Pity if you will Steve Ballmer's kids - if they want an Xbox for Xmas dad will just have to go out and buy one like the crazed plebs who are as we speak fighting each other with knives just to get within striking distance of MS's new console.

According to Reuters, Ballmer "quipped" to a technology industry executive love-in: "The Ballmer children do not have their Xbox 360 yet. I'm in the same boat as many of you. Thanks to the wonders of Sarbanes-Oxley, management does not get a free Xbox 360."

Indeed, rules dictate that any freebie would have to be disclosed as income and since Ballmer will only earn $3.51 this year (after deductions for office furniture) the increased tax liability could be crippling. ®

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