Isnt this ridiculous how taxed We have become...?

Question

Fan catches Bond's Homerun faces $200,000 dollar tax bill if he keeps it..

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-bonds-ball&prov=ap&type=lgns

Answer 1

yea i no right isnt that bizarre

Answer 2

Haven't you noticed? We've become The United States Of Russia. Since 9/11 and the arrival of that pathetic President of ours, we have lost a lot of our rights and freedoms. And now the overly greedy government (not to mention society in general) is going to tax an ordinary citizen $200,000 dollars for a dam baseball. I don't care if it's the homerun record ball, it's still a ball. I will always love this country, but the government can go to hell.

Answer 3

The tax lawyer interior the story is erroneous. The ball purely has fee after that fee has been customary. to envision a cost a cost could be set. the fee can't be set by an appraiser as there is no priority to artwork with(all different collectibles are no longer Germaine as none of them have been tainted with the steroid difficulty) After an public sale is held one among 2 issues will happen a million) the owner of the ball sells it at which element he will pay his taxes 2) the owner of the ball refuses the severe bid and keeps the ball at which element he could then be in charge to pay tax on that's fee. Your element is although valid. we are taxed too surprisingly.

Answer 4

Yeah, it's a joke.

I did like the part though, that said he could claim it as a loss if the value of the ball goes down from $600,000. Technically, the value of the ball goes down every time Barry hits another homerun. So he may have the world's largest loophole soon enough.

Answer 5

Anything worth value you receive is taxable by the government--even a $1 bill you find on the street. However, most people don't include this, nor would the IRS attack somebody for $1. The law specifically sates, "Anything that is NOT SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED by law is taxable income." Last I checked, there wasn't a law stating that historically significant baseballs caught and then sold are excluded.

Besides, the IRS hasn't actually said anything, people are just speculating.

EDIT: By the way I just read the article on this, and I see the argument for including it in his taxable income before he sells it, though I don't necessarily agree with it. Capital gains tax would only apply if he held the ball over 1 year--anything shorter than that is short-term capital gain, which is taxed at ordinary income rates.

Answer 6

I think he needs a good tax attorney. I would argue that he received the ball and did not pay anything so the present value of the ball is actually $0. The only way that he ever pays anything in taxes is if he sells it and then he would have to pay capital gains tax. I think this is a case he could win.

Answer 7

I got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale too buddy. Do you really believe anything a lawyer says? It's complete BS, he only owes if he sells it, this wasn't a gameshow prize. If he had gambled and won the money he'd be taxed, but if you find $1000 bill on the street it doesn't count as income.

Answer 8

It is stupid but since most Americans just let the Government do whatever it wants now without protesting or fighting back this will continue.

Answer 9

I think thats just dumb. Why don't we all start taxing people who catch a homerun ball... or even a fouled ball eh?

Haha, don't believe in everything you read. That is just a lie.

Answer 10

If you want goods and services, they cost money. Trying to run a government without it doesn't work, unless of course you think municipal workers are going to pick up the garbage and keep the lights on for free. We have high taxes in part because we have a high standard of living. You don't want taxes, then go live in a cave.