IRS BELIEVES MICHAEL JACKSON’S ESTATE OWES MILLIONS IN TAXES

Florida fans of Michael Jackson may be interested to hear about a recent change in the valuation of his estate. The Internal Revenue Service now says that is owed an additional $29 million in estate taxes. According to the IRS, it believed that he only had a 50 percent interest in his master recordings. However, he actually owned 100 percent of the interest in the recordings when he died in 2009. All told, the estate has paid or has been asked to pay a total of $731 million.

There is one other area where Mr. Jackson’s estate and the IRS differed about how much he was worth. The IRS valued his name and likeness at $434 million while the estate valued his name and likeness at $2,105, which was reportedly not a mistake. The difference is attributed to what he was worth at the time of his death compared to what he is worth now.

When he died, it had been several years since Jackson had a large tour or new album. However, his estate has since reportedly made a profit of $700 million. Those who are familiar with high-profile estate valuations believe that the two sides will settle for an amount somewhere in the middle of those two numbers. It is also believed that a settlement will come without the need to go to court.

Coming to an estate valuation may be tricky when intangible property such as a name or likeness is involved. IN the case of a decedent who left behind a large amount of assets, it may be worthwhile to hire an estate tax planning attorney who may be able to work with federal and state tax agencies to lower the amount that has to be paid.

Luis E. Barreto