Ariel Invests $50,000 in a City of Las Vegas Bond

question 104

Essay

Ariel invests $50,000 in a city of Las Vegas bond that pays 5% interest. Alternatively, Ariel could have invested the $50,000 in a bond recently issued by Jittery Joe's, Inc. that pays 8% interest with similar non-tax characteristics as the city of Las Vegas bond (e.g., similar risk). Assume that Ariel's marginal tax rate is 24%. What is her after-tax rate of return for the city of Las Vegas bond? For the Jittery Joe's, Inc. bond? How much explicit tax does Ariel pay on the city of Las Vegas bond? How much implicit tax does she pay on the city of Las Vegas bond? How much explicit tax would she have paid on the Jittery Joe's, Inc. bond? Which bond should she choose?

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Definitions:

Liquidity Ratios

The two ratios—current ratio and acid test ratio—which measure a company’s ability to pay off short-term debts.

Debt Management

The process of overseeing and controlling an individual's or organization's debt load through various strategies and planning.

Vertical Analysis

A method of financial statement analysis in which each entry for each of the three major categories of accounts (or assets, liabilities, and equity) is represented as a proportion of the total account.

Net Income

The total earnings of a company after accounting for all expenses and taxes; also known as net profit.