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November 16, 2008
Rooneys Race to Sell Pittsburgh Steelers to Avoid Obama Tax Increase
Life-long Republican Dan Rooney, Chairman and owner of 16% of the stock of the Pittsburgh Steelers, raised eyebrows this fall with his outspoken support of Barack Obama. The Pittsburgh press is reporting that Rooney and his son have reached agreement to buy out the 16% ownership stakes held by each of his four brothers and are racing to close the sale by year-end to avoid the expected increase in the capital gains tax rate under President-elect Obama.
- Don't Mess With Taxes (11/16/08)
- Pittsburgh Observer-Reporter (11/16/08)
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (11/15/08)
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (11/16/08)
- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (11/15/08)
Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:
- Taxes and the Sale of the Pittsburgh Steelers (7/10/08)
- More on the Role of Taxes in a Sale of the Pittsburgh Steelers (7/16/08)
November 16, 2008 in Celebrity Tax Lore | Permalink
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Comments
Do capital gains taxes take effect immediately? I would have thought that the best-case scenario for Obama is that he passes something in 2009 which affects transactions starting in 2010; trying to close by 2008 seems to be overdoing it.
This also brings up another point: how much of the current credit crisis is due to Blackstone, KKR, Buffett et. al. holding back on making new investments because they know that the combination of higher estate taxes and higher capital gains taxes could create lots of distressed sellers in the near future?
Posted by: taxrascal | Nov 16, 2008 7:27:09 PM
The 15% current capital gain rate was extended until the end of 2010 (was set to expire at the end of 2008 until Bush extended). Thus, if Congress does nothing, the rate will still be 15% for the next two years. If Congress does enact law that raises the capital gain rates, it will be highly unlikely that it will apply retroactively (ie. if passed in July 2009, higher rate would not apply to a sale in January of 2009). I agree, I think that these NFL owners (see articles about Dolphins' owner also) are rushing to sale needlessly (unless it takes a long time to sale a football team).
Posted by: tax student | Nov 16, 2008 8:29:51 PM
C'mon, if you are really a professor of law I'd expect a bit more thinking before writing. DAN Rooney supported Obama. He is the buyer, so no cap gains taxes applicable to his purchase. His BROTHERS are the sellers. Cap gain issues are relevant to their sale proceeds. But, I have never seen a report of any of those BROTHERS voicing support for Obama -- or for McCain either. You are as confused as the idiot radio jock/talk show host in Pittsburgh, Jim Quinn. The point is pretty simple: While the effect of the new Administration's stated tax goals IS of interest in the sale of sports teams and other assets, it really has nothing at all to do, in this case, with Dan Rooney's support for Obama. You do a disservice to the public reading this blog by conflating the two topics. Please think before writing.
Posted by: Humor Monitor | Nov 18, 2008 11:12:37 AM
