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The Appeal via Nevada DMV
Walter Samaszko Jr.
When Walter Samaszko Jr. died at his home in Carson City, Nev., he had $200 in a bank account. But as officials later discovered, Samaszko had about $7 million stored neatly around his home, the Nevada Appeal reported.
In late June, neighbors called authorities because of a smell emanating from Samaszko’s home. He was a recluse who had told them he hated the government and feared getting shots, but still, it had been a while since they had seen him, according to the Appeal.
According to the coroner, Samaszko, 69, had been dead for at least a month. He died of heart problems, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
In came the cleanup crews, which discovered boxes of gold in the garage.
“At that point, we took the house apart,” said Carson City clerk-recorder Alan Glover.
They found gold coins and bullion, tiny dos-pesos, $20 gold pieces, Austrian ducats, Kruggerrands and English Sovereigns dating to the 1840s – enough gold to fill two wheelbarrows.
Samaszko and his mother had lived in the three-bedroom home since the 1970s, which is around the time they started collecting gold. Glover told the Appeal that the two kept detailed records of the gold they had purchased.
As for who can lay claim to the riches -- Glover said the Internal Revenue Service will take a sizable amount in taxes -- about $750,000 -- and that the rest will likely go to a first cousin, a substitute teacher in San Rafael, Calif., who is Samaszko's only relative as far as authorities can tell.
The Las Vegas Sun reported that Glover's office found her using a list of people who had attended Samaszko's mother's funeral.
Samaszko's home is currently for sale for $105,000.
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Uncle Fester. Is that you?
"As for who can lay claim to the riches -- Glover said the Internal Revenue Service will take a sizable amount in taxes, and that the rest will likely go to a first-cousin..."
The freakin IRS, not even death will keep them away...they'll come diggin for sh*t...who are these guys anyway?...What is a sizable amount? $6.9 million?
Hey, better then the 12 yos down the street.....roflmao....this is most awesome story of the year...it must be a fake! Wait! Does that mean he is the Cabal? Or was?
Too bad he did not get picked for a Hoarders episode, they would have crapped their pants...........
Uncle Sam took Uncle Fester's money. Hope they don't spend it at a convention in LV.
This is what happens when you are Greeeeeeeeeedy, Cheeeeeeap, and an @!$%# - no one to sniff you out but the neighbors.
Think how many people that money could have helped and made happy.
Whats that he had money , is he dead, excellent, GOVERNMENT LOVES DEAD peoples money !!!!!!!!!
Wining !!!!!1
Nice investing!!!
There is a saying, you will never see a hearstwith a UHaul behind it. Yet the real tragedy is that this man died alone, without family or friends to see that he was properly taken care of.How many other cases have we heard about where people have died, forgotten in their residences for long periods of time until they are discovered. This wouldn't even be in the news except he had so much money. What a sad commentary on our society today.How busy we have become and isolated from each other as neighbors.
I am also reminded of a place I once came across in my travels. A large three story home in a tiny community in the middle of the country. An elderly man lived there who owned expensive furniture, stuffed to the rafters, antiques of beds, tables, couches, buffets, you name it from around the world. One could not walk through it there was so much. Only problem, he couldn't sell any of his vast fortune. He was now broke. And would die poor. Surrounded by his "riches".
@out_of_your-mind - it was HIS MONEY, you socialist bum! HIS MONEY. Repeat after me: HIS MONEY. NOT YOUR MONEY. I'll repeat: NOT YOUR MONEY. That's the problem with you neo-Marxist left wingnuts: you people think the property of others should belong to YOU. Go pound sand! I'll be keeping MY MONEY as far away from your filthy paws as possible, up to and including BURYING IT if I have to.
out of our minds is out of their mind! The guy can do what ever he wants. He still is free, is he not. You Socialist idiot! The Government is the biggest confiscator of wealth out there and takes what they want. You think the money, our taxes are going to all good things. They waist more than 7 million a second on things they can not even account for you moron! You realize that in the last Stimulus the Government shoved down our throats lost more than a billion dollars that they can not account for yet today! Get your mind right because it is out on a vacation right now!
NO, NO! he's MY Uncle! Uncle Walter! Remember me! I gave you all of those Playboy mags.
obama is going to confiscate all private gold after he is re-elected anyway
obama is going to confiscate all private gold after he is re-elected anyway
@Jhawke...it was his money bagger...what dude is saying is that this guy died a lonely miserable fool who could not take it with him...it would be different if they said that " his friends were so worried about him that they checked on him after a few days without hearing from him"...but he had been rotting with his precious for a month at least...the problem with you right wing tea ballers is you think everyone wants your stuff...so you become useless hermits...paranoid of everything...who cares about his gold...and if you baggers think gold is going to be more valuable than a can of tuna after your make believe revolution...you got another thing comin
Romney already has all his gold in the caymans
Uncle Festeri is MY relative!---I claim the Gold--
Lots of people these days, in rocky Bank, Federal Reserve, and Economic times are hoarding Gold Coins, Bullions, not trusting the Market, or Monetary system here.
The Global Market is doing a little better, but mostly not, including America. Many people are storing the gold dust in odd areas of their houses--
So, Uncle Fester, remember I changed your Depends when you were so out of it--- Lawyas please send the gold--I will distribute it to my friends, me keeping most of it---this time, I will put it in the Safety Deposit Box!
the Internal Revenue Service will take a sizable amount in taxes,
IMO..it shouldn't be any more than politicians pay !!
