Conference nyoss1::market_investing

In general, any investment you have held for 1 year or longer is Long Term.  
However, with the ESPP, an "arrangement" is made with the IRS so that if you 
sell the stock within 18 months of the purchase date, you are obligated to 
claim the 15% discount as ordinary income.  So, if you sell at, say, 15 months, 
your base price is the actual FMV at date of purchase and any increase in FMV 
(Ha, Ha, Ha) would be a long term CG since you held longer than 12 months.

If you sell the stock within 18 months and Digital has held the shares, they 
increment your reported income by that 15% discount.  If YOU have held the 
shares, you are obligated to tell Digital that you have sold them so that they 
may increase you reported income by that 15% discount.  If you do not tell them 
and you elect to use the purchase price as your basis, you are at risk with the 
IRS in an audit since CGs are taxed at 28% while ordinary income could be 
higher.

Hope this helps,

Dave

    
    re: .-1
    
    >increment your reported income by that 15% discount.  If YOU have held
    >the shares, you are obligated to tell Digital that you have sold them so
    >that they may increase you reported income by that 15% discount.  If you
    >do not tell them and you elect to use the purchase price as your basis,
    >you are at risk with the
    
    You may not have to worry about informing Digital about the sale.  I
    know that when selling my stock through my broker, Digital is informed
    of the sale.
    

>    You may not have to worry about informing Digital about the sale.  I
>    know that when selling my stock through my broker, Digital is informed
>    of the sale.
But Digital would not know the date of purchase (unless all of the certificates 
you own came from one sale date and they/we were bright enough to figure it
out).  Digital would not / did not add to your ordinary income in that case.

Dave    

    Did I read or hear that the talk is to retro to Oct 15th on capital
    gains cuts if it happens at all? 

    i was told that this was a done deal and retro to Jan 1995.
    can anyone confirm?  is this the same thing?
    
    jo

.4>     Did I read or hear that the talk is to retro to Oct 15th on capital
.4>     gains cuts if it happens at all? 

.5>     i was told that this was a done deal and retro to Jan 1995.
.5>     can anyone confirm?  is this the same thing?

	From my understading the house/senate reconcilled version of
	the budget has it retro active only for part of the year (Oct. 15th).

	However it doesn't matter, congress knowing wasted time sending
	this legislation to the president when they knew, and the president
	has told them, that he would veto it (which he did yesterday, using
	the same pen that was used to sign medicare or medicad into law
	many years back).  Congress most definitily does *not* have the
	votes to override the veto.  So who ever heard "done deal" should
	know better than to believe anything is a done deal until it actually
	becomes law.

	Most of my gains are not long term (ie. held more than 1 year)
	so right now I'd rather have this tax cut not pass, because as
	many believe, the immediate selling pressure in the market will
	result in at least a short-term correction in the market.

    
    thanks!