News Category: estate and gift taxation


American Society of Appraisers (ASA) 2024 International Conference

I had the pleasure of attending the 2024 ASA International Conference in Portland, Ore., September 15 to 19. This was my first time to visit Portland, Ore., and I found it to be a very pleasant and attractive place to be. The conference was held at the Downtown Hilton in Portland. Read more >>

In Jackson case, Tax Court dismisses IRS expert’s revenue projections as ‘simply not reasonable’

When Michael Jackson died, his image and likeness was besmirched and yet, once competent executors took charge, they were able to make a lot of money for the estate in the immediate post-death years. The issue was to what extent this subsequent development could factor into the image-and-likeness valuation. In explaining his high valuation, the IRS’ expert offered a theory of “foreseeable opportunities” that the U.S. Tax Court found unpersuasive. Read more >>

Five Timely Insights From the NYSSCPA Business Valuation and Litigation Services Conference

The conference season is well underway, and Business Valuation Update has been on the virtual road, collecting the latest insights on a wide variety of topics. Here are some interesting takeaways from the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) Business Valuation and Litigation Services Conference, held May 17. Topics included emerging issues (SPACs, cryptocurrency, Zoom as a practice-builder) and some new perspectives on evergreen topics (estate valuations, cannabis, distressed firms, and collaborations). Read more >>

Tax Court issues highly anticipated ruling in Michael Jackson case

In the long-running litigation between the estate of the late megastar Michael Jackson and the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Tax Court recently issued its opinion on the value of Jackson’s image and likeness, as well as the value of his interest in two music publishing assets. Overall, this much-anticipated decision is a major win for the Jackson estate. The court’s momentous decision includes an expansive analysis of the rivaling valuation testimony. Read more >>

Pandemic Triggers Chances for Valuers in Exit Planning

One of the key takeaways from the recent ENGAGE 2020 conference sponsored by the AICPA was one of particular interest to business valuers. “The pandemic has created some temporary financial planning opportunities,” says Steve Siegel, JD, LLM, president of The Siegel Group. “If you have a client who plans to pass their business along to a child one day—while business values are low, this is a useful time to get a new business appraisal. If you wait, values may recover, and federal tax laws may be less generous to business owners seeking to transfer their interests to family members.” Read more >>

Kress gift tax case signifies approval of tax affecting—at least in federal district court

One aspect that has valuators excited about the Kress v. United States gift tax case is that the federal court that ruled on the taxpayers’ challenge to the IRS’s gift tax assessment accepted valuations from both parties’ experts that applied a C corporation tax rate to value minority shares in an S corporation. Read more >>

Activist Tax Court takes on double inclusion problem in estate and gift tax case

In an estate and gift tax case, the U.S. Tax Court recently sided with the Internal Revenue Service when the court found the value of assets transferred from the decedent to a family limited partnership was includible in the value of the decedent’s gross estate. The real surprise lay in the court's decision to propose a new way of calculating the includible amount. Read more >>

New Star Wars film blockbuster fuels celeb estate valuation issue

For Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the late actor Peter Cushing was “digitally resurrected” and appears as the future Death Star commander. Some stars are now taking action, such as having themselves scanned, so they, too, can provide for their heirs when they’re in the hereafter and enhance the value of their right of publicity. Read more >>

IRS addresses some concerns of valuators at Sec. 2704 regs hearing

IRS and Treasury officials on the hearing panel felt compelled to make a few remarks in response to the strong concerns of valuation experts, attorneys, wealth planners, and family business owners who testified. Read more >>

IRS inundated with comments on proposed IRC 2704 regs

Over the past week, over 100 new comments have been submitted to the IRS about the controversial proposed Section 2704 regs designed to rein in estate tax valuations. That brings the total comments to almost 200, but it's hoped that many more will come in before the due date of November 2. Read more >>

Appraisers see spike in engagements due to proposed Section 2704 regs

At the ASA Advanced Business Valuation Conference last week in Boca Raton, Fla., valuation practitioners told us that they are seeing an increase in valuation engagements triggered by the proposed Section 2704 regulations. They expect the increased business to gain steam as the regs continue to sink in with attorneys, wealth planners, and clients. Read more >>

Challenge to new Section 2704 regulations is shaping up

The accounting, valuation, and legal professions are hard at work to defeat the Treasury Department's proposed Section 274 regulations. The new regs would curtail, if not entirely eliminate, valuation discounts in family-controlled entities. Read more >>

Act now to avert tough IRS crackdown on estate valuations

Well-crafted comments can change the course of the controversial proposed IRC Section 2704 regs designed to curb estate valuation discounts. There's a concern that, if these regs are finalized as proposed, the federal government will go after valuation discounts in other contexts. Comments are due by November 2, and there's a public hearing in Washington on December 1. Read more >>

Tax Court revaluation means big-time savings for taxpayer

In an estate tax dispute that has lasted for over five years, the Tax Court recently revalued the decedent’s minority interest in an Oregon family business by order of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The recalculation proved a boon to the taxpayer. Read more >>

Categories