Millionaires likely would find legal ways to avoid paying higher taxes under President Barack Obama's proposed 'Buffett Rule,' a new congressional estimate finds.
The proposal -- spelled out in Mr. Obama's State of the Union address -- would impose a 30% minimum tax rate on those who make more than $1 million a year. It is named for the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who advocates higher taxes on the very wealthy.
Taxpayers' likely efforts to sidestep the rule's effects mean it would raise about $47 billion in extra revenue over the next decade, according to a new estimate by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. a congressional advisory body that functions as the official scorekeeper for legislation affecting government tax revenue. By contrast, the administration proposal to end the Bush-era tax cuts for high earners -- defined as couples making more than $250,000 -- would raise about $850 billion over the next decade. Mr. Obama also wants to limit the value of many deductions for families making more than $250,000, raising an additional $584 billion over the decade.
The White House hasn't released an estimate of how much money the Buffett proposal might raise, and it didn't respond to a request for comment on the committee's conclusions. It has emphasized the idea's importance as a way to make the tax system fairer. At a news conference this month, Mr. Obama called on Congress to pass the Buffett Rule, 'so that we don't have billionaires paying a lower tax rate than their secretaries.'
The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank (a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute), estimated recently that the Buffett Rule would raise about $114 billion over a decade.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah), who requested the committee's estimate, termed the Buffett Rule 'a dog that just won't hunt.'
The committee found many millionaires would find ways to avoid the rule, mostly by cutting back on stock sales and other transactions that produce capital gains. Capital-gains income is taxed at relatively low rates -- well below the Buffett Rule threshold of 30% -- so earning a high percentage of capital-gains income would tend to make a household subject to the proposed minimum tax.
'We project taxpayers respond to increases in marginal and average tax rates by reducing their realization of capital gains,' the committee said.
Wealthy people also are likely to speed up asset sales so that they would occur before the new minimum tax goes into effect. That would reduce the government's projected tax take by about $6 billion for 2014, the committee's analysis suggests.
The top 1% of households -- with average pretax income of $1.9 million -- paid federal individual income taxes at a rate of about 19% in 2007, the latest year available. The middle fifth of households -- with average income of $64,500 -- paid federal individual income taxes, which exclude Social Security and Medicare taxes, at a rate of about 3.3%.
美国国会一项最新估计发现，针对美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)提出的“巴菲特规则”(Buffett Rule)，百万富豪可能会寻找各种法律途径以避免缴纳更高的税。
相关阅读奥巴马在国情咨文演讲中详细阐述的这项提案建议向年收入超过100万美元的纳税人课以30%的最低税率。这项提案以亿万富豪投资者巴菲特(Warren Buffett)的名字命名。巴菲特主张向富豪征收更高的税赋。
无党派组织税收联合委员会(Joint Committee on Taxation)的最新估计表明，纳税人可能努力回避“巴菲特规则”带来的影响。这意味着未来10年该法案能给美国政府增加的税收只有约470亿美元。税收联合委员会是美国国会下属的一个咨询机构，其主要职能是估计那些影响美国政府税收的法案可能造成的收益或损失。相比之下，如果奥巴马政府取消小布什主政时期推行的“给高收入者减税”的政策，那么未来10年政府的税收收入将增加约8,500亿美元。所谓“高收入者”是指年收入高于25万美元的夫妻。奥巴马还希望给收入超过25万美元的家庭享受的多种课税减免设置上限，未来10年政府税收能因此增加5,840亿美元。
白宫没有公布“巴菲特规则”推行后可能增加的税收的估计值，也没有回应就上述委员会的结论置评的请求。白宫强调“巴菲特规则”的重要性在于其能提高美国税收制度的公平性。在本月举行的一场新闻发布会上，奥巴马呼吁国会通过“巴菲特规则”，“这样美国就不会出现百万富豪纳税税率比他们的秘书还低”的情况。
Associated Press2010年，由于针对年收入超过100万美元的纳税人提出了一个征税办法，巴菲特还得到了一项荣誉。无党派智库税收政策中心(Tax Policy Center)最近估计，未来10年“巴菲特规则”将给美国政府增加约1,140亿美元的收入。税收政策中心是由布鲁金斯学会(Brookings Institution)和城市研究所(Urban Institute)联合设立的智库。
犹他州共和党参议员哈奇(Orrin Hatch)将“巴菲特规则”比作一只不会狩猎的狗。哈奇要求税收联合委员会进行估计。
税收联合委员会发现，许多百万富豪会寻找种种办法避税，主要是通过减少卖出股票及其它能产生资本利得的交易。资本利得收入的税率较低，远低于“巴菲特规则”设定的30%的最低税率。所以如果一个家庭的资本利得收入在总收入中占比较高，其被征收30%的最低税率的可能性也就较大。
税收联合委员会说，我们预计纳税人将通过减少资本利得收入的方法回应边际和平均税率的提高。
有钱人也可能加快资产出售的速度，以便赶在“巴菲特规则”生效前完成交易。税收联合委员会的分析表明，此举将令美国政府2014年的预期税收减少约60亿美元。
2007年，美国最富裕的1%家庭(税前平均收入为190万美元)所缴纳的联邦个人所得税率约为19%。这是目前所能获得的最新数据。收入居中的五分之一家庭(平均收入为6.45万美元)所缴纳的联邦个人所得税率（社会保障和医疗保险税排除在外）约为3.3%。
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the Army soldier suspected of slaughtering Afghan villagers in a rampage, will face 17 charges of murder, a U.S. official said Thursday.
