Many of our readers have asked me about the likely controversy that will ensue following the death of Prince. In fact, two readers feel, since I have been reporting about some of the controversy surrounding the Estate of Michael Jackson, that I must write about Prince’s estate and the expected controversy surrounding it. So, here we go!
Prince Rogers Nelson, known to his fans as “Prince,” passed away on April 21, 2016 in Carver County, Minnesota at his estate, Paisley Park. He was 57 years old. The media reports that he left no spouse or children, but he is survived by a sister and five half siblings. In addition, the initial accounts are that he died without a Last Will and Testament. What is likely to follow is best summed up by the title to Prince’s 1981 hit song “Controversy.”
Controversy involving the pop star’s estate could arise on many fronts. Potential instigators of controversy include the taxing authorities and persons claiming to be legal heirs of Prince.
In March 2014, I reported on the all-out battle that was ensuing in the U.S. Tax Court between the IRS and the Estate of Michael Jackson over the value of the late pop singer’s estate. It began in 2013, when the estate petitioned the court, alleging that the Service’s assessment, based upon the assertion that the estate underreported its estate tax obligation by more than $500 million, was incorrect. In addition, the estate challenged the IRS’s additional assessment of almost $200 million in penalties. Keep in mind that although these numbers are staggering, they do not include the estate’s potential state of California estate tax obligations.
President Obama’s 2016 budget proposal includes provisions which, in the aggregate, increase income tax revenues by approximately $650 billion over 10 years. At least three of the proposed tax increases will be of concern to a broad spectrum of taxpayers:
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Larry J. Brant
Editor
Larry J. Brant is a Shareholder and the Chair of the Tax & Benefits practice group at Foster Garvey, a law firm based out of the Pacific Northwest, with offices in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Washington, D.C.; New York, New York, Spokane, Washington; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mr. Brant is licensed to practice in Oregon and Washington. His practice focuses on tax, tax controversy and business transactions. Mr. Brant is a past Chair of the Oregon State Bar Taxation Section. He was the long-term Chair of the Oregon Tax Institute, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Portland Tax Forum. Mr. Brant has served as an adjunct professor, teaching corporate taxation, at Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College. He is a frequent lecturer at local, regional and national tax and business conferences for CPAs and attorneys. Mr. Brant is an Expert Contributor to Thomson Reuters Checkpoint Catalyst. He is a Fellow in the American College of Tax Counsel. Mr. Brant publishes articles on numerous income tax issues, including Taxation of S corporations, Taxation of C corporations, Reasonable Compensation, Circular 230, Worker Classification, IRC Section 1031 Exchanges, Choice of Entity, Entity Tax Classification, and State and Local Taxation. Since 2019, he has been a multiple-time honoree of the JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards for Tax, recognizing him as a Top Author for thought leadership and reader engagement on its platform. Mr. Brant was the 2015 Recipient of the Oregon State Bar Tax Section Award of Merit.
