Suppose that while melissa was on the coast, she also spent two days sightseeing the national parks in the area. to do the sightseeing, she paid $1,000 for transportation, $800 for lodging, and $450 for meals during this part of her trip, which she considers personal in nature. what amount of the travel costs can melissa deduct as business expenses?

Last year, western corporation had sales of $5 million, cost of goods sold of $3 million, operating expenses of $175,000 and depreciation of $125,000. the firm received $40,000 in dividend income and paid $200,000 in interest on loans. also, western sold stock during the year, receiving a $40,000 gain on stock owned 6 years, but losing $60,000 on stock owned 4 years. what is the firm's tax liability?

Sarah needs to complete financial aid packets. during which school year would she do this? sophomore freshman senior junior

You are chairman of the board of a successful technology firm. there is a nominal federal corporate tax rate of 35 percent, yet the effective tax rate of the typical corporation is about 12.6%. your firm has been clever with use of transfer pricing and keeping money abroad and has barely paid any taxes over the last 5 years; during this same time period, profits were $28 billion. one member of the board feels that it is un-american to use various accounting strategies in order to avoid paying taxes. others feel that these are legal loopholes and corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to minimize taxes. one board member quoted what the ceo of exxon once said: “i’m not a u.s. company and i don’t make decisions based on what’s good for the u.s.” what are the alternatives? what are your recommendations? why do you recommend this course of action?