The official confirmed that Sgt. Bales was expected to be formally charged Friday at the military detention center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where he has been held for the past week.
U.S. and Afghan officials have said that 16 men, women and children were killed in the March 11 incident, which took place in Panjway, in southern Kandahar province. U.S. officials didn't explain why the formal charges will contain 17 counts of murder.
Sgt. Bales, 38 years old, also is expected to face related charges of military law violations in connection with the rampage, which followed a string of other actions by U.S. and coalition troops that offended Afghans and has further strained U.S. relations with the country.
John Henry Browne, a lawyer for Mr. Bales, said he hasn't been formally notified of the charges or when they will be released. He said wasn't surprised by the allegations.
Sgt. Bales, a veteran of four combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, is suspected of leaving a U.S. combat outpost to go on the early morning rampage, which claimed the lives of several women and children.
Officials only confirmed Sgt. Bales' identity after he had left the country.
In testimony Thursday, Marine Gen. John Allen, the top U.S commander in Afghanistan, said such events were 'heart-wrenching,' but added: 'The relationship between the coalition and the Afghan security forces remains strong.'
Sgt. Bales' case has cast a national spotlight on the debate over civilian casualties in Afghanistan, and added greater urgency to talks between the U.S. and Afghan governments about control of nighttime military missions and raids.
The rampage also has stirred the discussion in the U.S. about the after-effects of war on military service members and their families. Sgt. Bales was treated for traumatic brain injury after a vehicle rollover in Iraq in 2010; media reports have also focused on the strains on families caused by multiple combat tours during the decade-long conflict.
Sgt. Bales, from the Third Stryker Brigade of the Second Infantry Division, deployed to Afghanistan in December out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
一名美国官员周四说，涉嫌犯下屠杀阿富汗村民暴行的陆军上士贝尔斯(Robert Bales)将面临17宗谋杀指控。
这位官员证实，贝尔斯料预计于周五在堪萨斯州莱文沃斯堡一处军事羁押中心被正式起诉。过去一个星期他一直被关押在该中心。
Spc. Ryan Hallock/The High Desert Warrior美军上士贝尔斯（左）美国和阿富汗官员曾说，3月11日发生在坎大哈省南部潘杰瓦伊(Panjway)地区的屠杀事件中，有16名平民被害，其中包括男人、女人和儿童。美国官员没有解释为什么正式起诉会包括17宗谋杀罪名。
预计38岁的贝尔斯还将面临与屠杀事件相关的军法指控。事件发生在美国和联军部队另外一系列冒犯阿富汗人的行为之后，进一步加剧了美国与阿富汗的紧张关系。
贝尔斯的律师布朗(John Henry Browne)说，他未被正式告知这些指控的内容或这些指控将于何时公布。他表示这些指控没有让他感到吃惊。
贝尔斯是一名老兵，曾被派往伊拉克三次，被派往阿富汗一次。他涉嫌离开美军一个战斗前哨，并在当天凌晨实施暴行，夺去了多名妇孺的性命。
官方直到贝尔斯离开阿富汗之后才证实他的身份。
美军驻阿富汗最高指挥官、海军陆战队上将艾伦(John Allen)周四作证时说，这类事件让人心痛，但他说，联军与阿富汗安全部队的关系依然牢固。
贝尔斯的案件使有关阿富汗平民伤亡问题的讨论吸引了全国关注，并使美国、阿富汗政府关于夜间军事任务和突袭行动控制权的谈判变得更加紧迫。
屠杀事件还在美国激起有关战争对军人及军属影响的讨论。贝尔斯曾因2010年在伊拉克翻车导致脑部创伤并接受治疗，媒体报道也曾关注10年冲突期间多次派遣对军属造成的压力。
贝尔斯隶属于美国陆军第二步兵师第三装甲旅，于去年12月从华盛顿州刘易斯-麦科德联合基地(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)进驻阿富汗。
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak indicated on Wednesday that talks between South Korea and the U.S. on extending the range of South Korea's missiles beyond the current 300 kilometer (186 miles) limit may be close to an agreement.