Internal Revenue Service will take a sizable amount in taxes
tax code for 2012 is as follows
5.12 Million exempt and rest taxed at 35%
so approx 2 million at 35% is 700,000 or 1/10th of the estate's worth
Could have been worse in 2013 that 5 mill drops to 1mill
JHawke I can tell you a good place to stick it.
I'll give you 1 guess...
The government always has to come in and TAKE it away. They will just end up giving it to Libya or Egypt or Pakistan.
what if he had bought the gold with after tax earnings? why irs has to get a Sizable amount??
He actually made very smart investments. The more money you have when you die the more the IRS takes. So spend it while you are living and leave the government nothing. Remember the government lives off the backs of working people. Unfortunately he died in testate. Imagine the city court clerk recorder going through your house.
Sad.
Lucky Cousin. Wonder if he even knew him.
The IRS will no doubt charge him 10 times anything he owed and claim it all in late fees.
Jashn and Jennifer
You can stick it. It is Uuncle Fester's money, not some lame, weak a$$ like you. It is unfortunate that we even have to deal with weak minded inbeciles like you two and the like. You make me want to throw up when I think of your greasy hair and whining attitude. You hate what is good and successful because of the weak mind that inhabits your thin skinned existence.
You have to give the cleaners a big credit. They could have cleaned out at least what they discovered and then buy the house to restore it. Now that is how it is done in mobed world.
The guy must be a South African Kruger to own Kruger Rand or he must have been...
Well, you can't take your wealth with you to the grave.....
Dam....Wish I would have smelt him first!
Walmart doesn't take gold.
Why can't you take your gold with you - King Tut did.
If Mitt had it he would have store it in the Islands and not paid a dime in Taxes...
and does king tut have his riches? People don't hord your money. Save some for rainy days and spend it. Have fun while you are alive. Life is too short.
Its not that he made a profit on the gold, it is worth no more than when
he bought it years ago. Its just the dollar has become so much more
worthless, and now the IRS is going to hit his estate for the inflated
difference. A condition caused by government printing presses - what
a RIP OFF!
In the recording of police reporting in: "We found a dead man and around 8 million dollars... shhh wait... mumble mumble... ah sorry, that is around 7 million dollars."
Jhawke, not that you are not right and I agree 100%, but find it funny that you speak of socialism likes it a bad thing but yet have the Obama symbol as your icon. He is a socialist, just sayin...
a Nazi? I saw that movie too...run Indy run!
Out, it was his money. Who is to say he didn't help others with other money he had.
It's no ones business what someone else does with their own money
ivoryblue; the guy was 69 years old - that's damn old for males. I am 57yo and with my chronic pain (after 12 operations), I can't go on a trip more than about 1000 miles - if I did I'd just sit in the motel room the entire time recovering from the flight. Who are we to judge if he died happy or not?
and stop harvesting ivory...PS; it's horde.
Regular Guy; would you like my old tri-focals? Jhawke's symbol's fine print says; an end of an error.
If you (you as in any of you - not a specific you) don't like socialism - feel free to send me your SOCIAL Security checks.
J_P— I paid for my future social security checks...that is a far cry from socialism.
I expect socialism to drain that account long before I can benifit from my investment into it.
Steve; you need to move to the Northwest so you can get better weed - taking my above posts seriously will make you old and grumpy before your time. Nothing worse than a grumpy weed smoker - the stuff makes me LMFAO!
I live in a college town near a ski resort...some pretty good weed out west, the downside is my pipe is broken and I am out of green. The upside is I have a pop can and some resin from the broken pipe!
When will Dan Quayle come up with a sarcasm font? These grumpy moments need to stop!
Steve; I could never understand why at the end of summer (harvest time) that it was always dry when you went looking for weed. Come winter when nothing is growing - there is weed everywhere.
My good friend worked at Mt. Hood for a few years - ski resorts know how to party.
You could say weed is a gold standard during the dry season...hehehe, had to make it look like I wasn't hi-jacking the thread.
I like the way they send in the cleaning crew before they track down next of kin. I'll bet they heard the old man had money stashed and moved in to take their share before notifying the IRS for there's. Since the gold was bought with after tax income, they aren't owed any part of it. Government of the thieves, by the thieves and for the thieves. If the county suddenly can afford a bunch of new stuff, police cars, fire engines, commissioners trips, etc, that will pretty much prove they stole part of it. Government, political party is meaningless, are the worst sorts of criminals. Keep in mind these are the same douches who put Madoff in prison for daring to run a competing PONZI scheme. The preside over the largest PONZI scheme the world has or ever will know. Bunch of liars, con men, thieves and scoundrels the lot of them.
J_P_PatchesPal;
Let's see, my great grand dad died at 99, grand dad at 97 (In a car wreck, cut off by a 22 year old) Dad was 98 so, 69 isn't "damn old", perhaps for urban couch potatoes, but us farmers and rancher types tend to stay in a lot better shape. I'm already well past 69 and work with cattle, crops and fence wire everyday. The men in my family typically live into their 90's, with the exception of those lost in wars and accidents. My Wife's side typically live into their 90's as well with several, like her grand dad living to 109 and living at home, to boot. We don't do nursing homes. If a loved one can;t look after themselves, we take them in and look after them. Yeah, I know, old fashioned, but, it bets the warehouse and the state taking everything. See above story, bunch a freaking thieves.
There is a saying, you will never see a hearst with a UHaul behind it -
This commenter is correct - but you will see the IRS close behind! The IRS will claim it's portion! Incredible - they talk about lawyers being ambulance chasers - well here is the hearse chasers.
I would like to know where the IRS thinks they are entitled to anything?? Did they help invest in the coins? No, but they are there with their hands out every time!
