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Fan who caught Jeter ball could owe big taxes
Next time, just throw it back.
Accountants say the man who caught the home run ball that Derek Jeter smashed for his 3,000th hit Saturday will have to pay as much as $14,000 in taxes, New York media report.
Christian Lopez, 23, caught the ball and promptly handed it over to the Yankees without demanding any kind of payment, the Daily News reported. The Yankees rewarded him with suite seats for the rest of the season, plus a heap of autographed team memorabilia.
That's what could cost Lopez. According to The New York Times, the total value of the seats and loot could exceed $120,000. The IRS would consider that to be taxable income, several accountants told both newspapers.
However, if it were construed as a gift, it would not be taxable, Columbia University law professor Michael J. Graetz told the Times.
"The legal question of whether it is a gift or prize is whether the transferor is giving the property out of detached and disinterested generosity," Graetz said. "It's hard for me, not being a Yankee fan, to think of the Yankees as being in the business of exercising generosity to others, but there's a reasonable case to be made that these were given out of generosity."
For his part, Lopez is being just as magnanimous with the IRS as he was with Jeter.
"Worse comes to worse, I'll have to pay the taxes," he told the Daily News. "... The IRS has a job to do, so I'm not going to hold it against them, but it would be cool if they helped me out a little on this."
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Non-story created by two accountants that want to get famous (and did NOT catch the ball) and CNN. It will all work out the way it is suppose to.
Yes it will work out with the government screwing its citizens!
I don't think it can be taxed until he receives money for the items. Because the value of the items can not be reliably determined until sold then I doubt the IRS can claim it as income. Plus, despite popular opinion the IRS is actually pretty fair and I doubt they would pursue the matter until he recieves income from any sale.
The value of a Suite cannot be determined? They sell them on the open market, and autographed baseballs, bats, pictures, etc also sell on the open market and can easily be determined. Since he now has these items in his possession, they are "earned" income. The items ARE the money he received. So on the surface it is pretty clear he received compensation for the baseball. I agree the IRS can also be human, and my guess is they will classify the items received as a gift and not tax him. It could go the other way easily, and they can easily determine the value of the items he received for the baseball to determine the amount of tax to levy.
I've been taxed for non-monetary items I received at work (i.e. a set of golf clubs, vacations, etc.) Its very common and easy to be taxed on such items of value.
He gave them the ball as a gift. He asked for nothing in return.
They then gave him all that stuff without any obligation on his part. Therefore that too is a gift. There was no bartar, no exchange of currency or conditions. Further, there was no work, and therefore no earnings. Lastly, there was no investment.
thank you...you just cleared up the whole thing for me...gift.
However, there are also federal taxes on gifts made in excess of the annual exemption amount.
Too bad the courts don't agree with you. Why don't you let the tax attorneys and accountants handle this one. Your "opinion" about how the law should work is far from how the law actually works.
Actually, it will be taxable. However, so wouldn't the 'found' ball, if he had kept it. Depending upon its value, it may have been more taxable than what he did receive.
so sick of the irs how can we vote them out?
Ron Paul
The IRS hasn't done a darned thing to the guy!!!
go figure , ever wonder why the us economy is so ##@%%^ up
Uh, that is NOT the reason. Guess you weren't paying attention to the bushies.
He gives a guy who is worth over 100 million a $500k gift then ends up owing $14k in taxes? What an idiot.
Clearly proof that no good deed goes unpunished.
It was a baseball with $10.00. Sounds like the yankees overpaid again.
Give it all back, why would you want their autographs anyway ?
What a double idiot! First trying to be nice cool pal givin back what he can sell for a lot on e bay and pay tax !! Now the best NYY can reward him is go to his house and give him a baseball, I mean how stupid he is going to feel next season when he pays to get in! Errrrrrrrrrogant stuuuuuupido
I don't see how there is even a question as to how this should be looked at, IT'S A GIFT! He was a nice guy knowing that the ball would be important to Jeter and so he gave it to him. Jeter being a nice guy gave him a thank you gift. In no way was he only giving up the ball in order to receive some payment for it in exchange and the Yankees were not bribing him. If they think this was a payoff, everything anyone ever gets autographed from now on will have to be immediately taxed as a monetary gain.
Gifts in excess of the federal exemption amount are also subject to federal taxes. However, it is the giver and not the recipient who pays the tax.
Only in the U.S no other country in the world does this .
The only reason I could see them taxing this is if he went and sold all the stuff and collected the money, its not like he went out and paid 200gs for it all. But if he went and sold it all online, or in auction, and they made him pay taxes on what he made from that, I would find it acceptable
In some countries, certain types of gifts above a certain monetary amount are subject to taxation. For the United States . . . . Wikipedia
Leave him alone CNN, always some idiot wanting to stir the pot. CNN gives them a forum.
Leave it to the U.S to tax a gift . . . . so glad don't live there when we give gifts they are free and have no strings attached what's next the IRS will want to tax babies and children on birthdays and holidays when they get presents and gifts guess we know how the government officials receive there $500,000 quarterly pay checks put tax on gifts that people receive. . . . . From Wikipedia " In some countries, certain types of gifts above a certain monetary amount are subject to taxation. For the United States " , Wow Wikipedia says the only country in the world that does this is the U.S Another reason not to live or visit America.
If he can prove a fair market value for the ball in excess of the $120K in "gifts" he received, then he sold the ball at a loss – go ahead, put it on your taxes and get a break for the loss!