Word: excess
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Recently, President George W. Bush dusted off one of the lesser-known items in his campaign platform: a new tax on lawyer's fees. Modeled on the "excess benefit" taxes for executives of non-profits, the proposal would tax lawyers' fees at a rate substantially higher than the standard income tax whenever the fees are paid by a state or local government and the fee is above a "reasonable amount." The lawyer tax has been a popular idea in Republican circles for years--Sen. John S. McCain (R-Ariz.) made a similar proposal in 1998--and was part of Bush...
...defense contracts for $500 screwdrivers--but Bush has not yet proposed an excess benefit tax on the defense industry, mainly because defense contractors vote Republican. The real motivation for many Republicans who are support the tax appears to be straightforwardly political. As a group, lawyers are the most generous donors to the Democratic party. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, lawyers gave $97.8 million in the 2000 election cycle, of which more than two-thirds went to the Democrats. With $10 billion in tobacco fees coming down the pipe, the GOP can't help but worry how much will...
...decisions last year, the Cassation Court, Italy's highest appeals panel, declared hundreds of thousands of bank loans illegally usurious and put them up for renegotiation. That included loans made before the 1996 legislation. What's more, the court said that the banks would have to repay any excess interest they had collected in the past. Antonio Fazio, governor of the Bank of Italy, warned that banks stood to lose up to $24 billion...
...just say we don't get an excess of support," said junior co-captain Justin Denham. "Then again, it's always been this way, so we're used to being self-sufficient...
...During the campaign, Bush called it the "excess benefits" tax - imposing an unspecified percentage levy on any legal fees beyond a "reasonable amount." At the time, he pointed to current taxes on golden-parachute severance packages and the salaries of non-profit-organization CEOs, which can run up to 200 percent (!) if the overhanging money isn't returned...