IMO - this is robbery! Didn't own it - it is NOT theirs!
Nicodemus; I was a laborer for 30 years - I bet my jackhammer beat the crap out of me far more than anything on your automated farm. You should be thankful you have the genes you do - rather than attack those who don't. But then again - what is the quality of life after 80yo for males? Go down the road here from Tucson to Green Valley (the local retirement community) and tell me how many 80yo men you see...the ones I see look like they will keel over at any second. I guess you missed the part about my 12 operations - cherry picker.
Weed for everybody - Mondays are a bitch...lol.
Naturally the IRS has their hands out, not theirs in the first place. You can't have something when it's not yours , plus they didn't work for it. Is there a will?
JP Patches,
If you're going to correct someone's spelling, then you'd better be damn sure you spell it correctly. The spelling is H-O-A-R-D, not horde. That means a large group. You moron.
Also, you are not old! My husband is almost 66 and does 100 push-ups, 500 sit-ups and runs 4 miles every day. You're just a woe is me JERK!
Actually it is their's, well, OURS..we the people voted the lousy self serving politicians into office and allowed them to set the tax schedule as well as set their own wages, and the "death tax" is one more way for those same greedy self serving politicians to gain then waste more money. That 750k the IRS takes will just pay for the fuel for another of Ms Obozo's vacations.
....poor old soul, he listened to to much Fox news. My goodness he could of really enjoyed life.
Oh well, too bad he didn't know any better.
Damn. That did him a hell of a lot of good.
The article mentions Kruggerrands, and an Alan GLOVER, and no one made a Lethal Weapon 2 reference? Seriously? I am disappoint. ಠ_à²
I think jhawke pretty much nailed it. Please refer up to the comments....
Some lucky substitute teacher is about to become a millionaire.
The government's taking $750,000 in taxes. I see why he was afraid of the government.
One thing about this story that touches us all is,somewhere out there all of us have relatives that we don't know where they are, who they are, or have just plain forgotten about them because it has been so long since anybody in your family ever talks about them. Then they die and some investigator finds you and tells you, your rich uncle died and left you millions. You don't want your uncle to die, but it has already happened and since he left everything to you, the rest of your life just got a little easier.
QUESTION: You don't want a relative to die, but you stand to gain $7 million if they do, (no foul play) my question is, if the choice was up to you, does your relative live and keep his money, or die and leave it all to you??- is that the power money have to corrupt honest hardworking people?? (This question was just made up, and has nothing whatsoever to do with real life, it's just a question)
People: It all belongs to GOD!
All of you who are so righteously indignant over the IRS taking a portion of this man's gold are ignorant when it comes to things like the gift tax and estate taxes. The fact of the matter is that the dead man's wealth is being transferred to a relative - this is an inheritance and therefore subject to an estate tax. Before posting your ignorance for all to see you could have done a little homework:
http://wills.about.com/od/understandingestatetaxes/qt/Overview-Of-2011-And-2012-Estate-Tax-Laws.htm
The value over $5M is subject to the 35% estate tax => $700K.
For those of you who have the money to spare and want to give someone a cash gift, here's some info on gift taxes:
http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Frequently-Asked-Questions-on-Gift-Taxes
The article makes no mention of how this man got 7.5 million dollars??
There should be no taxes owed unless the family member cashes in the gold and then puts it in a bank except for the estate tax, which is another scam, but there for the taking. They paid the taxes on the money that purchased the gold. Lets say a person collects money from a life insurance policy and IRA accounts of the deceased family member. They have no choice but to pay the estate taxes on the money before the check arrives. The money is placed in the bank and taxes are paid each year on the interest. Now, person wishes to liqiudate the account to prevent the interest from acruing and the bank states that there will be taxes due if it is all withdrawn. That is complete BS by the bank and the IRS, but it is going on. They are trying to tax us on money earned and on future income at the same time.
It was probably a bunch of gold some rich kid left for him to watch over years ago. Somehow the rich kid forgot about it, his daddy got him a job making more money than he could count, and it slipped his mind. Now, 40 years later, the same kid is running for President, completely oblivious where he left daddy's gold? Ha Ha Ha Ha.
I love how at least 100 idiots commenting here don't know anything about inheritence or gift taxes. "Why does he owes the IRS anything"? DUH! Please make sure to comment if you're one of the 100!!!
I didn't read the part that God had a claim in for it.
I don't think this is over. The next follow up story will be that some attorney will represent the estate for only 2 million dollars and fight vigorously the IRS' claim and the IRS will spend 1 million defending its claim. The IRS will eventually win with penalties and late payments and the attorney will get paid also, the cousin, well he will get $315.45.
His house is for sale now at $105,000. Be interesting to buy it..maybe all the gold is gone, but he could of had diamonds too..and he put them back where they came from (underground) to be safe..buried in his yard . Buy the house!
Lots of economic gurus on here, NOT!!!!!
First off, his estate will be subject to some amount of inheritence tax over the exempted amount. Second, if they can show he was cashing in the gold and using the money in the past there could be back capital gains taxes plus penalties. It sounds like the guy kept very detailed records and they could be used to prove his failure to pay taxes. For those of you screaming about that, we all pay taxes and this guy was no different than the rest of us.
Second, there are a variety of things that cause inflation and not all of them are the amount of money circulating. As for gold being a hedge against inflation even with gold's recent large increase in value gold did not keep pace with inflation over the past 50 years. Add in the fact that gold is currently considered overweighted due to speculation and its value as a hedge is even worse than it appears at first glance.
