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Key words in this issue: Copyright Extension | Cutting Down Taxes | Largest Library | Dark Room Disappearing | Taxes |

NEWSWORDS: War Censorship | Satellite Photos | Baghdad | War Addiction | Iraqi Photos | Digital War Journalism | Canada.com | Anti-Voyeurism Bill | Historical TIME-Life |

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## PhotoAIM weekly newsletter for 03/29/03 ## 390d

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PhotoAIM, the weekly newsletter from PhotoSource

ISSN 1530-0511

If you no longer wish to receive PhotoAIM, see the instructions at the end of this newsletter.

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YOU AND THE LAW

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Supreme Court  Upholds Copyright Term Extension

In my November 2002 column I reported on the United States Supreme Court agreeing to hear the constitutional challenge to that portion of the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 which extended the term of copyright protection for an additional 20 years, from life plus 50 years to life plus 70 years for living persons, and from 75 years to 95 for corporations and other entities. The case is Eldred v. Ashcroft.

In what is being hailed as a ringing victory for copyright holders, the Court, in a 7-2 decision, upheld the constitutionality of that portion of the Act for both new works as well as existing works.

The Court, in effect, found that the petitioner's arguments amounted simply to a challenge to what the petitioners considered to be a very bad policy of Congress.

That was not enough, however, because the Court found the term extension to be a rational use of Congressional power. In such circumstances, the Court will not "second guess" acts of Congress. The Court also dismissed arguments that granting such an extension for existing works did not meet the constitutional mandate of promoting the progress of science and useful acts, on the grounds that prior extensions of time limitations had included both past and future works.

The photography industry had lined up on both sides. Content providers had lobbied for the longer term because it provides an additional 20 years of potential income production to them (if corporate ownership) or their heirs. On the other hand, users of content, and some content providers as well, use material in the public domain as props, background, or as reference for new work. They would have welcomed the shorter term. It would also have made life easier for these people because they now have to do the detailed investigation necessary to obtain copyright clearances from the owners of the works whose term would have expired, and which would have therefore fallen into the public domain.

All in all, the decision clearly strengthens the rights of copyright holders and shows once again the importance of copyright in this digital age.

© Joel L. Hecker, 2003

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This week's featured photographer on PhotoSourceFolio: !!! **** **** !!!! :

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TAX TACTICS

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Freelancer tax insights…

Cut Down That Tax Burden

You know how to write off your outlays for purchases of equipment and other kinds of personal property, right? But like many freelancers, you may think there is only one way to deduct equipment purchases. As a result of this mistaken belief, you may be paying more in taxes each year than legally required. Read on.

Depreciation. When Form 1040 time rolls around, many freelancers go the "standard route" that allows them to recover their expenditures through depreciation deductions over varying periods. The general rules for depreciation specify periods that range from as low as three years to as high as 39 years, with the majority closer to three than to 39.

Freelancers get to depreciate most of their equipment over five years (computers, copiers, camera equipment, scanners and the like) or seven years (furniture, and fax machines, for example). That usually translates into a cap on the first-year deduction of only 20 percent for five-year property and about 14 percent for seven-year property.

Expensing. What most freelancers overlook is that Internal Revenue Code Section 179 authorizes an important exception to the general rules for depreciation. This exception bestows an option on businesses, whether full or part-time, that qualify as "small businesses" (typically, freelance photographers do). Qualifying outfits can dispense with depreciation and elect "expensing," if that is more advantageous. This tactic entitles them to write off the entire cost in the first year the equipment is "placed in service" (IRS lingo for made ready and available for a specific use), rather than the year it's purchased or eventually paid for in full.

First-year expensing is subject to several limitations. However, in my experience, few freelance photographers are going to spend so high as to run afoul of the limitations.

The key stipulation sets a dollar cap on the deduction. As the law now stands, the ceiling is $24,000 for last year (2002), and rises to $25,000 for this year (2003) and later years.

Example. Here's how opting to immediately deduct outlays will work wonders for the overall tax picture and cash flow. Freelancer Wilma Dober falls into a top federal and state tax bracket of 35 percent for 2002, and needs to spend big bucks for equipment, which can be new or used, but can't be acquired by a trade-in or leased. Her purchases include $24,000 for computers and peripheral equipment such as printers and monitors, as well as desks, appliances, and carpets. Wilma needn't depreciate these items over five- or seven-year periods. Assuming it proves advantageous for her to immediately expense the $24,000 expenditure, that trims her taxes by $8,400. It makes no difference that Wilma's purchase payments extend beyond 2002.

Other fine print imposes a spending cap of $200,000 on property for the year in question. As soon as acquisitions surpass $200,000, the deduction for first-year expensing begins to phase out on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

To illustrate, Wilma purchases and places in service $210,000 of property. Her deduction ceiling drops from $24,000 to $14,000 ($24,000 minus $10,000, the excess of $210,000 over $200,000). The phase-out is complete once expenditures exceed $224,000.

Caution. The amount you expense cannot exceed the taxable income from your business. Put another way, the first-year deduction cannot create a loss for your stock photography business. But for purposes of this limit, taxable income has its own special meaning. Because, among other things, wages and salaries can be included, and because couples filing joint returns are allowed to use their combined income, this requirement can even be met by a start-up operation that shows little or no profit this year.

Tip. Write-offs for equipment purchases enable those who are self-employed to save more than just income taxes. They also reduce self-employment taxes owed for 2002 on the first $84,900 and for 2003 on the first $87,000 of net (receipts minus expenses) earnings, as calculated on schedule SE (Self-Employment Tax) of Form 1040.

