Phil on Hol Goes Corporate
'zine expects to reap significant tax benefit

In a world of corporate mergers and consolidations, small businesses need as many breaks as they can get. To help small business stay competitive in the 1980s, small business owners were given some tax incentives. One such provision allowed business owners to deduct up to $25,000 of the purchase cost of automotive vehicles weighing more than 6,000 pounds used for commercial purposes. The contractor who needed a large pickup or the owner of a small furniture company could take the deduction and thus be better able to make capital expenditures. The 6,000-pound restriction made sense, given that the average weight of automobiles in the 1980s was much less than that.

Welcome to the crowded road world of the SUVs. The roads are full with Dodge Durangos, Ford Excursions and Expeditions, and Chevy/GMC Suburbans and Yukons. These are all weighty vehicles, in terms of tonnage and price. They easily exceed that 6,000 limit and so they are subject to the deduction when used for commercial purposes. And as the weight of these SUVs has grown, so too has deduction. The tax package recently signed by President Bush increased the deduction to $75,000. And while some contractors and other small business owners who haul goods benefit from this increased deduction, so too do a host of other business owners. Your local doctors, accountants, and lawyers can also pilot these vehicular behemoths, and enjoy the hefty deduction.

Increasing the deduction when so many new vehicles weigh more than 6,000 pounds helps to ensure that small business owners will go for bigger and pricier vehicles since they can deduct so much of the cost. Why purchase a smaller lighter vehicle and not be able to deduct when you can purchase a heavier model and take a big deduction? A smart accountant who drives his SUV to his meeting with you would advise you to buy the heavier vehicle since you can deduct.

In light of these tax incentives, the editors of Philosophers on Holiday have been doing a little SUV shopping on the Internet. We are prepared to incorporate ourselves (see photo below of our new Board of Directors during recent shareholders' meeting; note bags of cash) as a business and reap these vehicular rewards. We are particularly interested in the 2003 HumVee Hummer H1, listed for $105,000. We are drawn to this model because of its features, including the duel (sic) gas tanks with a combined capacity of forty two gallons. (We are a bit concerned that Hum Vee dealers give no gas mileage figures, but we understand that the point of SUVs is to use more gas.) Given our passion for the great outdoors, we are very enamored with the Deep Water Fording Capability. This capability perhaps helps to explain why each Hummer H1 comes with its own On Board air compressor. And we know that we will save some money by not having to renew our AAA membership, since the Hummer H1 has the Run Flat Tire System.

We have been eyeing some of the accessories that HumVee offers. We are weighing the pros and cons of the roof racks that hold up to 2,000 pounds (a small car). The custom racks hold some appeal for us so that we could drive our All Terrain Vehicle onto our Sport Utility Vehicle.

Of course, we are law-abiding citizens who would use this vehicle for business purposes only. We do haul a fair amount of high tech camera equipment (disposable camera with flash) in addition to our editorial and production machinery (laptops and a printer). But we have also been keeping our eye on the Supreme Court, and if the Supremes decide that a corporation is a person and has the right to free speech, then personal/commercial distinction is just a dot in the rear view mirror of the Hummer H1.