Third, even bad economists know the gold standard is a major dumb idea so spare me the "gold bug" hysteria. That idea only comes from investors trying to increase the value of their investment at the expense of suckers buying into it.
Too bad he never got to enjoy his fortune... sad case...
Wrong. It matters not in what form the wealth is in. If its value exceeds $5M you have to pay 35% over that amount.Whether you regard taxes as a scam is beside the point.
JP- you have to take into account drying time, can't just pick it and smoke it, too moist.
For the people who are exclaiming about how he should have been spending that money instead of hoarding it, you must remember he was a product of the depression era. His parents likely taught him to save, save, save, rather than spend, spend, spend.
Shouldn't they figure out who the beneficiaries are before they Government takes their chunk of gold that was already taxed.
On the upside...when the story calms down good ol Harry Reid could probably make a case to this guy making a sizable enough donation the the DNCPac that he will still get to vote for Obama in November.
Did you read the article? They did find a family member. Perhaps you should educate yourself on estate taxes.
Gumps I did read the article...the government is taking their cut based on only one relative being found which would set the cost of inheritance tax based on one beneficiary....It could be that they find more beneficiaries and then any additional beneficiaries will have to go after the Government to get paid back for what the IRS took prematurely. If they find enough heirs there is no death tax owed.
Yeah, all of what you said is true. But you asked if they should first determine if there are any other beneficiaries - that has been done. You make all reasonable attempts to locate other family members - if none come forward then the single member gets the loot and the taxes are paid.
There is a statute of limitations regarding claims against an estate that vary from state to state. Typically, it it around 4 months from the time an obituary is posted. If a family member comes forward after the statute of limitations has expired it will be exceedingly hard to successfully claim any assets.
MrsWilbert - you got me on hoard - and thank you for being so kind about it. /s
What did your husband do for a living? I have no abdomen left after 7 operations on it and maybe 10% of my right arms use left...my doctors would @!$%# their pants if I tried to do sit-ups and push-ups.
Have a nice day - and you would qualify as one who needs that bong hit.
BTW; how many sit-ups and push-ups a day do you do?
MrsWilbert; you should make a video of your husband doing all those exercises and post it on the
LiarnetInternet."...smell emanating from Samaszko’s home."
I didn't think gold could do that.
I am sure he wont mind who gets it.
why should the IRS take the gold? Its not theirs
It seems that this guy's paranoia of a tyrannical government was well-founded.
I want to know how he earned $7 million dollars since 1970.
If you had been slowly buying gold over thirty years you could have bought half a million worth and it could easily be worth 7 million today. For instance, if you had bought gold on March 1, 1985 you would have paid about 287 dollars an ounce. What is it today?...about 1500 dollars an ounce? Figure it out.
I just love how they said once they found some gold, they dismantled the whole damn house. Under what right? Wouldn't that house belong to a heir also? What if they found 10 tons of $hit? Would they have kept digging for more. Greed is insanity.
He has to show up to court to get the money back
If I'm not mistaken, the capital gains rate owed on gold coins (or bullion) held more than 1 year are taxed at the "collectibles" capital gains rate of 28%.
If he had purchased gold stocks and precious metals mutual funds (even ETFs) the capital gains rate could be as low as 10%, depending on the individual tax bracket. People who buy gold coins are suckers (or paranoid ... or both)! If you want to own gold as an investment, buy securities.
I think that at that point they had no choice but to dismantle the house. Too many people would have known that gold was found, and it would have been likely that people would have tried to break in and tear the house apart looking for anything that was missed. I don't blame the government for that, but I don't understand why the IRS gets any of it. If the guy used money he already paid taxes on to purchase gold, it doesn't seem right to tax on the increased value. Unless they were deducting an "inheritance" tax of some kind.
@fuzzybearslippers
Taxable capital gains, like any investment. But as noted above, gold coins and bullion are taxed at the higher "collectibles" tax rate (28%).
I don't think he cares LOL
It does not have to belong to them for them to take it........thieves seldom care about legal ownership when they steal something. If you read the bible you will find prostitutes, lepers and beggers are held in higher regards than tax collectors......
centuries later.....not much has changed. But hey were else can a pedephile get a job now days???
@Azrancher
Paying our taxes is a social contract we have with our country, our state and our fellow citizens.
If Americans do not want to pay the taxes they owe, and live up to their contractual responsibilities as American citizens, they can live in another country which they feel has a more desirable tax structure.
Good luck with that, however. Despite the silly uninformed rhetoric from the right, Americans pay among the lowest tax rates of any industrialized nation in the world.
Honestly, so what? Maybe we are the last of the industrialized nations to not completely loose our minds.
Gneisenau
Doesn't accumulating $16 trillion in national debt, while still talking about reducing everyones's tax rates another 20% suggest "losing our minds" to you?
@Robert in Oregon
That's because what the government doesn't tax directly it borrows or prints out of thin air, thus resulting in an inflation tax.
Also, there is no "constitutional responsibility" to pay income taxes. They're just another scam invented by greedy politicans and bureaucrats who want to prepetually fund wasteful government porkulus and overseas interventionalism.
Robert,
Don't you find it amusing that all the right wing types clamor for programs that benefit them but rail against having to pay anything for those services. Typical Republican pretezel logic in action.
I wonder what type of "porkulus" programs Flatiron enjoys presently, does he drive, drink water, breath, police security and other 1st responder services. He probably goes to a restaurant and has the waitress put his tab on someone else's table.
The IRS will be entitled to 35% of everything over $5.12 million. As for a 'sizable' portion of the gold going to the IRS, that's just totally false. The total estate tax bill will be $700,000, leaving 90% of inheritance in tact for the beneficiaries.
