Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Celebrity Tax Lore
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Will The Destruction Of Hunter Biden’s Artwork In The L.A. Fires Generate A Casualty Loss Tax Windfall?
Jonathan Turley (George Washington; Google Scholar), For Sale: Could the Burning of “Millions” in Hunter's Art a Windfall?: There is an interesting New York Post report that roughly 200 of Hunter Biden’s art pieces were destroyed in the Los Angeles wildfires. The value of the art stored near the home of Hunter’s patron and lawyer, Kevin Morris, is being claimed…
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Chicago Bears Block #1 Draft Pick Caleb Williams’ Tax Savings Strategies In His Contract
SB Nation, Caleb Williams Asked Bears to Pay Him as an LLC: Caleb Williams has finally signed his rookie contract with the Chicago Bears. What took so long? Williams’ representatives were reportedly making some unprecedented requests for his contract before he put his name on the dotted line. Williams was still participating in rookie and…
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State Taxes Drive Away Star Athletes And Undermine Local Teams
Dan Mitchell, Greedy Politicians Drive Away Star Athletes and Undermine Local Teams: The fundamental insight of supply-side economics is that people respond to incentives. So if the government imposes a high tax rate on income, people will try to avoid or evade the money grab. Especially if they have any ability to control the timing, level, and composition…
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ProPublica: Sports Team Owners Face New Tax Scrutiny From The IRS
ProPublica, Sports Team Owners Face New Scrutiny From IRS Over Tax Avoidance: The IRS has launched a campaign to examine whether wealthy taxpayers are violating the law when using their ownership of sports teams to save large amounts in taxes. The effort will focus on sports industry entities that are reporting “significant tax losses” to…
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California Legislation Would Ask Congress To Close Shohei Ohtani Tax Loophole
Following up on my previous posts (links below): The Athletic, California Lawmaker Seeks to Close Shohei Ohtani Tax Loophole: ‘It’s a Massive Hidden Ball Trick’ Shohei Ohtani will avoid paying an estimated $90 million in California state income taxes as a result of deferring nearly all of his record-setting $700 million contract with the Los…
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Empire Star Terrence Howard, Hit With $1m Judgment For Back Taxes, Says It Is Immoral To Tax Descendants Of Slaves
Steven Chung (Tax Attorney, Los Angeles), Actor Terrence Howard Hit With A Judgment For More Than $900,000 In Back Taxes While Claiming It Is Immoral To Tax Descendants Of Slaves: On February 22, 2024, actor Terrence Howard was issued a default judgment making him liable for federal back taxes. Howard, who received an Oscar nomination…
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Taylor, Travis, And Taxes: Addressing The Environmental Cost Of Private Jet Travel
Washington Post, Why the Idea of Taylor Swift’s Super Bowl Jet Trip Is Sparking Controversy: Flying on a private jet is one of the most carbon-polluting ways to travel. Legal scholars and lawmakers are calling for taxes to address the environmental cost. Few celebrities have had their jet travel come under as intense scrutiny in…
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State Controller Asks Congress To Change Law To Block Shohei Ohtani’s Avoidance Of $100 Million California Tax By Deferring $680 Million Of His Dodgers Salary For 10 Years
Following up on my previous post, Shohei Ohtani’s Contract Could Save Him $100 Million In Taxes — And Start A Silicon Valley Tax Planning Trend: Robert W. Wood (Forbes), California Seeks Tax Law Change For Ohtani $700 Million Baseball Contract: Baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s record-breaking $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers is in…
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Shohei Ohtani’s Contract Could Save Him $100 Million In Taxes — And Start A Silicon Valley Tax Planning Trend
The Athletic, How Shohei Ohtani’s Contract Could Save Him $100 Million in Taxes — And Start a Silicon Valley Trend: Shohei Ohtani copycats might start popping up soon — and not only in baseball, where young players might try to pursue lucrative careers as both a hitter and a pitcher. Instead, his deal is resonating…
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Jeff Bezos Will Save Billions In Taxes By Moving To Miami
The Messenger, Jeff Bezos Will Save Billions on His Tax Bills by Moving to Miami: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is escaping more than Seattle’s gloomy weather with his cross-country move to sunny Miami. The world’s third-richest person, worth roughly $161 billion according to Forbes, will also ditch Washington State’s hefty taxes, likely saving him billions of dollars…
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The Trump Indictment, Tax Law, And Conway Twitty
New York Times, A Surprise Accusation Bolsters a Risky Case Against Trump: The unsealed indictment against former President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday laid out an unexpected accusation that bolstered what many legal experts have described as an otherwise risky and novel case: Prosecutors claim he falsified business records in part for a plan to deceive…
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DePaul Law Review Symposium Call for Papers: Succession
The DePaul Law Review has issued a call for papers for its Spring 2024 symposium: The DePaul Law Review will devote the third issue of its 73rd volume (slated for publication in Spring 2024) to a Symposium addressing the Emmy-winning scripted drama Succession from a legal and pedagogical point of view. The aim of this special issue is…
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Tobin: MTV The Challenge – Did Tori And Devin Just ‘Win’ A Huge Tax Problem?
