Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> At 09:23 PM 3/23/2006, Tesla list wrote:
Original poster: "Brett Hays" <bretth@xxxxxxxxxxxx> I wonder if Disney ever has auctions??
Unlikely.Most entertainment companies have huge boneyards of junk left over from previous jobs of one sort or another. A lot of it has a book value of zero. This allows the entire purchase cost can be expensed against the job, reducing the amount that needs to be paid out to "net points" participants.
There's also a peculiar sales tax treatment in California for things bought for movie/film/tv sets. If they're "consumed" or "thrown away after use" in the production, then they don't have to pay sales tax on the original purchase. A remarkable amount of stuff ostensibly winds up in the dumpster, so tax isn't paid.
It would be very hard to subsequently sell something that had been "thrown away" or has "zero value" without raising questions that would potentially be very expensive and troublesome to resolve. (e.g. Why yes, we scrapped that $100,000 car, so we didn't make any money on the movie, so you get bupkis for your net points. Oh, yes, we did sell that car later at auction for $50K, so, hmm, I guess that might be properly considered as income for the movie. Yeah, you could make a stink about it, but you'll never work for us again, if you do. So sue me.)