Beneficiaries will get roughly $6.3 million... certainly the lion's share of the estate.
I hope so, Robert, because we get a lot fewer services than those other industrialized countries.
Oh please, don't get me started on insanity when we have a government who is trying to spend our way out of debt with a trillion dollar porkulus package to be paid for with even more new debt and printed paper fiat. You don't fix a leaking pipe by turning up the water pressure.
Robert, when one is paranoid, paper securities are worthless. Their fear is that the system will fail rendering the paper just paper. When the financial institutions fail people want the real thing, not paper.
I agree, paper gold is great for investment, real gold is better for security an peace of mind (but harder to handle).
To the morons that think thge IRS shouldn't receive taxes from that inheritance the person that gets that money that they themselves hadn't worked for or earned in any which way should pay tax on it. Republicans call it a death tax
most of the weathy inherits millions that they haven't work a day in their life for so why shouldn't they tax it.
I would hope that the IRS only steals the 28%. The governments collection agency sucks.
Clayton, you are so very wrong about where millionaires get their money.
Please go educate yourself and stop watching MSNBC.
http://news.discovery.com/human/millionaires-120722.html
How did he earn $7 Million since 1970? Let's see, he was probably buying the gold at $60 to $150 per ounce over thirty years. Since it is now about $1800 per ounce, the guy was not really an idiot after all as an investor. Could be that he had early onset of Alzheimers. In any event, it was his money. Sounds like a bunch of jealous, envious people who want what the man earned.
The government wants you to keep your money in banks, so they know what you have. they don't want you to keep gold for more than a year, so that you don't become independant and perhaps take out of circulation the only thing that really has value. Yeah, buy paper securities in non-existant gold, that's the way to go.
@Paul-25397598
Hello Paul. My wise, German-immigrant grandfather, an Oklahoma tenant farmer, would have suggested a more practical perspective about preparing for the fall of western civilization. He would have argued that when the financial institutions fail and society falls apart, owning gold isn't going to get you anything (.... except dead!)
The ones holding the valuable material assets are going to be the first to lose everything they have to those folks who passed on buying all that gold, ... and instead bought guns and ammunition!
HA!
;-)
Clayton Get a job and try to earn your first million rather than complaining about what others have. There are thousands of ways to make money, if that is what is important. If it isn't, then stop complaining because others have it. An absolutely it is not the right of the govenrment to take the already taxed inheritance of others. In fact, to the idea that we have a contract with America to pay taxes, you are well, I guess i already said it, an idiot. We have agreed to pay taxes to maintain an army for protection and to pay for infrastructure. It is politicians begging for votes that have expanded taxes to pay for votes like yours. Now, everyone has a hand out. Government, should slap that hand and say "go to work".
He probably paid taxes on every ounce of gold he bought in that house. Now that he is dead, the IRS is going to tax it all once again. Somehow, it just doesn't seem right. Makes the saying, the only thing we can count on are death and taxes, all the more true!
His mother was around when the crash of 1929 occurred which made just about all bonds, etc worthless so she passed that information on to him, just like my parents and grandparents remembered those times, and knew people who had lost almost if not all their money. If we elect Romney/Ryan I can possibly see the same thing happen since they don't actually plan on increasing taxes to pay off debt. They seem to think they can put everyone to work which would mean there would be 25,000 more taxpayers for them to rip off while letting their millionaire friends, and corporations off lightly. If you look at history, it was a Republican that was in office when the crash of 1929 occurred.
azrancher,
I'd say the stick their hands down your pants and take naked photos of you TSA, and oh so many children to choose from CPS!!!!....LOL
Robert, have to agree, again. Your Grandfather was a wise man. :)
Ed,
Such a simple concept of history. Hoover was a Republican yes, but he did not cause, nor did he necessarily exasperate the Great Depression, unless one blames the Smoot-Hawley tariff which increased the top tax bracket from 25% to 65%. Hoover was a man of ideals and most of his ideas were taken on by FDR. A simple wiki search on these subjects can help understand such things in simple terms. Here's many of the things he implemented and tried to implement while he was president.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover#Economy
So Hoover raised taxes. Had gov projects as stimulus, like the Hoover Dam. Expanded goverment workers. You'd think he was a modern day democrat. FDR threw all these things in his face, saying these were the reasons the depression lingered. However FDR merely took what Hoover was trying to do and expanded them. The stock market didn't recover till the 50's! And the only thing that really got us out of the depression was WWII.
Robert in Oregon, is probably an investment broker, owning real gold in hand is better, the ETFs have sold more securities then all the above ground gold on the planet, its beyond fraud, so who's really the sucker?
Having said that, 7m is a bit overkill.
The IRS needs it to fuel Air Force One to campaign on YOUR $$$$ plus Biden's plane and Michelle's plane and all the Secret Service that goes with it and the plane to haul the $1,000,000.00 bus made in CANADA. Then there is the plane for Sandra Fluke, who is on the campaign trail, who now wants you to pay for sex change operations. There are so many uses for this money...judges going to Hawaii, meetings, Nancy Pelosi speaking tours it just goes on and on and on and on
1. There was no capital gain tax. It could have been there only if the original owner sold the gold.
2. Any wealth transfer is taxed. Either earned, like your salary, or unearned, like large gifts and inheritance. Deal with it.
3. Adjusted for inflation, gold haven't reached the historical high of 1980 peak yet. In 1985 it was about 750 of today's dollars. In 2001 it fell in value in half compared to that, though.
Only the spending the money we don't have part does... Or are you one of those that thinks there's no limit to the money stream?
