Or take the FASB's Statement 2, which requires companies to deduct research and development expenditures from income in the period in which they are made.

FORBES: Why Everybody's Jumping On The Accountants These Days

For companies with already high payout ratios, this can be problematic, as a higher percentage of earnings paid to shareholders may crimp capital expenditures or research and development commitments that are needed to keep the business growing.

FORBES: Buy Stocks That Pay, And Can Keep Paying

According to a report released by the Wood Mackenzie firm in early January, Eagle Ford is now the largest oil and gas development on the face of the earth based on total capital expenditures.

FORBES: The Blessing That is the Eagle Ford Shale

Put a 25 percent tax rate on individuals and corporations and see how it comes out in terms of personal consumption expenditures and corporate spending for plant and equipment, even research and development.

FORBES: This Is The Way The World Ends