Troll
08-19-2006, 10:43pm
Uncle Sam Bags Oscar Swag
by Gina Serpe
Aug 17, 2006, 9:35 AM PT
The IRS just upped the ante for Hollywood swag whores--er, award show attendees.
Just three days after the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences issued a not so gentle reminder to celebrities that their forthcoming Emmy gift baskets would be considered taxable income, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has brokered a similar deal with the IRS.
Meaning come next March, their Oscar vote isn't the only thing stars are going to have to declare.
The Motion Picture Academy announced today that it, too, has heeded the feds' warning and will require the swag-stuffed gift bags handed out to presenters at the Academy Awards, as well as the high-end freebies passed out in gifting suites in the days leading up to the ceremony, to be declared come tax day.
However, unlike their small-screen governing counterpart, the Motion Picture Academy does not intend to burden Hollywood's elite with years of retroactive tax payments on long-outdated baubles--which would only add insult to injury. Instead, it has struck a deal with the IRS to settle the outstanding tax on gifts doled out prior to 2005.
"Since we didn't want any of our presenters to get hit retroactively for a gift we had given them, we asked the IRS if there was a way for us to take on the tax obligations. They were very happy to work with us," said Sid Ganis, the newly reelected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
The well-pampered stars will be responsible for forking over the 50 percent gift tax on items received at the 2006 ceremony only. It was reported earlier this year that the IRS stood to collect almost $1.2 million from Oscar bags alone.
Which might mean that Los Angeles charities should ready themselves for an influx in donated skiing vacations, La-Z-Boy recliners and Dooney & Bourke luggage: Should the celebs regift the sizeable booty, they'd be eligible for a tax deduction.
"We appreciate the Academy's leadership on this issue," IRS commissioner Mark W. Everson said. "The gift basket industry has exploded, and it's important that the groups running these events keep in mind the tax consequences."
Ganis said he was sure his fellow thespians would be only too happy to comply. Well, they'll comply, anyway.
"We are happy to have reached an agreement with the IRS which works to the benefit of the gift basket recipients and the Academy," he said.
The bequeathed Oscar presenters won't have to pony up too much, however. While their TV compadres are showing no signs of curbing their over-the-top gifting practices, the Motion Picture Academy's Board of Governors has voted to discontinue the practice of handing out gift baskets as a thank-you to presenters.
The vote came last April, a few months after the Academy had expressed their gratitude to on-camera stars by handing over boxes of chocolates, Tahitian pearls and $100,000 Hawaiian resort vacations for roughly 30 seconds of awkwardly read banter.
The thank-yous seemed de rigueur for the recipients, but as word of supersize hauls spread, the IRS commissioner issued a statement reminding the Hollywood community that "movie stars face the same tax obligations as ordinary Americans" and that "six-figure goodie bags...qualify as taxable income and must be reported on tax returns."
"The basic message was clear: the contents of the baskets, however much we may have been inclined to view them as mannerly thank-yous, in fact constitute taxable income," Ganis said.
It's a lesson the Television Academy reminded its patrons of last week.
Stars scheduled to present statuettes at the Emmy Awards Aug. 27 received a letter from the TV Academy asking for their compliance with federal, state and local tax guidelines on their estimated $33,000 gift bags, along with a waiver to sign acknowledging they received the warning letter--the TV Academy's way of safeguarding itself against the wrath of Uncle Sam should any celebs fail to declare the full scope of their haul.
A word of warning to would-be tax evaders: Just look where it got Richard Hatch.
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,19785,00.html?fdnews
I am glade they are getting involved in this.
by Gina Serpe
Aug 17, 2006, 9:35 AM PT
The IRS just upped the ante for Hollywood swag whores--er, award show attendees.
Just three days after the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences issued a not so gentle reminder to celebrities that their forthcoming Emmy gift baskets would be considered taxable income, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has brokered a similar deal with the IRS.
Meaning come next March, their Oscar vote isn't the only thing stars are going to have to declare.
The Motion Picture Academy announced today that it, too, has heeded the feds' warning and will require the swag-stuffed gift bags handed out to presenters at the Academy Awards, as well as the high-end freebies passed out in gifting suites in the days leading up to the ceremony, to be declared come tax day.
However, unlike their small-screen governing counterpart, the Motion Picture Academy does not intend to burden Hollywood's elite with years of retroactive tax payments on long-outdated baubles--which would only add insult to injury. Instead, it has struck a deal with the IRS to settle the outstanding tax on gifts doled out prior to 2005.
"Since we didn't want any of our presenters to get hit retroactively for a gift we had given them, we asked the IRS if there was a way for us to take on the tax obligations. They were very happy to work with us," said Sid Ganis, the newly reelected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
The well-pampered stars will be responsible for forking over the 50 percent gift tax on items received at the 2006 ceremony only. It was reported earlier this year that the IRS stood to collect almost $1.2 million from Oscar bags alone.
Which might mean that Los Angeles charities should ready themselves for an influx in donated skiing vacations, La-Z-Boy recliners and Dooney & Bourke luggage: Should the celebs regift the sizeable booty, they'd be eligible for a tax deduction.
"We appreciate the Academy's leadership on this issue," IRS commissioner Mark W. Everson said. "The gift basket industry has exploded, and it's important that the groups running these events keep in mind the tax consequences."
Ganis said he was sure his fellow thespians would be only too happy to comply. Well, they'll comply, anyway.
"We are happy to have reached an agreement with the IRS which works to the benefit of the gift basket recipients and the Academy," he said.
The bequeathed Oscar presenters won't have to pony up too much, however. While their TV compadres are showing no signs of curbing their over-the-top gifting practices, the Motion Picture Academy's Board of Governors has voted to discontinue the practice of handing out gift baskets as a thank-you to presenters.
The vote came last April, a few months after the Academy had expressed their gratitude to on-camera stars by handing over boxes of chocolates, Tahitian pearls and $100,000 Hawaiian resort vacations for roughly 30 seconds of awkwardly read banter.
The thank-yous seemed de rigueur for the recipients, but as word of supersize hauls spread, the IRS commissioner issued a statement reminding the Hollywood community that "movie stars face the same tax obligations as ordinary Americans" and that "six-figure goodie bags...qualify as taxable income and must be reported on tax returns."
"The basic message was clear: the contents of the baskets, however much we may have been inclined to view them as mannerly thank-yous, in fact constitute taxable income," Ganis said.
It's a lesson the Television Academy reminded its patrons of last week.
Stars scheduled to present statuettes at the Emmy Awards Aug. 27 received a letter from the TV Academy asking for their compliance with federal, state and local tax guidelines on their estimated $33,000 gift bags, along with a waiver to sign acknowledging they received the warning letter--the TV Academy's way of safeguarding itself against the wrath of Uncle Sam should any celebs fail to declare the full scope of their haul.
A word of warning to would-be tax evaders: Just look where it got Richard Hatch.
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,19785,00.html?fdnews
I am glade they are getting involved in this.