Well, I can't argue with that...
Robert
I signed no contract. I agreed to no contract. No terms for any contract were ever discussed. You can't be born into a contract and you can't be coerced into a contract. In what way is this imaginary social contract a contract?
Where the hell do you think all that tax money is going? Just where are those trillions of dollars of debt going? They are not going to Social Security or Medicare or any other of those so called "entitlements". No, they are going to the largest military- industrial complex in the history of the world. They are going to build tanks we don't need, weapons systems that will be obsolete tens years after implementation, stealth strike fighters that cost a quarter of a billion dollars A PIECE. How much did Ronald Reagan spend to refit and relaunch a WW 2 battleship to parade around the middle east? How long did that last? How much tax money has been lost down the rat hole in Iraq? How much money went to secret no bid contracts in Iraq. You know...the contractors who charged $150 to give a haircut to a single GI. It is the politicians and defense contractors in a financial 69 position that has, and will continue to, bankrupt this nation.
I don't have a problem with paying my taxes, I have a problem with how it is spent.
Wrong. Cripes, it would be nice if people like you would attempt to do a little research first before posting your ignorance for all to see. Below is a link to a pie chart of the 2011 Federal Budget:
http://forefugees.com/category/government/state-department/migration-refugee-assistance-account-mra/
Noting that the Defense part totals $928.5 Billion, please explain to us where you got the idea that "trillions of dollars" is going to the military.
@Count Iblis
REPLY:
Definition: so·cial con·tract (NOUN)
1.
agreement of social rights and duties: an agreement among individual people in a
society or between the people and their government that outlines the rights and
duties of each party. It derives from the ideas of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau
and involves people giving up freedoms in return for benefits such as state protection.
Count Iblis, as a citizen of this or any society you really should know this stuff. It's part of your responsibility to be informed.
Gumps--If you think that every dollar spent by the Federal Government is on that pie chart then YOU need to do a little more research. The cost of these recent wars is so deeply hidden, the amount of money spent in the "dark" on every secret black ops program, no matter how expensive, that cost is not for you or me to know. Those costs are what's known as "off budget". Don't look for those "trillions" of dollars in any column or pie chart. Don't expect any true accounting of money spent on our military. It would be easier to find Amelia Erhart than that money. It would be so much better if simple minded and naive people such as yourself could muster a little intellectual skepticism.
Oh, I see. Those trillions are hidden in deep dark black holes. All that money, a degree of magnitude greater than the entire defense budget, is spent on secret black ops programs. Yeah, right. Are you an example of an intellectual skeptic? If that's the case, I'll stick to simple-minded naivete, thank you very much.
Yes you will, you're welcome.
Um, that's world wide and all most all of it is from no US citizens so our government wouldn't get much in taxes anyway. Even if they found and confiscated all the US citizen held wealth, it wouldn't cover this year's deficit. Not by a long shot. So, I guess I will have to agree with your last sentence after all.
That first cousin is going to get one hell of a windfall. I guess she will not have to worry about making ends meet as a substitute teacher any more.
Not really, by the time IRS grabs it. She'll probably have to pay tax on her share and California will problably jump in for a cut.
They tax somebody everytime it changes hands. Gotta love this government.
Tax's = an excuse to steal something that is not yours
Holly crap, my poor dead brother...and I didn't even know he was sick! LOL
Not only does it get taken, but not one ounce of it will be used to reduce the government's outrageous deficit. They'll just allocate it all to one or more of their spending projects.
I'm sure she will earn at least enough from the 7 million to buy a cup of coffee. Is it still illegal to own Krugerrands? It used to be. I wonder if they will just confiscate those.
Rontron, don't quit your day job and try to set yourself up as a financial adviser. The IRS will take some of the money as tax on capital gains, and some as estate tax. The substitute teacher takes it all tax-free, like any other inheritance.
If you don't think you should have to pay taxes, I'd suggest heading for that libertarian paradise, Somalia. No pesky government taxing you, or providing any services, either. You'll love it.
She should have to pay her inheritance tax. But how can they charge a dead man for capital gane??? He is dead and the money should be passed to the cousin. he did not turn the gold in for cash.
The first 5 million is tax exempt. Less than 2% of people leave an estate larger than that. Most wealthy people protect far more with living trusts. This guy didn't look like he had a financial planner.
Where does it say the teacher was a she?
Read the article...she is a substitute teacher.
See, it does pay to go to funerals of relatives (especially if they have few heirs.)
Wait a minute. I'm sure he had an affair with my mother 60 years ago and I'm his offspring! I demand a DNA test!
Well said Doug J
@DougJ - when you have your heart attack, you will have a vision of Obama's brown face laughing at you. It must suck to be obsessed over a black man. Are you sure you aren't gay?
buffaloe51,
So you are saying that your mother was a slut and you are a bastard?
Very sad that he had all this wealth around him, but no one to care about him. He was dead for a month before he was found. You really can't take it with you. Am I the only one to feel badly for him? All the other comments are about the money. This reflects badly on us.
That's why even when it is real it is often called fools gold when money is the sole object or your life.
Friendship is a 2 way street
it's not really normal human reaction to feel compasion first, usually it's always the opposite
True, he died alone, we will not know if he died "lonely" There is a difference and many people have serious problems because they cannot see or understand this difference. This guy apparently got by OK until his heart gave out and he died. He left enough to not be a burden on society when he died and, from the description in the article, enough to cover any debts. Sooner or later we all die but can we all say we weren't a burden on our families or society.
No T I feel badly for him as well. Nobody cared about this man. nobody checked on him. First cousin should be ashamed.
ivoryblue
The cousin thought he was just a poor old relative with barely $200 to his name.
