company said in a media statement that it's aware of the problem and plans on offering a fix in the form of a software update.

Users have flocked to Apple's support site to complain about lower-than-advertised battery life on the new phone, which went on sale in mid-October, as well as on Apple's previous models. Affected users say fully-charged devices are running out of … Read more

eBay speaks out against the latest Internet sales tax proposal, BlackBerry Messenger adds a music service, and Amazon sweetens the Kindle with free book-borrowing for Prime subscribers.

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded: