Sumner Redstone v. IRS -- year 1972 gift tax

[Famspear]

This comes under the category of "hey, this doesn't happen very often, but it does happen".

Billionaire Sumner Redstone is in U.S. Tax Court over an alleged federal gift tax liability ($1.1 million, not counting interest) from the year 1972.

See:
Richard Rubin, "Billionaire Redstone Challenges IRS on Tax for 1972 Gift," May 1, 2013, Bloomberg News, at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-0 ... -gift.html

If, as is reported, Mr. Redstone has filed no gift tax return for 1972, he won't be able to raise the statute of limitations as a successful defense.

It's a federal gift tax, not federal income tax -- but this case illustrates why I say that folks should consider filing a federal income tax return every year, even if (because their gross income is less than the applicable threshold amount) they're not required to do so.

[Pottapaug1938]

Good old Sumner Redstone.... His house was on a hill overlooking the neighborhood where I grew up; and his son was a high school classmate of mine. For part of our "Senior Symposium", at the end of our senior year, Redstone had the entire senior class take the MBTA to one of his theaters to watch "Monterey Pop" for free.

[Famspear]

......Redstone had the entire senior class take the MBTA to one of his theaters to watch "Monterey Pop" for free.

Weird coincidence that you should mention that film -- I just bought the Blu-ray disc version of the film a couple of weeks ago. Haven't watched it all the way through yet.

[Cpt Banjo]

Otis Redding's performance of "I've Been Loving You Too Long" is the highlight of the film.

"Good God-a-mighty, I love you!"

[wserra]

That was a great performance (and Redding died less than a year later), but it was a concert for the ages.

A brief sampling of the many, many, many highlights:

• Lou Rawls, "Tobacco Road"
  Simon & Garfunkel, "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" and "Sound of Silence"
  Canned Heat, "Rollin' And Tumblin'"
  Big Brother and the Holding Company (i.e., Janis Joplin), "Ball and Chain"
  Country Joe and the Fish, "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" ("An' it's one, two, three, what're we fightin' for?")
  Quicksilver Messenger Service, "Who Do You Love?"
  Hugh Masekela, "Here, There and Everywhere"
  The Byrds, "Hey, Joe", "Chimes of Freedom"
  Jefferson Airplane, "Somebody to Love", "White Rabbit"
  Redding, in addition to "I've Been Loving You Too Long": "Respect", Satisfaction", "Try a Little Tenderness". What a set.
  Buffalo Springfield, "For What It's Worth", "Rock 'n' Roll Woman", "Bluebird"
  The Who, "Substitute", "Summertime Blues" and, of course, "My Generation"
  Hendrix, "Foxy Lady", "Like a Rollin' Stone", "Hey, Joe", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Purple Haze" and, of course, "Wild Thing". God-DAMN.

If I had a time machine, Monterey would be among my first stops.

[Dr. Caligari]

If I had a time machine, Monterey would be among my first stops.

Mine too. Followed by seeing Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie on 52nd street in the 1940s.

[LaVidaRoja]

Back to the topic at hand. If any of you are feeling like the IRS couldn't POSSIBLY have any records from 1972, the holding period for 706's and 709's is 75 YEARS. FINDING the return might be a bit more of a problem (IF it was filed) But yes, the return itself would still exist, in deep storage, somewhere.

[Famspear]

On Monterey Pop, I bought the entire Criterion box set, with the Hendrix and Otis Redding material.



If I had to pick a year in my life that is -- I don't know -- most emblematic or significant I guess, the year 1967 would definitely be in the final running for that prize. It was a sort of coming of age year for me. There was a lot of stuff happening.

Sgt. Pepper of course came out in June.

The summer of '67 was the first time I grew my hair long (or at least what was considered long at my school at that time). Actually, it was just an accident. It stayed long for a week or two after school started in the fall, and I remember that one girl was so excited by it that she giggled and ran her fingers quickly through my hair during an assembly in the high school auditorium (she was sitting in the row right behind me). It was dark and I couldn't see who it was.

The principal made me cut it after a couple of weeks.

There has never been another year for me quite like '67.

Of course, Monterey was part of that whole scene -- not that I was at that festival (or at any other festival for that matter), but it was just part of the whole vibe, man.......

It was a good time to be into music, and it was a good time for music.