The Sunday Edit | Paintings Undervalued by $1.77 Million in Estate Tax Case
Pieter Brueghel, The Kermesse of Saint George with the Dance Around the Maypole/Artvee.com
Since tax season is upon us, I thought we'd revisit a relevant case from 2019.
If the IRS determines that you gave them a misleading appraisal report, expect to pay. In Estate of Kollsman v. Commissioner (June 2019), the Tax Court found that the evaluation used for the Estate's taxes was off by $1.77 Million. What went wrong?
Albert Cuyp, Orpheus Charming the Animals/Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Two Old Master Paintings
The Estate expected a Sotheby’s auction house specialist would satisfy the IRS’s appraisal requirements. However, it was found that the expert’s valuations were “lowballed” in order to secure the future sale of the works. The Estate of Kollsman possessed two 17th Century Old Master paintings, one created by Pieter Brueghel the Younger and the other by either Jan Brueghel the Elder, Jan Brueghel the Younger, or a Brueghel studio. A Sotheby’s specialist examined the two paintings, evaluated them for $500,000 and $100,000 respectively, and offered to have Sotheby’s sell the works at auction. The executor then submitted the specialist’s appraisal with their estate tax reports.
Sotheby's, New York/The New York Times
A Significant Conflict of Interest
The fact that Sotheby’s is an auction house significantly hurt the Estate’s case. Because the specialist would receive commission rewards for procuring the consignment and Sotheby’s Auction House would benefit from the sale of the paintings, the Tax Court found “a significant conflict of interest.” Additionally, the Court determined that the specialist “had a direct financial incentive to curry favor with [the executor] by providing ‘lowball’ estimates that would lessen the Federal estate tax burden borne by the estate.” The IRS first issued a notice of deficiency asserting values of $1.75 million and $300,000. After the Estate’s petition was filed, the IRS revised the values to $2.1 million and $500,000. Sotheby’s sold the Elder’s painting for over $2.4 million. Nonetheless, the specialist did not adjust his valuation opinion.
How to read a condition report /Dickinson
Exaggerated Condition Issues
The appraisal noted the works were dirty and there were risks involved in cleaning them. The specialist lowered the fair market value of the works because of their “dirtiness.” However, the Court noted that the paintings were cleaned with relative ease. Sotheby’s also did not raise these concerns with the Estate when they were pitching to gain the consignment. According the Commissioner’s case, Sotheby’s valuation report did not seem to match reality.
IRS Art Panel/Widewalls
The IRS has its Own Experts
The IRS relies upon the expertise of its own, unbiased team of appraisers, the Art Panel, to review suspicious appraisals. With the help of these appraisers, the Tax Court determined that the Estate of Kollsman were off in their estate tax valuation by 1.77 Million, nearly four times the amounts they reported.
Lynn Magnusson, President of The Magnusson Group, ASA, AAA, ISA AM.
Auction House Estimates are not Appraisal Reports
Clients are frequently confused when my appraisal document Fair Market Value differs from an auction house estimate. I explain to them that an auction house establishes auction sales estimates, typically a range of values, to procure consignments and encourage bidding. My duty as an independent appraiser is to give them an objective Fair Market Valuation, reinforced by comparable, recent sales data. Sometimes they are not the same. An appraisal report prepared in compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, the generally recognized performance standards for the appraisal profession in the U.S., includes a certification that the opinions expressed in those reports are the appraiser's unbiased professional opinions, and that the appraiser has no present or prospective interest in the property being appraised or personal interest with respect to the parties involved (or if such interests exist, they must be disclosed). These certifications serve to clarify the parties' relationship and create a paper trail that can help estates avoid problems down the road.
If you are seeking an appraisal of your personal property, please contact The Magnusson Group at 973-425-1550.
-Authored by Lynn Magnusson, President, Edited by Heather Zises, Marketing Director
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