Help From The IRS. For more information, take a look at IRS Publication 946, How To Depreciate Property. Publication 910, Guide to Free Tax Services, lists all of the IRS booklets. Get free copies of the booklets by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM. Call (703) 368-9694 for an automated fax service, or download copies from the IRS website (www.irs.gov).

Julian Block is available for private consultations on tax planning. E-mail him at julianblock@yahoo.com or telephone (914) 834-3227. His address is 3 Washington Square, Larchmont, NY 10538-2032.

TREND NOTE

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WHAT IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST LIBRARY? Next to the Internet, that is. It’s the Library of Congress, in Washington, DC. It has 530 miles of bookshelves and 125 million items. 8 million of there can be located at <www.loc.gov>. An ad campaign, sponsored by the Advertising Council Inc, encourages viewers to check out the Library of Congress. Not only does the LOC have information and historical facts and figures, but also large archives of film and photos -most all of them in public domain. –RE

BUSINESS NOTEPAD

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"DON'T COME IN HERE, processing operation going on." Those negative greetings of the wet-film darkroom system will soon be disappearing. Taking its place is the digital approach to photography pioneered by major magazines and newspapers. The transition from the expensive, dark, smelly chemical processing of the last century to the wide open, bright, clean and exciting digital era of photography is making itself known at events such as the Super Bowl. At the Super Bowl, not a single roll of film was processed in the photo work area. Cable lines (hardwire) and satellite antennas (wireless) were the technology replacing the usual mobile darkrooms and the multi-member wet-film processing teams. The digital replacement workflow consisted of picture editors and imaging techs with a network of PC laptops to digest and clear the PC cards, who then edited the pictures provided by a team of a dozen or so sports photographers. The result: A wide selection of images and speedier publication of their work. –RE

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."

–Sir Winston Churchill

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Free HP Cleaning Kit - Easy-to-use PC software on CD-ROM and five single-use cleaning sheets.

THIS WEEK'S WEB FEATURE

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PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE NEWS

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You'll be the first to know…

Note: If the URL is long, it may extend to two lines. In that case - clicking on it won't work. Instead, "copy and paste" the URL.

War photographer warns of censorship, challenges - Peter Howe has been a war photographer in Northern Ireland and El Salvador and later was the picture editor for The New York Times Magazine and director of photography for Life magazine. He knows many of the photographers on assignment in the Middle East and is aware of the challenges they face in the days ahead.

Satellite Photos of Iraq for Sale

Some Leave, While Others Hunker Down In Baghdad - Facing an aerial bombardment meant to "shock and awe" the Iraqis into submission, news organizations with personnel in Baghdad are having to weigh the safety of their journalists against the prospect of missing the biggest news event of the year.

Portraying the Graphic Face of War news photographers with advanced digital equipment on the front...

Powerful Days: The Civil Rights Photography of Charles Moore, when he was stopped in his tracks by a photo ''that stole your eyes.''

The historical TIME-LIFE photo lab is no longer -It's shut down, a testimony to the digital take over. Digital marches on.

War addicts cause TV news audience to rocket

Digital Photojournalism During Wartime

Canada.com display of photos from front lines in Iraq

Iowa House Bill would outlaw secret photography of nudity - The Iowa House voted Monday to criminalize the act of secretly watching or photographing someone who is undressed. .Approved on a 96-0 vote, the bill would create a new invasion of privacy crime for anyone caught peeping in on, filming or photographing someone with a "reasonable expectation of privacy." .

Tucson Citizen photographer arrested while shooting campus protest

'Independent' fashion photography contest is won by a student – Lucy Hamblin, a 22-year-old London student, work was judged best of 300 entries by a panel including the designer Alexander McQueen and the fashion photographer Nick Knight.

Photographer ordered not to sell pictures of Sale, Pelletier - Edmonton's Olympic gold medal-winning figure skaters, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, have won a temporary injunction against a local photographer who they claim stole their images and forged their signatures.

Winter sports season kept this photographer busy - Since the start of the winter season, which began Nov. 19 with the Northwestern Tiger girls hoop squad facing South Shore, I've been in attendance at 136 games. That's 136 games in 123 days.

Winning images unveiled 53,597 images submitted to World Press Photo Awards

Leaders offer condolences over cameraman's death

3.03

Debbie Yazbek wins press photographer of the year award - It's the second time she has won the prestigious award. Yazbek is the only female photographer to have won the award in its 16-year history.

Photographer Guilty in Porn Case - An Orem photographer faces up to 40 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges he made and distributed pornographic images of children. Joseph Paul Durborow, 41, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of child pornography manufacturing and distribution and one count of conspiring to sexually exploit children.

Chugging into the past - Every summer this groaning, creaking, steam- puffing train transports passengers from the tiny town of Skagway almost straight up to White Pass Summit on the United States-Canada border. A professional photographer has her camera, tripod, and long zoom lens to take a few pictures.

Imagestation - Sony's well-designed site offers lots of technical tips, travel essays and public albums to inspire. the amateur photographer.

Canon Champions Digital-Age Creativity with Fourth Annual Global Creators Contest; Artists Encouraged to Explore New Directions in Digital Visual Expression - The fourth annual digital age competition aimed at encouraging the creative exploration of new directions in visual expression in the Internet era, is providing U.S. professional and amateur artists of all ages with the opportunity to showcase their talent. Participants will compete for $117,000 in prize money and products.

Web Site Reviews-Yahoo Photos - In typical Yahoo fashion, the site does everything but only some of it well.

Web Site Reviews-PictureTrail - Some of the cheapest print prices around, but the picture quality is poor.

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