Topic 1: Basis of Gifts
How do the rules work for
determining the basis of gifts? Let me tell you a story: Years ago, I had a
client who was very wealthy, with several million dollars of stock, all of
which had a very low basis. She was going to give $10,000 of stock to each of
her nephews and nieces. In each case the $10,000 of stock had a basis of only
about $200. She asked me “Will they have taxable income on the gift?”
I told her no, gifts are not taxable. The next April, she called me and yelled
at me. She said they had each sold the stock and had huge taxable gains. I told
her, “Of course, but that was not a gain on the “gift”, that was
a gain on the sale of the stock, which was another transaction.” She told
me “What did you think they were going to do with those stock shares,
wallpaper their bathrooms with them?” Anyway, although my advice was
technically correct, it was not very practical. I should have advised her about
the results of a subsequent sale.
Topic 2: MACRS vs.
Financial Depreciation Methods
How would you compare the
MACRS method for personal property to non-tax financial depreciation? Describe
the MACRS system for personal property in terms of both (1) Recovery Period and
(2) Depreciation method used. Why is MACRS less “realistic”? Also,
why does the tax law allow taxpayers to use this special method?
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