TaxProf Blog op-ed: MTV The Challenge – Did Tori and Devin Just “Win” a Huge Tax Problem?, by Donald Tobin (Maryland; Google Scholar): Spoiler Alert: if you haven’t finished watching the season, don’t read this. There is almost nothing better in life than watching trash TV with one’s daughter. As a tax professor and former…
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President Biden And Vice President Harris Release Their 2022 Tax Returns
President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris released their tax returns yesterday. President Biden's 2021 tax return Vice President Harris's 2021 tax return White House Press Release Blomberg, Bidens Report $610,702 in Income Last Year, Trim Charity Giving CNN, President Biden and Vice President Harris Release Their 2021 Tax Returns New York Post, Joe and…
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Tax Consequences of Superman’s Diamonds
Tax Consquences of Superman's Diamonds (Part 1, Part 2): [I]f Superman crushes carbon and makes diamonds, is that taxable income? … There are two questions here. First, are the diamonds taxable income for Superman (or Clark Kent) and second, are they taxable income for a recipient such as Lois Lane? The answer to the first…
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John Paulson May Join Exodus to Puerto Rico for 0% Capital Gains Tax Rate
Bloomberg: Paulson Said to Explore Puerto Rico as Home With Low Tax: John Paulson, a lifelong New Yorker, is exploring a move to Puerto Rico, where a new law would eliminate taxes on gains from the $9.5 billion he has invested in his own hedge funds, according to four people who have spoken to him…
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Tax Bite Leaves Joe Flacco Only the Second Highest Paid NFL Player
Americans for Tax Reform: Tax Bite Leaves Flacco Second Best Paid in NFL: As reported this week, Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens have agreed to a six-year, $120.6 million contract making the star quarterback the highest-paid player in NFL history, earning an estimated $20.1 million per year. But being the “highest…
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Estate Planning Lessons From ‘Downton Abbey’
Wall Street Journal: Money Lessons From 'Downton Abbey': If you need your wife's dowry to prop up your sprawling manse and a small army of domestic staff, don't bet it all on a railroad thousands of miles away. That is one of the lessons gleaned from the television show Downton Abbey, the British drama set…
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Reynolds: The Hollywood Tax Story They Won’t Tell at the Oscars
Wall Street Journal op-ed; The Hollywood Tax Story They Won't Tell at the Oscars, by Glenn Harlan Reynolds (Tennessee): It's easy to demand higher levies on the 'rich' when your own industry gets $1.5 billion in government handouts. At the Democratic National Convention last year, actress Eva Longoria called for higher taxes on America's rich.…
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Manny Pacquiao KO’d by 39.6% Tax Rate, Refuses to Fight in U.S.
Yahoo! Sports: Manny Pacquiao Prefers to Fight Juan Manuel Marquez in China Because of High U.S. Taxes: Manny Pacquiao's chief adviser insisted Monday that the Filipino superstar's preference is for his next bout – a fifth fight against Juan Manuel Marquez – to take place away from Las Vegas, with the off-shore Chinese gambling resort…
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Google Plans Tax Litigation Against IRS
Bloomberg: Google Plans Litigation Against U.S. Tax Authorities: Google, which is being probed by several tax agencies around the world, is planning litigation against the IRS over the company’s 2003 or 2004 tax bill, according to a company filing. The company disclosed the potential lawsuit in its annual 10-K report with the SEC filed Jan.…
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New Dilbert Character: Stanky Bathturd, IRS Agent
Dilbert Blog: You Be the Editor, by Scott Adams: I’m working on some Dilbert strips that will be published in early April. The series will feature a new character that works for the government and looks like a monster. His job is to make the tax code more complicated for no reason, with Dogbert’s help…
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‘You’d Be a Fool Not to Leave California’
Fox News: For Millionaire Athletes, States With Highest Tax Rates May Not Make the Cut: Is Lefty’s stance on California’s tax hikes a sign of things to come for millionaire athletes? The Golden State’s new 13.3% income tax on top earners prompted golfer Phil Mickelson to say earlier this month he was considering a move,…
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Bank: Kaka, Beckham, and Taxes
Steven Bank (UCLA), Kaka, Beckham, and Taxes: With the transfer window winding down, Kaka, a favored target of both the New York Red Bulls and the Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS, as well as AC Milan in Serie A, appears to be staying put. At the same time, David Beckham, formerly of the Galaxy, has…
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Phil Mickelson and the Sports Star Tax Migration to Florida and Texas
Following up on my prior posts (links below): Wall Street Journel op-ed, Mickelson and the Sports Star Tax Migration, by Allysia Finley: If Lefty moves to a state with no income tax like Florida, he’ll find he has plenty of elite athlete company. … The benefit of living in a state without an income tax can…