Fan Who Caught Jeter's 3,000th Hit May Owe IRS Thousands

[Springer9]

Source: NBCNY

The tax man may be on the hunt for the super fan who caught Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit.

Christian Lopez, 23, recovered the prized ball his father fumbled after The Captain hammered it into their section of the stands in the third inning of the Yankees' win over Tampa Bay on Saturday.

The Verizon salesman from Highland Mills, N.Y., gave the ball back to Jeter, whom he called an "icon," and the Yankees lavished a slew of prizes, including luxury box seats for every remaining home game this season and post-season and some signed memorabilia.

Now the IRS wants a piece. The prizes Lopez received are estimated to be worth more than $32,000 -- and, like game show contestants, Lopez may have to pay taxes on the gifts and prizes because the IRS considers them income.

Read more: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Fan-Who-Caught-Jeters-3000th-Hit-May-Owe-IRS-Thousands-125406723.html

---

Ha, take that you fat cat tax dodging tax cheating big shot. The IRS is right on the case. Don't mess with the government of the United States of America.

TAX THE RICH!!

EAT THE RICH!!

[onehandle]

1. Get Michele Bachmann (former tax collector) on his ass. nt

[tridim]

2. Lesson learned I guess. Keep the ball.

Jeter should help him pay his taxes, but of course that isn't legal.

[Tesha]

9. Of course it would be legal.

Jester can simply make a gift to the guy (including enough
money to pay any taxes the gift itself might incur),

Tesha

[KamaAina]

15. "Jester"!

:rofl:

Even if I didn't already know, I'd say you were from New England!!

[Tesha]

31. That was the iPhone "fixing things" for me but, you know, it probably got it right! ;-) (NT)

[hfojvt]

23. the taxes are only $5,000 - $7,500 depending on what bracket

the catcher is in. So a gift of $10,000 should about cover it.

[Angleae]

45. Keeping the ball wouldn't change anything.

The IRS could appraise the ball for it's potential auction value and tax that.

[former9thward]

47. No they couldn't. It is not income and it was not a gift.

[Angleae]

49. But it can be considered a gift.

From irs.gov: "The gift tax is a tax on the transfer of property by one individual to another while receiving nothing, or less than full value, in return. The tax applies whether the donor intends the transfer to be a gift or not."

The baseball in question, at the beginning of the game, is the property of either the New York Yankees or Major League Baseball. If he had went home with the baseball, it would have been "transfered from one individual to another."

[yellowcanine]

52. It is similar to finding a bag of money - or stealing a bag of money. It is taxable income.

Income is income, regardless of the source. The only break one gets is if it is not wages, one doesn't have to pay SS & Medicare tax on it.

[former9thward]

56. The gift tax is paid by the donor.

So in your theory either Jeeter or the Yankees would have to pay a tax for hitting a home run. Please cite precedent where that theory has ever been applied by the IRS. There have been plenty of famous home runs.

[Javaman]

3. More and more, I am of the belief that it would be best to just incorporate myself. nt

[Systematic Chaos]

4. Dude has box seats to ballgames and is going to get taxed for more than they're worth?

Maybe not more than they cost but definitely more than they're worth.

A Verizon salesman??

:grr:

[joeglow3]

17. Taxed for their worth

Something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Contrary to your thoughts, the world does not revolved around your views of worth.

[awoke_in_2003]

19. sel-delete. nt

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[trud]

5. anyone who objects to this

probably wants to be pals with Richard Hatch, the Survivor winner who's in jail for not paying taxes on his winnings.

[Fuddnik]

6. The Verizon salesman will pay more taxes than Verizon Inc.

Wait. He already has in withholding this year.

[Kurmudgeon]

7. Seeing that he never decided to keep it, kind of hard to say it was his.

Just a loose ball in the stands otherwise.

[Tesha]

8. He isn't being asked to pay taxes on the ball.

He's being asked to pay taxes on his winnings.

(As he should.)

