This is some Bull $hit! F'in' Government...

[faulkton 5,000+ posts]

Bonds' 756th ball going to auction

By Janie McCauley, Associated Press Writer

August 22, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO -- No. 756 is going to auction. Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run ball will be sold online, and fortunate fan Matt Murphy figures to be a half-million dollars richer.

The 21-year-old New York man said Tuesday he had no choice but to sell the ball — several people told him he would be taxed on the souvenir just for holding on to it.

"It wasn't hard. It was simple math. I'm upset by the decision I had to make," Murphy said. "I wanted to keep it. I'm young. I don't have the bank account. ... It would have cost me a lot more to keep it."

Bonds broke Hank Aaron's record of 755 with a shot into the right-field seats on Aug. 7 against the Washington Nationals.

Sotheby's/SCP Auctions will handle the sale at http://www.scpauctions.com beginning Aug. 28 and going through Sept. 15. The starting bid has not been determined, and auction officials estimated the ball would bring at least $500,000.

"This is the most historic baseball ever to be sold," said David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions.

The ball from Bonds' 755th home run hit Aug. 4 in San Diego also will be for sale on the site. The same company sold the balls from Bonds' 700th homer and No. 715 that passed Babe Ruth for second place last season.

Everyone involved hopes the buyer of the historic balls is willing to at least share them for a period of time — if not donate them altogether — with the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

"I really hope the person who does buy it is in position to loan it," Murphy said, a security guard close by him during a news conference at a restaurant near the ballpark. "Two weeks ago, history was made. I was lucky enough to be in the house."

Murphy plans to share at least some of the proceeds with a friend who attended the Giants game with him. They were in town for a brief stopover on a trip to Australia when Murphy wound up with the lucky prize.

Murphy left the ball in safekeeping with a bank in San Francisco during his more than weeklong trip to Australia. He returned to the Bay Area on Sunday to make arrangements for the ball.

Bonds has said he believes his home run balls belong to the fans.

"I haven't spoken with Barry," said Murphy, who is considering attending business school in New York City. "I would like to meet him."

The City of San Francisco will honor Bonds in a public ceremony Friday.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-bondsball082207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

i love this quote

"Everyone involved hopes the buyer of the historic balls is willing to at least share them for a period of time"

 

[Slammed 5,000+ posts]

its cuz he's a Mets fan

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[faulkton 5,000+ posts]

the article didn't say that the IRS told him he had to sell it or pay taxes..

Sounds like an excuse to me...

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

blah. its a fucking baseball... to me, its value is
That is exactly the ****ing point. There is ZERO objective value in a ****ing white elastic orb, so the government has no say in what's what. 100% overstepping their bounds. I hate the beaurocracy in this **** country sometimes man, this **** is just absurd.

I swear to god libertarians are making more and more sense as time goes on. Now if only half of them weren't tinfoil hat wearing gun-toting maniacs.

 

[faulkton 5,000+ posts]

that is the shittiest logic ever.

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

blah. its a fucking baseball... to me, its value is
this is the way I see it as well. I don't understand paying tax on something collecting dust. Now if he sold it, then yes of course tax should be paid. Paying tax to admire a collectors item seems ridiculous to me, but meh, I would sell it in a hurry anyway lol.

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

Basically it is like winning the fukkin lottery and people have to pay taxes on that.

To some people keeping the ball is a life dream and is > the money. Your rationalizing the situation with your own views and weight of the ball vs monies. Everyone is different. In my eyes that ball isn't income, it is a ****ing ball until he sells it, then it becomes income.

FYI, I would have already sold the **** thing lol.

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

that is the shittiest logic ever.

Fair enough, but we are entitled to hold this shitty logic and express it, so bite me //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

What if my grandmother has something, say, a photograph, that she wanted to give away to one of her grandchildren. We all put a number into a hat since we all want it, and I win and now own the photograph. A year later some guy who has some sentimental attachment to the photograph offers me $10,000 for it. Should I be taxed for that? Or does this "obviously necessary taxation" only apply to things that are blown up by the media and forced into public view?

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

Bump out of genuine curiosity for opinions on the above.