I have a brother who lives an hour away. He never comes to visit and rarely sends an e-mail. Maybe once a year? He thinks I am broke. Somehow I think he would treat me differently if he thought I had money. Sad to think that but at least I know how much he really cares.
Everybody has "Money problems." Some caused from too much and some from not enough. I have learned that when people think you have money they want some. Difficult to find friends who have more money than me so I keep it quiet.
I don't feel too badly for him. He lived 69 years (a good long life, longer than most humans throughout history) and died a natural death. He lived the way he wanted to live. He was not victimized and robbed. If he was lonely in isolation, it was his choice.
It would be interesting to know more of the family history. Did he earn and save money throughout life, to accumulate this much? Even if he bought the 4k oz. of gold 35 years ago, it would have cost at least $250,000. Was it a family inheritance?
I agree it is sad he was surrounded by all this wealth but no friends or family. Also it's called an estate tax, the government when you die will tax any assets you have before giving the rest to your heir....thats juts how it goes
"That's just how it goes." With people like you around, it's no wonder the government gets away with so much.
Not true. The first 5 million is tax exempt. The balance is taxed at 35%. I'm sure the cousin will be shocked at a 6.3 million dollar check.
FlatIron72, I like your way of thinking!
He's wearing a shirt made of gold!
So sad. Too bad he wasn't able to use his wealth to take care of himself.
It is sad that he was so alone no-one checked in on him...however by doing it this way, he obviously believed he was taking care of himself. Every one of us makes decisions based on what we believe is best for us...whether other people think it is best for us or not. Hoarding in any form fills a personal need for security.
Damn IRS always got their hands in the pie!! Didn't we do away with Estate taxes??
The Federal Estate Tax somehow ( I forget how)....dropped to ZERO for a year or two ...2008 thru 2009, I think....I wonder how many old folks had their plugs "accidentally " pulled or oxygen tubes stepped on Dec.30 and 31, 2009...by the next of kin ?!?!?!?....I do remember reading some stories where terminally ill patients had the plugs pulled by their own request to beat the IRS and leave the money to their Children......It's back up to 35% .....You think taxes are confusing when you're alive ???....Take a look what happens when your DEAD:
http://wills.about.com/od/understandingestatetaxes/qt/Overview-Of-2011-And-2012-Estate-Tax-Laws.htm
You will note that the 35% went into effect in 2010.
What makes the IRS feel as though they're entitled to any of it?? So let's see if I have this right.... I work for a living and pay taxes on my wages,. I take the money I already paid taxes on and buy gold. When I die the IRS seizes a portion of it before my kids can get it. Talk about the biggest crooks in the country. Government sanctioned organized crime!!!
This is exactly why the inheritance tax needs to be eliminated. If you took all your $ and lit them on fire in your front yard there would be no tax. You try to leave it to anybody and the IRS goes after another slice on what you paid taxes on all your life.
I worked for Organized Crime. The only difference between the Gov & Organized Crime was Organized Crime told you when they were going to screw you and were much more honest
All taxation is theft. All government is violence. Until people understand this we will continue to be robbed and oppressed by the government.
The IRS and the state will take their cuts. After you receive your money and you've split it with family, you won’t hear anything about taxes for quite some time. The IRS will then proceed to audit the deceased going back as far as they possibly can. Since you have no records or receipts (which have already been disposed of) you will have to pay old taxes, interest and late fees. If there is no money left you will make payment arrangements for the nest 6-7 yrs. Once that all settles, they will audit your taxes and also go back as far as they can. Guaranteed they will find an error somewhere and you will have to pay for that. Once they get everything they can they will then put you on their "audit" list so you will be audited numerous times over the next 20 or so years. You will then wish your relative had just left the estate to someone else because you paid out more than you got in accountants, lawyers, taxes, and fees
The maximum Federal tax rate that applies is 35% (not counting any deductions that apply).
This amount would be charged on any portion of the estate that exceeds $5.12 million dollars.
Either way, the first cousin is going to come out on top in the transaction.
Actually AMT alternative minimum tax is less 28%
If the relatives had found the gold..no tax
if he had given them the gold...no tax
If he had been in contact with ANYONE over the past few years...things could have been worked out so the tax would have been avoided....THEIRS.....THE IRS....Get it?
If the relative found the gold and took it, that would be tax evasion (evading estate tax).
If he gave them the gold, gift tax would be owed on any gift in excess of the yearly limitation.
If he bought the gold with untaxed income, then income tax would be owed.
The estate tax is about $700,000 (probably less once expenses are deducted), so the relative is getting a sizable inheritance.
@JesseJames: Wrong. And wrong. And wrong. If the relatives had found the gold, and suddenly started living the high life, the tax folks would be inclined to ask some pointed questions. Besides that, what relatives? They had trouble finding the next of kin. Second, read about the gift tax, which is intended precisely to prevent people from circumventing the estate tax by giving the money away while they're alive. Third, things could not have been worked out to avoid the taxes without committing a felony. Even Mitt knows that using a Swiss bank account to hide money will get you in trouble (that's why he won't release his 2009 return - he took the amnesty to bring his money home, before the IRS had a chance to charge him).
@earlyout: I beleive it. Rumour has it, we had a past Prime Minister (in Canada) that did much the same thing a few years ago who had stashed his in a Swiss bank account. It took so long to investigate there wasn't any paper trail to prove it but most believe he got away with tax evasion one reason why he wasn't re-elected and he retired from Politics afterwards.
