Post-"Fiscal Cliff" US: Al Gore Wanted to Sell His Cable Network in December So As To Avoid New Tax Rate Come January 1

I thought Mr. Al Gore is one of those rich people and Hollywood celebrities begging the Obama Administration to tax them more. No?

New York Times reports that Mr. Gore and his associates were all very eager to conclude the deal of selling their cable network to Al Jazeera by the end of December 2012 so that they would avoid added tax that kicked in on January 1, 2013.

Well, they couldn't, as the agreement wasn't signed until January 2, 2013.

From New York Times (1/2/2013 part):

Al Jazeera Seeks a U.S. Voice Where Gore Failed

... Al Jazeera on Wednesday announced a deal to take over Current TV, the low-rated cable channel that was founded by Al Gore, a former vice president, and his business partners seven years ago. Al Jazeera plans to shut Current and start an English-language channel, which will be available in more than 40 million homes, with newscasts emanating from both New York and Doha, Qatar.

For Al Jazeera, which is financed by the government of Qatar, the acquisition is a coming of age moment. A decade ago, Al Jazeera’s flagship Arabic-language channel was reviled by American politicians for showing videotapes from Al Qaeda members and sympathizers. Now the news operation is buying an American channel, having convinced Mr. Gore and the other owners of Current that it has the journalistic muscle and the money to compete head-to-head with CNN and other news channels in the United States.

Al Jazeera did not disclose the purchase price, but people with direct knowledge of the deal pegged it at around $500 million, indicating a $100 million payout for Mr. Gore, who owned 20 percent of Current. Mr. Gore and his partners were eager to complete the deal by Dec. 31, lest it be subject to higher tax rates that took effect on Jan. 1, according to several people who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. But the deal was not signed until Wednesday.

A spokesman for Al Jazeera said that antitrust regulators had not expressed any objections to the deal.

(Full article at the link)

Antitrust regulators? Not a problem. They have just cleared Google with only a slap on the wrist, if any. As long as it involves supporters of the administration, all is good.

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