The estate of Michael Jackson has been awarded a second victory in just two weeks after a years-long battle in regards to the IRS inflating the value of Jackson’s worth at the time of his death in 2009.
The valuation of the King of Pop’s image and assets, including his 50% stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a catalogue that includes 175 Beatles songs and the catalogue of his own hits, were deemed to be approximately $482 million according to the IRS. This led to a hefty estate tax bill that was to be paid by Jackson’s heirs.
However, earlier this week a judge put the figure at $111 million. This value is much closer to the figure the estate had estimated.
Michael Jackson Estate Wins Another Court Case, This Time Against the IRS.
The biggest dispute in the case was the value of Jackson’s “image and likeness”. The judge in the case slashed the valuation from the IRS’s estimate of $161 million down to just $4.15 million.
The lowballing was due to the child molestation scandals that have dogged the singer and the lack of sponsorship or merchandise partners wanting to work with Jackson for his planned tour.
“The fact that he earned not a penny from his image and likeness in 2006, 2007, or 2008 shows the effect those allegations had, and continued to have, until his death,” Holmes said in his valuation decision.
The executors of Jackson’s estate are thrilled with the outcome, as are the heirs to Jackson’s fortune- his mother and three children who were, until the victory, looking at a $700 million tax bill. This included about $200 million in penalty arrears.
A new tax bill will now be calculated using the judge’s figures, and it will include no penalties.
This victory for Jackson’s estate came just a week after a judge dismissed a lawsuit from choreographer Wade Robson, one of two men who alleged Jackson sexually abused him as a child and featured in the 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland”. The lawsuit of the second man featured in the film, James Safechuck, was also dismissed in October.
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