There's more than a little ululation over the combined-reporting tax, attempting to paint Harley's current troubles as a result of that new burden.
Harley's management disagrees with that line of thinking, and as a matter of fact, the management's come-to-Jesus talk specifically mentions manufacturing-cost challenges.
The Company was specific:
The primary concerns are tied to labor costs and operational flexibility, he said. --Biz Journal, 4/29/10
It's more than a stretch to conclude that the combined-reporting tax is part of "labor cost" or "operational flexibility."
And those who are pushing that line will make rational discussion of tax issues a lot more difficult in the future.
True, but keep in mind it all goes to the bottom line. The taxes they can't control. Labor costs, they can.
ReplyDeleteLooks like union-bargaining time. I think they're after rules changes and possibly wage/bennie changes.
ReplyDeleteI'm NOT in favor of the tax, per se, although I haven't figured out a good alternative yet.
Outside of STOP SPENDING...but ya know, that won't happen until next year.