05-08-2023, 11:27 PM
Lizabeth wrote:
Sic the tax man on him…he owes major bucks for all that stuff…
It depends on the actual amounts involved. Even if he exceeds the annual gift allowance (which it looks like he did), there is still a lifetime allowance for the excess that he needs to exceed in order to be liable for paying gift taxes.
The ethical standard for an inappropriate gift is also different from the IRS standard of what type of gift is taxable.
Educational or medical expenses paid by a benefactor are exempted by the IRS from gift taxes as long as the money is paid directly to the school or medical provider and not to the student/patient. This does not prevent such payments from being ethically wrong when they are made for the purpose of political influence.