Tesha

[VeryConfused]

10. Why are you trying to ruin a perfectly good rant with facts?

[DainBramaged]

11. It never fails........

[DainBramaged]

12. Why shouldn't he avoid taxes like the rich, heh heh heh?

:hug:

[Pithlet]

34. THey aren't winnings. He didn't win a prize.

I'm not saying I think he shouldn't pay any taxes. I don't know. I'm not a tax expert. But he didn't win a contest.

[Enrique]

13. bullshit story

it makes it sound like the IRS has taken some action. The IRS is on the case, the IRS wants a cut, etc.

This story is just reporters interviewing tax experts about this guys tax liability. The IRS hasnt done anything.

[Brickbat]

14. Were those prizes advertised as "prizes"? Did the team announce that whoever caught the 3,000th HR

would get all that? Or were they gifts?

[joeglow3]

18. He is being taxed on his gain

He owns an asset (the ball) with a tax basis of zero (what he paid for it). He then exchanged (same as selling) the ball for items with a significant value. Thus, his gain is his proceeds less his tax basis of zero.

Thus, he owes taxes under our Code.

[Better Believe It]

25. He doesn't owe the IRS any taxes until he actually sells them!

How can the IRS claim he owes tax money on items that have no retail value until they are actually sold?

Does the IRS have a crystal ball that tells them how much money the items will be bought for at auction (minus auction fees) or via e-bay?

[joeglow3]

26. Sure he did

As I explained here, the step-transaction doctrine was codified as part of the health care bill. He CLEARLY owes the IRS as he CLEARLY received something of value in exchange for the baseball.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1472702&mesg_id=1473266

[killbotfactory]

61. He gave the ball back for nothing.

He was subsequently rewarded for it, but neither party had any idea that he would receive anything of value for it at the time of transaction.

It would be like giving a boy-scout a gift after you watched him help an old woman across the street, and then taxing the shit out of him for it.

[Chiyo-chichi]

20. Sort of what I was thinking.

They weren't winnings.
Couldn't a tax lawyer argue that the box seats and memorabilia were gifts -- in which case the Yankees would be liable for gift taxes on value over a certain amount?

[joeglow3]

21. Step-transactions were codified in the health care bill

One of the revenue raisers in the health care bill was the codification of the step-transaction doctrine. Essentially, they could claim they gave him a gift, but the facts would clearly show that he received those "gifts" as a result of his "gift" of the baseball. Thus, once the two transactions (gifts) are combined, it is clearly a sale of an asset and taxes are owed.

[happyslug]

42. Gifts are taxable, in this case as income tax

Now, if this was a true "Gift" then the giver has to pay the "Gift Tax" on what is being given. Since I doubt the team is planning to do that, this is income not a gift.

More on the "Gift Tax":
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=108139,00.html

Please note the IRS considers a "Gift" something you received without giving anything for it. Thus the various items are NOT "Gifts" for he gave up the ball in exchange for the "Gifts". Thus it is income.

[kick-ass-bob]

16. All that for seats the Yankees couldn't sell anyways.

They should be valued at $0, since they have been empty.

[Johonny]

22. I thought when the guy caught the Bonds home run

that the IRS said they wouldn't tax the person. There was all kinds of speculation that he might owe hundreds of thousands for catching it but the IRS declined to investigate or speculated on the value. This is slightly different because the Yankee's gave this guy more tangible valued things for the ball like box seats. So not sure.

[tammywammy]

28. But once the guy that caught the Bond ball sold or exchanged it

He received value and would then have to pay taxes. Not paying taxes for just catching it, but once the value it "realized."

[Johonny]

35. I thought what happen

was he caught it and gave it back to Bonds. People said since the ball had an estimated value of say 1 million he would have to pay taxes on the money if it was realized or not. The IRS said it would not tax the guy based on estimated value of the ball or estimated value of the crap they traded him for it. Although in theory if he ever sold it he would have to pay taxes. The Yankee case is different because besides bats and signed crap they gave him tickets that have real market value. I just remember after all the media tax hype just like now, the evil IRS said it didn't care and wouldn't penalize the guy for just catching the ball.

