Tax Experts -"Mat Murphy's" Baseball Catch - It's I.R.A. "Catch" ?

Question

Tax Lawyer, John Berrie says "Once he took possession of
the ball, and It was his ball, It it was income to him based on
it's value as of yesterday. $600,000 with $210,000 in taxes
say experts. Tax experts. Please advise Mat Murphy on ($_$)

Answer 1

I rather strongly disagree with Mr Berrie's comments. He seems to be sensationalizing the issue for free publicity, IMHO.

The IRS has stayed mum on the issue.

Since it will be impossible to place a reasonable value on it at present -- over and above the price Mr Murphy paid for his ticket anyway -- the IRS will simply wait and watch for a sale. At that time the value would be easy to determine AND Mr Murphy would have the funds to pay any tax due.

Several issues interfere with determining it's fair market value today. First off, it's an extremely unusual occurrence. There is no comparative basis to base any value determination upon. Secondly is the fact that it will not longer be the "record" ball as soon as Mr Bonds hits another home run. Thirdly, the cloud that hangs over Mr Bonds due to the "juicing" allegations could result in his being stripped of the title. That would relegate it to a curio of nominal value. Forthly, even if Mr Bonds isn't stripped of his title, the intrinsic value of any record balls is certainly dampened by the allegations of his use of performance enhancing drugs.

Answer 2

Here is my advice, go sell the thing. Pay the IRS what they are owed, then save up the rest. This is still good news for the guy - almost like hitting the lottery (even after teh IRS has been paid).