South Korea and the U.S. have reportedly been in discussions since last year to revise a 2001 bilateral agreement so that South Korea can develop missiles that could land anywhere in North Korea. The 2001 agreement restricts South Korea's missile capability for high-velocity missiles to a range of 300 kilometers and payload of 200 pounds. South Korea is allowed to develop slower, surface-skimming missiles that can go up to 800 miles.
Mr. Lee said that the U.S. and South Korea agree on the need for a 'new security environment.'
'The 300 kilometer range was set many years ago, predicated on the assumption that any fighting would be around the demilitarized zone (that separates North and South Korea),' Mr. Lee said in a group interview. His remarks were embargoed until Thursday.
'Now North Korea has missiles and long range artillery that can reach all the way down to Jeju Island. South Korea is in need of expanding its defense posture in case of any contingencies,' he said.
'The U.S. and South Korea have been discussing this issue and we believe a solution will be in place soon.'
Following North Korea's announcement of a rocket launch that appears set to jeopardize an agreement with the U.S. on the suspension of nuclear development and missile launches, Mr. Lee said more time would be needed to assess North Korea's intentions and the new regime's capacity for consistent decision making.
'One explanation of the rocket launch is that perhaps there was a plan already in place when they started talks with the U.S. However, a test firing would be a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions,' he said.
'Observing how Kim Jong Eun handles the situation and worldwide condemnation will be another litmus test of the new regime,' he said.
On North Korea's planned rocket launch, Mr. Lee said Japan would be justified in trying to shoot down the rocket if it enters Japanese airspace. Earlier this week, Japan's Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said he may order the country's military to shoot down the rocket if it poses a danger to Japan.
'Japan has the sovereign right to do whatever they seem fit if their airspace is violated,' Mr. Lee said.
European Pressphoto Agency韩国天马导弹部队可以在10秒钟内发现并追踪20千米外的战斗机，还可以拦截离地5千米飞行的飞机。
韩国总统李明博(Lee Myung-bak)周三表示，韩国与美国就扩大韩国导弹射程范围的谈判可能接近达成协议。韩国导弹的射程目前被限制在300公里以内。
有报道称，韩国与美国自从去年起就一直在讨论修改2001年达成的一项双边协议，修改协议后韩国就能研发可投向朝鲜任一地点的导弹。2001年的协议规定，韩国高速导弹的射程不得超过300公里，有效载荷不得超过200磅(约90.8公斤)。按照规定，韩国可以研发速度较低的掠海飞行导弹，射程最远可达800英里(约1,280公里)。
李明博说，美国和韩国一致认为，有必要建立新安全环境。
李明博在接受媒体集体采访时说，300公里的导弹射程是很多年前制定的，当时认为，假如韩朝间爆发战争，地点都会在(分隔朝韩两国的)半岛非军事区。按照规定，不得在周四之前对他的这番话进行报道。
李明博说，朝鲜现在有了可以一直打到济州岛(Jeju Island)的导弹和远程大炮，韩国需要扩大防御阵势，以防出现意外。
李明博说，美国和韩国一直在讨论这个问题，我们认为很快就能拿出一个解决办法。
朝鲜宣布准备发射火箭的消息后，李明博曾说，需要花更多时间来评估朝鲜的意图以及朝鲜新政权能否在决策方面做到前后连贯。朝鲜的发射消息似乎势必会危及它与美国达成的暂停核研究及导弹发射的协议。
李明博说，对朝鲜发射火箭的一个解释是，也许他们在和美国开始谈判的时候就已经有了这样一个计划，不过试射行动显然是违反联合国安理会(United Nations Security Council)有关决议的。
李明博说，观察金正恩(Kim Jong Eun)对当前形势以及国际社会广泛谴责的应对，可以让人对朝鲜新政权有更多了解。
关于朝鲜拟进行的火箭发射，李明博说，如果火箭在飞行途中进入日本领空，那日本就有理由将其击落。日本防卫大臣田中直纪(Naoki Tanaka)本周早些时候曾说，如果朝鲜的火箭对日本构成危险，他可能会命令日本军方将其击落。
李明博说，如果日本的领空受到侵犯，日本就可以行使主权，采取一切它认为恰当的行动。
Amid a string of recent sell-downs by Western banks of their stakes Chinese lenders, another sector in China’s finance industry could be seeing renewed interest: trust companies.