[tammywammy]

38. You could be right about the ball going back to Bonds

I don't really pay that much attention to baseball in general. :)

[Better Believe It]

24. We won't know the true value of these items until they are actually sold.

Any IRS figures on their value are just guesses.

He should not be taxed one red penny until he actually sells them.

[joeglow3]

27. HAHAHA!

And I bet you would support that view everytime a corporation exchanges a non-cash asset for an unrelated non-cash asset. And, how do you value an asset that has a limited useful life or is services (i.e. cash will never be received)? Sorry, but your logic is COMPLETELY impossible to carry out in the real world. He has every right to contest the value they assigned to the items received in exchange, but to allow deferral until cash enters the equation is, quite frankly, a stupid and impossible tax policy.

[Dash87]

29. Didn't this story turn out to be fake?

[happyslug]

44. This is a piece of Sarcasm, reading it that quickly become clear

No IRS agent would give an interview on such a topic, they just send a notice to the person who caught the ball with notice to pay the taxes on items he received. We generally get these stories from the Taxpayer or his attorney NOT the IRS.

Furthermore no IRS agent would give an interview wearing anything but a Suit and tie (Or a similar "informal" wear for women, "Informal wear" means suit and tie). The Red Sox shirt and the Mets hats were clear evidence this was Sarcasm not a real piece of news, but what is being discussed is the LAW, if you find money, it is income to you and you own Income taxes on it. If you find something of value, it is still income if the value is easily determined (The various raffles held throughout the year, if you win it is income for income Tax purposes, if you win a car, the value of the Car is income for Income Tax purposes, thus many people who win a car, tend to sell the car so to determine its value for Income tax purposes, if the Car is not sold, the IRS will take its list value).

Yes, this is NOT real news, but it is an interesting subject.

[masonjason22]

30. Accept

He didn't have to accept the yankees gifts

[Renew Deal]

32. Didn't this "tax" thing start as an internet joke?

I'm not sure how serious this article is.

[dembotoz]

33. do not care--guy is a yankee fan

[Marrah_G]

58. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SoCalDem]

36. Even IF he paid 25% tax on it, he could sell a few of them & make the $8K

and probably cover the tax on that $8k as well:)

When things like this happen (and they rarely do), BOTH sides just need to hush up and quietly accept the "goodwill gesture", but in our publicity-crazed society, no one can seem to do that..

Technically every time someone finds a dog, returns it and accepts a reward, they "owe" taxes on that "income"..

[KurtNYC]

37. All of us "may owe the IRS thousands" - that's meaningless

Millions in tax dollars went into building new baseball stadiums over the last ten years. I don't think MLB should be a tax dodge.

[Little Star]

39. This is not right!

[spanone]

40. nothings for free

[Initech]

41. Tax the rich already!!!

[Motown_Johnny]

43. ya donate it to a charity and take the deduction....

Doh!

[flvegan]

46. This Red Sox Nation member says, even if that's the case

Jeter is a class act. I bet he takes care of it.

[Cereal Kyller]

48. K&R

cuz that ain't right.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

50. I just spoke to my tax professional... it was an exchange and the guy has to pay taxes on the value

of what he received.

[krispos42]

53. I would have sold Jeter the ball and used the money to buy a house to live in

Which would make it tax-exempt, yes?

"Derek, it costs two days of the average working man's paycheck to bring his family to a Yankees game and have a good time,what with the ticket prices, parking, beer, hot-dogs, and souvenirs. So let's say you give me two days of your pay, and we'll call it even".

I might be able to buy a small house in my son's current school district. Maybe.

[rucky]

54. nevermind

[SnakeEyes]

55. My accountant says

while this story is manufactured in a sense that someone wants to paints to the IRS and our tax system as bad, the guy does owe taxes on his gain.

[tjwash]

57. Hey it's Ron Paul...

...spamming message boards again now that you decided to make another run?

[Blue_Tires]

59. If it were true, the Yankees accountants could easily set it up

as a tax-free gift or something...