Who were those woozies who did the clean up? those jerks should have split the bounty and kept their mouths shut $$$$$$$$$ they did all the hard work, but now without lifting a finger the IRS will get their slimey paws all over that gold and a cousin who probably forgot about the old guy a long time ago will too, hows was that the right thing to do ??
Hopefully its all radioactive or contaminated and everyone at the IRS will turn green and their dicks will fall off along.
Presuming, of course, that they come equipped with said appendage.
ya know some how I think he had more.. we will never know.
The cousin needs to call Mitt and find out how not to pay taxes.LOL
Absolutely because everyone is entitled to it. I wonder how much the attorneys will get ? I know in PA my friend just paid their attorney 4% of the value of the estate. If that would be the case here, that would be $280,000. Nice.
Cousin Wally, is that you???? Don't you love how the government just helps itself to your stuff. How does this cousin know what was actually found??
eccentric people. nice windfall for the substitute teacher though...if the IRS doesn't take it all. I imagine they will take about half, and the legal representation to administer the estate will cost some.
The IRS will take a sizeable amount for taxes......
translation: were gonna steal it and you cant stop us.
I agree...except if his last name was Romney
Oh yeah the IRS is going to be right there. Taking a dead man's money. I wonder how they feel about that?
This shows that you can't take it with you. You come into this life alone, and you go out alone.
Wow...he should have cashed that in and had some fun before he died. Now a substitute teacher in California will be rich. Maybe there is hope for my future inheritance after all.
Very strange story.
You don't really know if he needed more fun do you?? Don't try and put your own feelings onto the situation
Umm, yes Ed I do. He was dead and stinking for a month in a 100k house before anyone found him. Something tells me he would have been better off running off a cliff in a lamborghini while getting a bj from a high priced hooker wasted off a $10,000 bottle of champagne. Not sitting on the same green couch he had since 1982, eating chef boyardee and dying alone. Yeah, basically anything else he could have been doing besides miserly hiding his riches in the dusty walls and waiting to die. I think I was spot on actually.
Please don't interject YOUR feelings into the situation. Which is what you just tried to tell me not to do, for whatever reason.
Don't let the government get their thieving hands on the money. They will blow it on some garbage.
The government will only blow it on making asses out of the rest of us. Come to think of it, have you all read the "Hegelian Principle"? It's the greatest tool of the elite. The principle basically defined a method to gain power/status/money through conflict. If you haven't read the principle, you might want to learn how you and I get screwed by the people in power. Check the internet for the "Hegelian Principle", and enlighten yourself.
Goes to show you can't and don't take it with you. And the love of money can keep you from enjoying yourself. Also it's the root of all evil. But I don't know if this guy was evil.
You don't know if he enjoyed anything either...He might have been happy as a bug in a rug....
Bulls##t. The more money you have the more you can do. Why do you think so many of us go out of our way to get money. It's so we can have fun buying things. And the more money you have the more fun you have. This guy got his jollies collecting symbols of wealth.
Too bad his last name wasn't Romney...there would be no tax!!!
Just goes to show you, money is NOT the most important thing no matter WHAT the conservatives claim LOL
You can't take it with you. Enough said.
And just why does the Government get a sizable amount? For what?
I am sure the money use to buy the Gold was already taxed or this guy would have been wanted by the IRS before this.
Who will actually get the money and or gold. Where will it end up. Will the money be put on the deficit or will it disappear into some Government cronies pocket!... I will go with Pocket!
Pure Robbery by the Government again!
Well, to be fair, the next of kin didn't do anything to deserve it either.
Frankly I think if the entire concept of "inheritance" was eliminated, it would do a lot to fix the obsession with accumulating wealth. Everybody would have what they earned, no less, no more.
Of course, people would just find ways to get around it, like giving it all away to their friends and relatives when they were getting old. So it wouldn't have a chance of actually working. But it's a fun thought experiment.
We told our parents not to leave us any money. It was theirs and they should have fun and spend it. We knew there were be something left. If nothing else the property they owned, but we certainly didn't expect that we were owed anything from them. Between their life insurance and what little they had left in savings, we all received more than we expected. We still haven't sold the house yet.
Another family I know used to bitch at their father for spending too much of "their inheritance".
Still I have a problem with the government strolling in and taking so much. It's obvious they are grabbing the low hanging fruit. Since few of us will have much of an inheritance to worry about, everyone is fine with our government grabbing other people's money. No one stops to realize that someday they are going to have to come for OUR money. Boy is the screaming going to be loud when that happens.
Frankly I think if the entire concept of "inheritance" was eliminated, it would do a lot to fix the obsession with accumulating wealth. Everybody would have what they earned, no less, no more.
And if someone didn't spend all their money before they died...where would the money then go?
To the first person who found it lying around. "yay, free money!" Just lying there, belonging to nobody.
Like I said though, it doesn't really work. What about money in banks, or investments, or physical property?
It's mostly a thought experiment. What if everybody had to start at the bottom with no financial help from those who came before? What if we truly had a meritocracy with no hints of a plutocracy? Where everybody had precisely equal chances of success or failure in life no matter who their parents were or how much or little they made? What if your life opportunities were dependent 100% on your own work, and 0% on circumstance?
Well, that's the way its going to be with my kids. I'm bound and determined to spend every last dime. And if there's anything left over it will go to charity. If my kids want wealth they better earn it on their own, like I did.
He's not Uncle Fester not even close, Goldman maybe?
DB Cooper FOUND!!!!
Someone explain to me how the IRS can come in, falsely claim and take the gold? If the house is paid for and he was paying his taxes; what claim does the IRS have? The cousin should get all the money/gold.