As the WSJ reports Wednesday, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. will buy a 19.9% stake in China’s Bridge Trust Co., based in Zhengzhou, Henan province. It comes shortly after Bank of Montreal said it would take a 19.99% stake in Cofco Trust, a unit of China’s state-owned agricultural trading house, Cofco Group.
These investments also take place against a backdrop of Wall Street banks cutting their holdings in Chinese lenders, signaling continuing worries over the outlook for the sector. Goldman Sachs has been steadily paring its stake in Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, for example, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut half its stake in China Construction Bank last year. Citigroup Inc. sold its stake in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank this week.
The recent interest in these vehicles could indicate that Western banks are taking a new look at trust companies, as investments in large Chinese lenders seem too volatile Goldman made a loss in Asia last year due to the plunging value of its ICBC stake while their securities joint ventures in China struggle to be highly profitable.
Trust companies appear to offer a better alternative. These lightly regulated vehicles occupy a special place in the country’s financial sector. They don’t take on the risk of an investment, but channel funds from companies and rich individuals to other investments including private equity, loans, bonds, stocks and stakes in property development, connecting Western banks with China’s wealthy population and huge savings pool. There are more than 60 trust companies in the country.
They have been instrumental in making up the shortfall in lending to property developers as conventional banks pulled back their exposure to the sector last year, particularly during the second quarter. But in a bid to cool credit growth and curtail “shadow financing,” Chinese regulators also started clamping down on that loophole in the middle of 2011 by requiring that any trust financing for a property project must be vetted by the China Banking Regulatory Commission. As a result, trust financing to developers plunged by year-end. Earlier this year, China also banned trust firms from selling commercial-paper backed products.
Despite the crackdown, interest in trust companies continues to balloon. Tired of putting their money in underperforming stocks and mutual funds, Chinese investors have been piling into trusts, with total trust assets under management up 58.25% at the end of 2011 to 1.67 trillion yuan.
There was a wave of Western interest in trust companies a few years ago. The first foreign lender to enter the trust market was National Australia Bank Ltd. in 2008. In 2009, Macquarie Group Ltd. formed trust company joint venture with two state-backed companies, Sino-Australian International Trust Co. Morgan Stanley also invested in Hangzhou Industrial & Commercial Trust Co. in the same year. Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland PLC also have investments in the sector.
Japan’s Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. has also said earlier this year it hopes to invest more in China’s trust industry by offering financial services and products to local companies and wealthy individuals. It already has an investment dating back to 2010 in Nanjing Trust Investment Company.
西方银行最近进行了一系列减持中资银行股份的操作，此时中国金融行业的另一个领域可能重新引起了它们的兴趣：信托公司。
《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)周三报道，摩根大通公司(J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.)将购买河南郑州的百瑞信托有限责任公司(Bridge Trust Co.) 19.9%的股份。此前不久，蒙特利尔银行(Bank of Montreal)曾宣布将收购中粮信托有限责任公司(Cofco Trust) 19.99%的股份，中粮信托是中国国有农产品贸易集团中粮集团(Cofco Group)的子公司。
Gilles Sabrie for the Wall Street Journal一直以来，中国房地产开发商的融资都相当依赖信托公司。这些投资发生的同时，华尔街的银行正在减持它们在中资银行的股份，反映出它们仍担忧这一领域的前景。例如，高盛(Goldman Sachs)一直在逐步缩减所持中国工商银行(Industrial & Commercial Bank of China)的股份，而美银美林(Bank of America Merrill Lynch)去年将所持中国建设银行(China Construction Bank)的股份削减了一半。花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)本周出售了上海浦东发展银行股份有限公司(Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, 简称：浦发银行) 的股份。
最近的事件表明，西方银行正在用全新的眼光看待信托公司，因为投资大的中资银行似乎不太保险，例如，由于中国工商银行股价的下跌，高盛去年在亚洲遭遇了亏损。而西方银行在中国组建的证券合资公司也很难大规模盈利。
信托公司似乎是一种更好的选择。这些公司受到监管的限制较少，而且在中国的金融领域占据着特殊的地位。他们不需要承担投资的风险，而是将公司和有钱的个人的资金用于其他投资，包括私募股权、贷款、证券、股票和房地产股份，将西方银行和中国有钱人以及巨额储蓄联系起来。中国有超过60家信托公司。
由于传统银行在去年、尤其是第二季度缩减在房地产方面的敞口，这些公司有效地弥补了房地产开发商贷款的短缺。但是，为了使信贷增长降温，减少影子融资，中国监管机构在2011年年中开始要求为房地产项目提供的信托融资必须接受中国银行业监督管理委员会的审查，以打击影子融资钻空子的行为。因此，开发商获得的信托融资在年底大幅下降。今年早些时候，中国还禁止信托公司销售商业票据支持产品。
尽管受到打压，人们对信托公司的兴趣有增无减。厌倦了把钱投入到表现不佳的股票和共同基金上的中国投资者纷纷转向信托公司，2011年底，信托资产管理总规模增加了58.25%，达到人民币1.67万亿元。
几年前曾西方曾一度对信托公司产生过浓厚的兴趣。澳洲银行(National Australia Bank Ltd.)在2008年成为第一家进入中国信托市场的外国银行。2009年麦格理集团(Macquarie Group Ltd.)和两家国有公司创办了合资信托公司华澳国际信托有限公司(Sino-Australian International Trust Co.)。摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)在同年投资了杭州工商信托股份有限公司(Hangzhou Industrial & Commercial Trust Co.)。巴克莱银行(Barclays Bank PLC)和苏格兰皇家银行(Royal Bank of Scotland PLC)也在这个领域有投资。
日本的住友信托银行(Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co.)在今年早些时候也表示希望通过向当地公司和有钱人提供金融服务和产品，在中国的信托领域有更多投资。早在2010年，它就已经在南京信托投资公司(Nanjing Trust Investment Co.)投资。
An Italian judge has ordered Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to stand trial in April on charges of paying an underage girl for sex and abuse of office, although there seemed no immediate risk the scandal would force him out.
Following weeks of scandal that have shaken his struggling center-right government, trial was set on Tuesday to start in a criminal court in Milan on April 6, according to a statement from the office of the city's chief judge.
Berlusconi is not obliged to appear in person before the panel of three judges on that day, nor is there any legal obstacle to his continuing to hold office throughout any trial proceedings, which could take years before any conviction.
Throughout several other legal cases, the 74-year-old premier has kept the loyalty of lieutenants in his own party, which he set up after making his fortune in business. There has been no open push from his own allies for him to stand down.
"We did not expect anything different," Piero Longo, one of Berlusconi's lawyers who sits in parliament for the ruling PDL party, told reporters after the decision was announced.
Yet the decision is perhaps the most serious political blow so far to Berlusconi, who has faced mounting public criticism as he tries to shore up a precarious majority in parliament.
A survey this week in the left-leaning La Repubblica newspaper showed that almost 50 percent of Italians believe the accusations against him are true, although as many believe that even if he is guilty, he will not be punished.
"He should resign because this situation has become unbearable," said Pierluigi Bersani, head of the opposition Democratic Party.
But Justice Minister Angelino Alfano retorted: "What happened to someone being presumed innocent?"