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

60. So, whenever I give somebody with no money an object that has value, he's screwed?

What the hell?

[Islandlife]

62. Very sensational story

Let's not get all bent out of shape about what "may" happen. Let's first confirm the tax liability with the IRS then wait and see if the Yankee org fixes it.

[Fearless]

63. The taxes are being paid by companies. Modells being one of them.

[girl_interrupted]

64. Great News for Jeter Fan!

"Marketers Converge on Fan Who Caught, Returned Jeter's 3,000th Hit"

Beermaker. Miller High Life, which calls itself a "common sense" beer, offered to pay the estimated $14,000 tax bill for memorabilia and tickets that Lopez got as thanks from Jeter and the Yankees. "Miller High Life believes you should be rewarded for doing the right thing, not punished," says Brendan Noonan, brand manager. The company also offered to throw a beer party for Lopez and "legal drinking age friends." No decision, yet, from Lopez.

Retailer. Modell's Sporting Goods has dubbed this "Christian Lopez Week" at Modell's, and will donate 5% of Yankee merchandise sales to Lopez. Minimum guarantee: $25,000. "We don't want anyone to think it's a publicity stunt," says Mitchell Modell, CEO of the chain known for aiding local causes. "We just want to celebrate this guy who has Yankee blood in his veins."

Sports marketer. Steiner Sports Marketing, with ties to the Yankees and Jeter, is auctioning sports memorabilia on its site, with profits going to Lopez. Minimum guarantee: $25,000. "This guy's been good," says CEO Brandon Steiner. "I wanted to do something good for him."

PR firm. JCPR, which specializes in financial public relations, is giving Lopez free PR advice. Owner Jennifer Connelly says a friend of Lopez's mother approached her when the family was overwhelmed with requests. "Who knows where this will take us?" she says. "We're a pay-it-forward kind of firm." http://athleticbusiness.com/articles/lexisnexis.aspx?lnarticleid=1456487516&lntopicid=136030023

"Fan who gave away Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit baseball gets tax help and Yankees ring bling"

Modell's Sporting Goods and Steiner Sports Memorabilia vowed to pitch in for the 23-year-old Verizon customer rep after learning he has $150,000 in student loans and faces up to $15,000 in taxes for the historic haul.
"He was all about, 'My job is to support the Yankees,'" Modell's President Mitchell Modell said. "But someone's got to think about Christian."
Modell even tossed in some bling - giving Lopez his Yankees-issued 2009 World Series ring, valued at $40,000. Lopez popped onto the tax man's radar by scoring four luxury seats for every home game and a stash of Jeter-signed memorabilia as a Yanks' thank-you for giving the ball back - a $70,000 bounty the IRS could tax at market value. Lopez says the hullabaloo surrounding him since catching Jeter's home run Saturday has been "overwhelming," but he has no regrets about handing the ball to the Captain.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/07/14/2011-07-14_pitchin_in_to_aid_yank_fan.html

"Christian Lopez, Fan Who Returned Derek Jeter's 3000th Hit, Getting Own Baseball Card"

NEW YORK -- The fan who returned Derek Jeter's ball from his 3,000th hit will get a bit of memorabilia to keep – his own baseball card. Topps says it will produce a trading card featuring Christian Lopez that will be included in sets later this year.

The recent college graduate with outstanding student loans will get some financial help, too.Memorabilia dealer Brandon Steiner and sporting goods CEO Mitch Modell said they will make sure Lopez gets at least $50,000 toward his outstanding student loans of $150,000.Steiner set up an auction of memorabilia that eventually will include baseballs signed by both Lopez and Jeter.
"That itself is a totally awesome situation right now for all parties involved," Lopez said. What impressed the sports executives – as well as countless fans across the country – was the way a 23-year-old mobile phone salesman passed on the chance to sell the ball.

Instead, Lopez gave the ball to Jeter, saying he deserved to have the keepsake. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/christian-lopez-baseball-card_n_897692.html

I think it was really nice of Lopez and it's nice to see a lot of people feel the same way too.