10 Surprising Celebs Who’ve Hit the Campaign Trail + Who They’re Supporting

With the presidential race heating up, the campaign trail is growing ever more star-studded. Since we last checked in on the candidates’ celeb endorsements, even more famous faces have stepped in to declare their support for one candidate or another. Let’s take a break from looking at the economic, environmental and family issues that matter most in this election to see which stars support your fave candidate, shall we?
1. George Clooney: A mainstay of the liberal Hollywood scene (which isn’t actually everyone in Hollywood, despite what you might think), George Clooney threw a lavish fundraiser to aid Barack Obama’s re-election bid in 2012. It brought $15 million to the campaign, according to Page Six, which reports that he’ll do the same this year for Hillary Clinton, using his clout as a famous, wealthy person with many wealthy friends and acquaintances to rake in the dough again. (Photo via Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
HERE WE GO @HillaryClinton! pic.twitter.com/aaULanskEy
— Abbi Jacobson (@abbijacobson) April 12, 2015
2. Abbi Jacobson: When Hillary Clinton had a cameo in an episode of Broad City‘s third season, stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer said in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t intended as a political statement. However, Abbi tweeted what appears to be a pretty clear message of support for Hillary last April. The cameo may not have been an endorsement, but this tweet certainly seems to be.
Celebs Supporting Ted Cruz
3. Phil Robertson: If you’ve ever watched Duck Dynasty you’ll recognize Phil Robertson as the patriarch of the titular dynasty. He’s gotten himself into hot water repeatedly for making homophobic remarks, including while supporting his candidate of choice: Ted Cruz. (Screenshot via YouTube)
4. Clint Howard: He’s not as high-profile as his brother, renowned director and actor Ron, but Clint Howard has made a name for himself as a character actor in TV shows and movies for decades. More recently, Clint has been a vocal supporter of Senator Ted Cruz’s presidential ambitions. Cruz’s foreign policy and pro-life agenda are two major factors Howard cited in explaining his support to CNN. (Photo via Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)
Celebs Supporting John Kasich
5. Tim Allen: Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, aka Tim Allen, aka star of ’90s sitcom Home Improvement and such illustrious films as Road Dogs, may be a staunch conservative, but he’s a staunch conservative with a heart, or something. Allen has spoken publicly about his support for underdog GOP candidate John Kasich, whom he called “a Republican that a Democrat could vote for.” Whether any Democrats agree is yet to be put to the test, but maybe! (Photo via Angela Weiss/Getty Images)
6. Montel Williams: Longtime TV personality and on-again, off-again Republican Montel Williams penned a lengthy ode for USA Today to explain his support for John Kasich, whom he described as the “adult” we need to elect. Montel was a member of the Republican Party until the early 1990s, and he wrote that Kasich is the first GOP candidate he’s been genuinely excited about since then. (Photo via Alex B. Huckle/Getty Images)
Celebs Supporting Bernie Sanders
7. Mark Ruffalo: Your woke bae Mark Ruffalo is all about Bernie Sanders. He stumped for Bernie in New York recently and generally spends a lot of time on Twitter extolling the virtues of his preferred candidate, in addition to talking about the environment and being handsome (just being handsome, not “talking about being handsome;” he’s not vain like that). (Photo via Rich Polk/Getty Images)
8. Zoë Kravitz: Take a look at Zoë Kravitz’s Instagram feed any day of the week and, like as not, you’ll see a pro-Bernie photo or video in the first couple items. She’s been spreading the Sanders gospel for months now, and shows no signs of stopping. (Photo via Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Celebs Supporting Donald Trump
Yes @tedcruz; @realdonaldtrump did fire me on Celebrity Apprentice. But he's about to fire your ass too! #MakeAmericaGreatAgain
— Dennis Rodman (@dennisrodman) February 26, 2016
9. Dennis Rodman: The former pro basketball player-turned failed Celebrity Apprentice contestant apparently harbors no ill will over being fired from Donald Trump’s show, as he’s stepped up to support the business magnate’s bid for the Republican nomination. In late February, Dennis tweeted at Ted Cruz that Trump is “about to fire your a*s too!” D’awwww.
10. Tom Brady: Both Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots, and Patriots owner Brad Kraft have spoken warmly about Donald Trump. Tom even had one of Donald’s signature “Make America Great Again” hats in his locker during the 2015 NFL season, and has referred to him repeatedly as a friend. (Photo via Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
Is there a celebrity whose endorsement would convince you to vote for their candidate? Let us know on Twitter at @BritandCo!
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures