Recap: Bob Jason Event

Thank you to everyone who came out to ESLS's first event on Thursday, September 6th. Mr. Jason spoke about a variety of subjects from his experience as a tax lawyer to a lesson on professional responsibility.

Highlights include:

• Whether Heidi Montag (of reality show, The Hills, fame) had to pay taxes on her extensive plastic surgery (10 surgeries in one day) or whether she could write in off as a business expense since her job is to be in the public eye. Shortly after her surgery was completed, she booked numerous appearances at pool parties in Vegas. Mr. Jason informed us that she would need to show that she was earning more in appearance fees post-surgery and that she was getting more offers for appearances or roles in films to show that the surgery was a necessary business expense. Ms. Montag is not a client of Mr. Jason, and we are not aware of whether she did claim the surgeries as business expenses, but these are the types of issues Mr. Jason deals with being a tax specialist to the stars.
• Mr. Jason also told us about a client who received two fur coats from a company who wanted her to be seen wearing them. This client was able to exchange these coats out at any time to keep up appearances. Mr. Jason told us that this would not be considered a "gift" within federal income tax classifications because a gift is something given, "with detached and disinterested generosity." (Shout out to Prof. Ventry who taught our federal income tax class about this very exemption the day prior to Mr. Jason's speech). Since the company gave the client the coats with the expectation that she would be photographed wearing one of them, the coats could not be considered "disinterested." Clearly, the company hoped that her status as a star would translate to more business for their company. Therefore, the client would not be able to claim the fur coats as an exemption on her taxes. Check out IRC §102 for more information about gifts. 
• Lastly, and probably most interesting, Mr. Jason spoke about professional responsibility. From personal experience as a tax attorney, Mr. Jason warned about the importance of making ethical decisions and giving conservative advice. He stressed that this was particularly relevant to tax law, where it seems easy to disregard regulations and evade the law. As an example, he noted prominent celebrities who currently owe exorbitant amounts in back taxes and are serving in prison for it. Such as Wesley Snipes:
  
  

Bob Jason is currently a Managing Director at Nigro Karlin Segal & Feldstein, LLP in Los Angeles, where he gives tax advice to celebrities and other big Hollywood names. 

ESLS would like to thank Bob Jason for a wonderful first event that was a great way to kick off our year!

Come check out ESLS' first event this Thursday!

“Entertainment and Sports:  What the Aspiring Lawyer Needs to Know About Tax”

The Entertainment and Sports Law Society (ESLS) and Tax Law Society (TLS) present lunchtime speaker Bob Jason.  Mr. Jason is a Managing Director at Nigro Karlin Segal & Feldstein, LLP, in Los Angeles, one of the largest business management firms in the country.

Mr. Jason is an internationally-recognized tax expert who is well-known for having represented many of the world's most famous celebrities.  He graduated from Harvard College, where he was a math major, and Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Harvard Law Review. He has lectured all over the country about tax issues and has written numerous stimulating tax articles.

Mr. Jason will talk about the entertainment industry and some very basic tax issues that all aspiring entertainment and sports lawyers should know. The presentation is 100% accessible to those who know nothing about tax. There will be time at the end for questions, which are strongly encouraged.

Lunch will be served.

September 6, 12:00PM

Room 1001

RSVP on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/282777671823664/