一位意大利法官要求总理西尔维奥?贝卢斯科尼四月份出庭接受审讯，他被指控与未成年少女进行性交易以及滥用职权。但是目前看起来这则丑闻还不会很快将贝卢斯科尼赶下台。
在过去几周中，该丑闻已经使正在艰难挣扎的中右联盟政府摇摇欲坠了。而一份来自于米兰市审判长办公室的声明则无异于雪上加霜。该声明称，法院周二已做出裁决，将于4月6日在米兰的一个刑事法庭中启动审判。
法院并不强行要求贝卢斯科尼4月6日亲自出庭，接受由三位法官组成的陪审团的审讯。而且在审判程序进行过程中，不会有任何阻止贝卢斯科尼继续担任总理的法律障碍。从启动审判到做出最终判决可能需要几年的时间。
在之前的其他几宗法律案件中，贝卢斯科尼的党内官员都显示了对这位74岁总理的忠诚。贝卢斯科尼做生意发财后就组建了自己的政党，现在并没有来自该政党的公开要求贝卢斯科尼下台的呼声。
在该裁决宣布之后，贝卢斯科尼的律师之一、人民自由党成员、议员皮耶罗?隆戈告诉记者说：“这在我们意料之中。”
但是这个裁决可能是迄今为止在政治上对贝卢斯科尼最大的打击，近年来贝卢斯科尼试图在议会巩固自己摇摇欲坠的政党力量的同时招来了公众愈演愈烈的批评声。
左倾的《意大利共和报》本周进行的一项调查显示，近50%的意大利人相信对贝卢斯科尼的指控是确有其事。但是也有50%的人认为即使贝卢斯科尼有罪，他也不会受到什么惩罚。
反对党派民主党领导人皮耶路易吉?贝尔萨尼说：“他应该下台，因为形势已经变得难以控制了。”
但是司法部部长安杰利诺?阿尔法诺反驳说：“那样的话人们会问：那个自以为无罪的人怎么了？”
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LANSING, Mich. -- Available: five-bedroom, four-bath ranch-style home. Working wind turbine and rooftop solar panels. Original, midcentury bar hidden behind motorized living-room wall. No rent required.
Michigan Gov.-elect Rick Snyder isn't interested.
The Republican venture capitalist elected on a platform to shake up state government recently announced that he wouldn't move into the governor's official 8,700-square-foot residence on four acres overlooking the Grand River. Instead, he'll stay in his own, 10,600-square-foot manse complete with indoor pool, movie theater and wine cellar.
It's 70 miles away in Ann Arbor, but near his teenage daughter's school. As an added bonus, says Mr. Snyder, he won't need a full-time house staff, a potential savings for taxpayers. 'I'm convinced that every dollar counts,' he says.
Gubernatorial candidates spend months, if not years, campaigning to take the reins of state government. But more and more winners are forgoing one of the spoils of victory: living rent-free in the governor's mansion.
Some of them cite a new age of austerity, coupled with the pressure to keep family life intact in their hometowns. Many say they're used to the commuting life and, with the help of cellphones and email, can operate the levers of government from anywhere. Some just don't want to pick up and move.
In Colorado, Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper is weighing whether to leave his home in kid-friendly Park Hill, just outside of downtown Denver, and move his family, including his 8-year-old son, Teddy, into nearby Boettcher Mansion.
'There are 16 kids on our block for our son to play with,' says Mr. Hickenlooper, departing mayor of Denver, in an interview. He says the governor's residence sits in a more commercial district of the city.
He also says that his wife, a journalist and author, may prefer greater separation between the first family's public and private lives. 'And I almost certainly do what my wife wants,' he says. (A spokesman later said the couple intends to make the decision together.)
In Albany, Andrew Cuomo has waxed nostalgic about spending time at New York State's 40-room Queen Anne-style governor's mansion in the 1980s, when his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, once ruled with a domestic staff on a hill overlooking the Hudson River.
But with his girlfriend and children already living near New York City, the younger Mr. Cuomo, who becomes governor in January, plans to keep a home base in suburban Westchester County.
New Jersey's stately Drumthwacket manor in Princeton has served as little more than a crash pad since Gov. Chris Christie came to office this year. He opted to keep his children in a school near his home in Mendham, more than 50 miles away, and uses the mansion, with its Italian gardens and a wood-paneled library, mostly for special dinners and official receptions. Once, the governor and his staff took shelter at Drumthwacket during a snowstorm.
In Idaho, the 7,370-square-foot governor's mansion on 38 acres in Boise donated by frozen-french-fry magnate J.R. Simplot lies unoccupied. Gov. Butch Otter, who was once married to Mr. Simplot's daugher, Gay, has refused to move in since taking office in 2007. A spokesman says the governor's own ranch in the town of Star is close by and better equipped to entertain guests like retired Gen. Colin Powell.
The Boise home's hilltop setting is nonetheless a favorite sledding spot for Idahoans, some of whom now call for selling the all-but-vacant estate.
Forty-five states have an official residence, and most governors still rest their heads there.
They also encounter their share of headaches. In 2005, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and his family fled the state's 19th-century Federal-style mansion for about two months because of mold contamination. The family later left its permanent mark on the home with some renovations, including the Jenny Sanford Wedding Garden, a tribute by the former first lady, who divorced the governor after he admitted to having an Argentinean mistress.
