
Last night’s Olympics opening ceremony had everyone feeling next-level excitement for the 2016 Rio games, and we do mean everyone: Even celebs weren’t immune to the sudden burst of patriotic pride one felt watching their country’s finest athletes make their collective (carpool karaoke?) debut. From Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who donned the official opening ceremony flagbearer getups for the occasion, to Gisele Bundchen, who made Brazil proud when she set a record for the longest catwalk ever strutted on her last ever runway, these eight celebs were as patriotic as they come, repping their countries with verve. Check out their motivating posts below!
1. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis: Ashton and Mila have been known to cheer on a sporting event or two in their time, attending everything from Lakers games to rodeos, so it comes as no real surprise that these two were raring to support Team USA — despite Mila’s Ukranian heritage. Rocking the official opening ceremony (light-up) jackets, Ashton wrote, “Arm chair Olympians. Go team USA!!! We got your back. Ty for the blazers @ralphlauren. #liketolight”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Gisele Bündchen (@gisele) on
2. Gisele Bundchen: Where America has super duo Ashton and Mila in its corner, Brazil has former VS angel Gisele Bundchen. She dominated last night’s opening ceremony buzz when she came out of retirement for her record-breaking walk, posting this pic along with the following message to her account: “It was very exciting to be part of this special moment. Everyone involved worked with dedication and passion to create a show that gave the world a glimpse of our history and Brazil’s essence. It was beautifully presented. Our Brazilian community is hardworking, cheerful and welcoming. I believe we showed the world the beauty of our diversity.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Alessandra Ambrosio (@alessandraambrosio) on
3. Alessandra Ambrosio: Gisele wasn’t the only Brazilian model having her moment in the sun: Alessandria Ambrosio also performed country honors by carrying the Olympic torch, writing, “I’m so proud and grateful to be Brazilian and to represent my country!!! What an epic moment for me…”
View this post on Instagram*beaming* with pride watching @teamusa #openingceremony
A post shared by Ryan Seacrest (@ryanseacrest) on
4. Ryan Seacrest: By the same token, Ashton and Mila weren’t the only ones donning those Ralph Lauren blazers! Ryan Seacrest also busted out the navy number, posting this shot of himself in it watching all the Olympic antics. “*beaming* with pride watching @teamusa.”
5. Eliza Dushku: There was no mistaking who Bring It On star Eliza Dushku was rooting for after she posted this fireworks-filled story, writing, “Pretty obvious. #olympic #wallclimbers #boulder on, kid us.”
View this post on InstagramWe are so stoked about this years Olympics! Go @kerrileewalsh Go team #usa #olympics2016 🙌🏽🏅🇺🇸
A post shared by Jessica Alba (@jessicaalba) on
6. Jessica Alba: Jessica enjoyed the opening ceremony with her family, adding a star-spangled filter to her adorable Instagram story and saying, “We are so excited about this year’s Olympics! Go @kerrileewalsh Go team #usa.”
View this post on InstagramIM READY FOR THRM OLYMPICS MANE
A post shared by Leslie Jones (@lesdogggg) on
7. Leslie Jones: Leslie kept last night’s patriotic spirit going strong today, dressing up specifically for the occasion in this BEYOND festive, all American apparel (pun intended). “I’M READY FOR THEM OLYMPICS MANE,” she wrote. She wasn’t kidding — she’s posted eight more vids since, giving us all a play-by-play of team USA’s high points. Biggest Olympic fan ever, right here.
Who do you think did their country most proud? Tell us over on Twitter!
(Featured photo via Kevin Winter/Getty)
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