Contact Wayne Winter, DPM and his team 800-330-3742
Uncertainty Example: The Boss Of The Yankees And His Estate
January 15, 2011 2010-12122
On December 13, 2010, BTN Research, referencing information from Forbes, published the following news item:
“George Steinbrenner, the principal owner of the New York Yankees baseball team, died on July 13, 2010. His net worth at death was an estimated $1.15 billion. Since he died in 2010, his estate will pay zero federal estate tax (under current law). Under the estate tax plan proposed by President Obama on December 6, 2010, if Steinbrenner had died in 2011, his estate would have owed $401 million in federal estate taxes.”
By itself, this information provides an illustration of the uncertainties regarding tax law changes. But wait, there’s more…
A search of stories released shortly after Steinbrenner’s death noted that the federal estate tax was not the only up-in-the-air tax issue facing Steinbrenner’s heirs. Several sources speculated on the possibility and/or constitutionality of a retroactive estate tax assessment for 2010 becoming part of new estate tax law in 2011. Another mentioned that the state of New York has an estate tax that might apply, even if federal estate taxes do not. In a July 15, 2010 online article, Attorneys Andrew and Danielle Mayoras, co-authors of Trial and Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!, referenced a potential capital gains tax that might be assessed if the family sold the Yankees, concluding “the Steinbrenner family will have no choice but to hold onto the New York Yankees' stock and not sell it, unless they want to pay this large tax. Instead, they'll likely pass down the stock from generation to generation, unless of course a new tax law gets passed which changes their situation.
|