The federal estate tax has remained unchanged since 2012, giving estate planners and their clients’ time to adjust to the permanent larger exemption and the portability of the exemption between spouses. That comfort level could change in 2017, as both Presidential candidates have called for major changes in the federal estate tax. Donald Trump advocates…
Tag: estate taxes
Sensible Estate Tax Act of 2016
Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee are supporting H.R. 4996, the “Sensible Estate Tax Act of 2016,” introduced by ranking minority member Sander M. Levin (D-Mich). Key elements of the bill include: reducing the federal estate tax exempt amount to $3.5 million; chopping the federal gift tax lifetime exemption to $1 million; capping the…
Unexpectedly strong post-death auction sale raises date-of-death death value.
Estate of Newberger v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2015-2464 Bernice Newberger died in July 2009. Her estate included three valuable pieces of art, for which it obtained appraisals from Sotheby’s and Christie’s. The valuation was complicated by the fact that the market for fine art took a steep dive in 2008, as the economy slipped into…
David Bowie: Tax Exile
Rock star David Bowie died of cancer in January at age 69. According to a recent account in TaxNotes, Bowie became a tax exile in 1972. At that time he had accumulated U.S. and California tax debts of some $300,000. As England then had a top marginal income tax rate of 83%, that also was…
The tax value of fine art
Bernice Newberger died in July 2009. Her estate included three valuable pieces of art, for which it obtained appraisals from Sotheby’s and Christie’s. The valuation was complicated by the fact that the market for fine art took a steep dive in 2008, as the economy slipped into recession. For example, in October 2008 some 44%…