Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, taxpayers whose income is low enough to keep them in the 10% or 15% ordinary income tax bracket, will pay a 0% tax rate on gains from the sale of stocks, funds and some other assets (such as a vacation home) they've held a year or more.
With discretionary spending surging higher, many investors are looking to consumer plays, such as those in the vacation space, for big gains.
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Even assuming gains for the UMP in June, Sarkozy could face a hard slog dismantling entrenched labor protections -- such as five weeks of guaranteed vacation -- that unions have fought tooth-and-nail to keep.
For example, if you have flexibility in your job, there are great last minute deals to be had on vacation packages, such as cruises.
This will in part be due to seasonality, since new homebuilding tends to pause in the winter months in the Northeast, and in part be due to the fact that many of decimated coastal properties in places like the Jersey Shore tend to be vacation homes and as such, will not likely be considered immediate priorities in terms of repair.
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That means imports such as oil or cars would become almost twice as expensive, while a German could vacation on Crete for half the price.
And some stronger vacation-home markets, such as Burlington, Vt. (up 1.3% in the past year), have momentum on their side.
Forty-one percent of U.S. adults use the majority of their vacation budgets on obligation trips such as weddings, holiday gatherings and reunions, according to a July Hotwire survey.
Priceline, a leading online travel agency, provides its customers a broad range of travel products and services such as hotel bookings, airline tickets, car rentals, cruises and vacation packages.
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The sport has fresh new variations such as stand-up paddling and paddle surfing that are primed for vacation dabbling, and hotels near top surf spots give guests the best of both worlds a battering on the breaks and amenities for relaxing afterwards.
And as is the case with many employee stock purchase plans, regardless of whether the stock is a high flyer like Apple or not, they can be a very effective way to invest for a variety of financial objectives such as prep school costs, college costs, paying for a home, a vacation property or retirement.
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Many online agencies list descriptions, photos and ratings of international holiday homes, such as AirBnb, Cluttons Resorts, FlipKey, HomeAway, Roomarama, Owners Direct, Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO) and West Coast Villas.
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