In New York, departing Gov. David Paterson was caught red-faced in 2009 by allegations that friends of his daughter were planning a party in a section of the mansion they dubbed, 'FDR's Polio Poolhouse,' while her parents were away. The governor called a posting on Facebook about the event a joke, but lamented how every private activity at the house falls under public scrutiny.
'You're walking around this place and it's hard to settle in,' he said in an interview. 'It's unlike home because you feel like you're on display.'
But going without a mansion has its challenges, too. Jerry Brown sold the governor's residence when he was California's chief executive in the 1980s, leaving the current governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to fly home to Los Angeles many nights on his own private jet. Now Mr. Brown is back in Sacramento as the governor-elect and recently rented a 1,450-square-foot midtown loft close to the Capitol.
In Michigan, the Lansing estate underwent a $2.5 million renovation funded by private donations seven years ago to improve infrastructure and expand the separate family quarters. Taxpayers still pick up maintenance costs, which run about $40,000 annually.
Departing two-term Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her husband raised three children in the mansion, from which she sometimes walked, jogged or biked to work about three miles away.
Mr. Snyder will become the first Michigan governor not to live in the executive residence since it was donated to the state in 1969. The house in Lansing, with rose and herb gardens and a small pond, will continue to be used for official meetings and events, and Mr. Snyder has said he could imagine staying there a night or two during the week if necessary. But his administration does foresee cutting back the house staff, which includes a full-time chef.
'I view it as a family decision that was reasonably straightforward,' Mr. Snyder said in a Bluetooth-enabled telephone interview from his car. 'There is going to be a lot of strain and stress, and we'd like as much of a normal family life as possible.'
Associated Press新泽西州新任州长克里斯•克里斯蒂(Chris Christie)的这栋拥有意式花园和镶木板装饰图书室的官邸主要用于特别宴会和官方接待会，他住在别的地方。
请君入住：五间卧室、四间浴室的农场风格的房子，配备了风力涡轮发电机和屋顶太阳能发电板，起居室的电动 壁后方掩藏着独具特色的中世纪风格吧台。不需要交纳房租。
密歇根州州长里克•斯奈德(Rick Snyder)却对此无动于衷。
