Auctioning Bonds Homerun Ball?

Question

So Matt Murphy the 21 year old New Yorker announced today he is going to auction the 756th hr ball that Barry Bonds Hit. Will Matt still be getting taxed on the ball being auctioned and how will the taxes compare to what he could have received if he decided to keep the ball?

Judy if u read the articles online it states that he would have been taxed if he would have kept the ball. The whole reason he is selling it is because he CANT AFFORD to keep it.

Answer 1

If he sells it, then he will owe capital gains taxes on the sale. Not sure what your last sentence is asking, since if he had decided to keep the ball he wouldn't have received anything. Wouldn't have owed any taxes either.

Answer 2

If the gentleman keeps the ball then he has received income and must pay tax on the fair market value of the ball. If he keeps it then an appraisal is the only way to determine value for tax purposes. Since he's selling it soon after receipt the sales price will likely be accepted as the value for tax purposes as it is most accurate. If he kept the ball for some time prior to sale then he would have had potential for capital gain from the time of receipt to the time of sale but you're back to the valuation problem. The gentleman has received a very valuable item and it is certainly income. Since the sale is soon after receipt there should be no difference in the tax amount between keeping it and selling it.

Answer 3

Contrary to popular belief there is no asterisk in Cooperstown. When Maris hit his 61st, the public wanted an asterisk beside the feat because it was hit in a 162 game season rather than a 154 game season. The Hall identified the event as a 162 game season end of story. The asterisk was on the season not on the feat. Defacing the ball will not lessen the event or feat only identify that the public is more knowledgeable about their heroes than they have been in the past.