Millions go unreported thanks to 'unrealized appreciation'
(NEWSER) - If President Obama wants a "Buffett Rule" to keep billionaires paying their fair share of taxes, he’ll have to look at the "800-pound gorilla" in the room, tax experts say. That gorilla, explains one expert, is "unrealized appreciation"—cash that America’s wealthiest take in via stock transactions that isn't considered taxable income, Bloomberg reports. Case in point: Sports impresario Red McCombs claimed a $9.8 million loss on his tax return, but conveniently omitted the $259 million he’d scored by loaning shares of Clear Channel to an investment bank. Because he won't actually sell them to the bank for a few years, he didn't pay capital gains tax at the time. More»