这位身为风险投资家的共和党人凭借改组州政府的施政纲领成功当选密歇根州州长。近日他宣布，他不会搬入俯瞰格兰德河(Grand River)、占地四英亩、建筑面积8700平方英尺的州长官邸，而是继续住他自己那栋面积10,600平方英尺、拥有室内泳池、影院和酒窖的豪宅。
这栋豪宅位于州长官邸70英里之外的安娜堡(Ann Arbor)，不过离他女儿的学校很近。斯奈德表示，还有一个额外的好处是，他就不需要一拨全职的家政服务人员了，也就相当于帮纳税人省钱了。他说，“我相信每一块钱都是有用的。”
州长候选人要入主州政府，其竞选活动虽然没有数年之久，数月总是需要的。不过，越来越多的竞选成功者开始放弃如此得来不易的胜利带来的一项特权：免费入住州长官邸。
James Finnerty科罗拉多州当选州长约翰•希肯卢珀(John Hickenlooper)正在权衡是否要搬到州政府附近的伯特舍官邸(Boettcher Mansion)。有些州长表示现在要进入简朴节约的新时代，而且需要让家人留在家乡，不受打扰。很多人表示，自己习惯了通勤上班，有了手机和电邮，在任何地方都可以做好政府的管理工作。还有一些只是因为不愿意打包搬家。
科罗拉多州当选州长约翰•希肯卢珀(John Hickenlooper)正在权衡再三，决定是否要搬离丹佛闹市区附近、利于孩子成长的帕克希尔(Park Hill)，和家人──包括八岁的儿子泰迪(Teddy)──搬到州政府附近的伯特舍官邸(Boettcher Mansion)。
即将卸任丹佛市长的希肯卢珀接受采访时说，在我们那个街区有16个孩子可以跟我儿子玩。他表示，相比之下，州长官邸的所在就比较商业化了。
他还表示，身为记者及作家的妻子也许会希望第一家庭的公共生活和私人生活区分得更清楚些。他说，“我做什么几乎都是顺着我妻子的意来的。”（一位发言人后来表示，这对夫妇希望能共同做出这个决定。）
纽约州首府奥尔巴尼(Albany)，安妮皇后时期风格的纽约州州长官邸俯瞰着哈德逊河(Hudson River)，拥有四十个房间。安德鲁•科莫(Andrew Cuomo)很怀念上世纪80年代居住在这里的时光，当时他的父亲马里奥•科莫(Mario Cuomo)担任州长，官邸里有全班人马的服务人员。
小科莫于一月份当选为纽约州州长，因为他的女朋友和孩子们都住在纽约市附近，因此，这位新任州长就打算把家安在韦斯特切斯特县(Westchester County)的郊区； 。
新泽西州新任州长克里斯•克里斯蒂(Chris Christie)今年上任之后，位于普林斯顿的富丽堂皇的德拉姆斯瓦克特庄园(Drumthwacket manor)便几乎遭到闲置。克里斯蒂让孩子们继续在50多英里之外门德姆市(Mendham)自家附近的一所学校就读。这栋拥有意式花园和一间镶木板装饰图书室的官邸则主要用作特别宴会和官方接待会之用。有一次，州长及其随员到这里来躲避过暴风雪。
爱达华州州长官邸位于首府博伊西(Boise)，占地38英亩，建筑面积7370平方英尺，是由经营冷冻薯条的富豪J.R.辛普劳(J.R. Simplot)捐赠的，如今也处于闲置状态。州长布奇•奥特(Butch Otter)是辛普劳女儿盖伊(Gay)的前夫，他在2007年上任后拒绝搬入官邸。一名发言人表示，州长自己位于斯塔尔镇(Star)的农场距离州政府也很近，而且设施更完备，更便于款待退役将军科林•鲍威尔(Colin Powell)等贵客。
博伊西官邸的位置得天独厚，在一座山顶上，是爱达华州民众的一处滑雪胜地，如今有人开始吁请将这座闲置的官邸出售。
全美共有四十五个州配有州长官邸，多数州长还是把家安在了其中。
他们也有头疼的问题。2005年，因为建于19世纪的联邦风格的州长官邸遭受霉菌之祸，南卡罗来纳州州长马克•桑福德(Mark Sanford)携家人搬离官邸，在外躲了大约两个月的时间。后来他们对官邸进行了部分翻修，留下了一些永久的印记，包括出自前第一夫人手笔的詹尼•桑福德婚礼花园(Jenny Sanford Wedding Garden)。在桑福德州长承认自己在阿根廷有一个情妇之后，夫人詹尼•桑福德跟他离了婚。
即将卸任的纽约州州长戴维•帕特森(David Paterson)在2009年备受诟病，因为在帕特森夫妇不在场时，他女儿的朋友们在官邸一个区域策划一次派对，他们将这个区域戏称为“罗斯福的小儿麻痹症台球室”。帕特森州长在Facebook上发帖子表示，这只是一个玩笑，同时也哀叹，官邸内每一项私人活动都会遭到公众的监督。
但是没有官邸也有问题。上世纪80年代，杰里•布朗(Jerry Brown)在担任加利福尼亚州州长期间卖掉了州长官邸，害得现任州长阿诺•施瓦辛格(Arnold Schwarzenegger)好多个晚上只能乘坐自己的私人飞机飞回洛杉矶的家中。如今布朗重返首府萨克拉门托(Sacramento)重登州长之位，最近他在州议会大厦附近的市中心租了一套面积1450平方英尺的loft。
密歇根州兰辛的州长官邸在七年前依靠私人捐赠，进行了耗资250万美元的整修，以改善其基础设施、扩充独立的家庭生活区域。纳税人如今还需要承担每年大约4万美元的官邸维护费。
即将卸任的两届连任州长詹妮弗•格兰霍姆(Jennifer Granholm)和丈夫及三个孩子一起住在官邸，她有时候会步行、慢跑或骑自行车去三英里外的州政府上班。
1969年这栋官邸赠与州政府以来至今，斯奈德将是第一位不安家于此的密歇根州州长。这栋拥有玫瑰园、药草园和一个小池塘的官邸会继续用作政府会务及活动之用，斯奈德表示，必要的话，他会每周在这里呆个一两个晚上。不过官邸的服务人员肯定是要削减的，其中还包括一名全职的厨师。
斯奈德在开车途中通过蓝牙手机接受采访时说，我认为这是我们全家做出的一个相当直率的决定。未来会有很多的压力，我们只是希望尽可能地享受正常的家庭生活。
