2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021
BUSINESS & AG
Eastern Oregon tourism receives state funding bump
The Observer
PORTLAND — The
Oregon Tourism Commis-
sion, which does business
as Travel Oregon, awarded
$913,000 to 34 projects
across the state. More than
$125,000 went to fi ve proj-
ects in Eastern Oregon.
The grants are for “the
development, enhancement
and stewardship of key vis-
itor experiences that are
COVID-19 appropriate,”
according to the press
release from Travel Oregon,
“will aid in economic
recovery, enhance local liv-
ability and provide access
to a diversity of explorers
through the Destination
Ready program.”
Todd Davidson, CEO
of Travel Oregon, in the
release stated the projects
are crucial in ensuring vis-
itors and Oregonians have
access to safe and enjoy-
able experiences as the
commission rebuilds Ore-
gon’s tourism economy
while navigating the
pandemic.
“Communities across the
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald, File
Two Color campground, along Eagle Creek in the southern Wallowa Mountains, is among
many campgrounds on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Travel Oregon awarded
$913,000 to 34 tourism projects, including $20,000 to the Eastern Oregon Visitors Associ-
ation to prepare the Wallowa Whitman and other sites for the coming season.
state rely on tourism as an
essential component of their
economic fabric,” Davidson
continued. “These com-
munities need visitor-ready
attractions and experiences
that continue to prioritize
public health measures and
Business column: Worry about
the right thing with estate taxes
eath and taxes may be the only cer- exclusion, or an amount you can give away
tainties in life, but death taxes are
to as many people as you want each year
only a remote possibility for most
without having to fi le a gift tax return. The
people. The vast majority of Americans
exclusion limit is $15,000 for 2021 — you
won’t ever have or give away enough to
can give up to $15,000 each to an unlim-
owe estate or gift taxes.
ited number of people without having to
Far more people could be affected if a
report the gifts. Even if you do have to
tax break that benefi ts heirs is eliminated.
fi le a gift tax return, you wouldn’t actu-
While campaigning for
ally owe gift taxes until the
president, Joe Biden pro-
amount you gave away in
LIZ
posed doing away with
your lifetime — over and
WESTON above the annual exclusion
something called the
NERDWALLET
“step-up in basis” that
amounts — totaled more
allows people to mini-
than $11.7 million.
mize or avoid capital gains
These historically high
Although most
taxes on inherited assets.
limits are scheduled to
estates don’t
But no legislation has been
end in 2025, which means
proposed yet, and such a
in 2026 the estate and
owe estate taxes,
change could have a tough
gift tax exemption limits
anyone who’s
time getting approved by a
would revert to $5 million
inherited a house,
divided Congress.
per person, adjusted for
“Right now, we’re telling
infl ation. Biden wants the
stock or other
folks to start thinking about
exemption to drop to $3.5
property has likely million per person.
this stuff, but we’re not
rushing out to take action,”
People in some states
benefi ted from the
says certifi ed fi nancial
already face lower limits.
step-up tax break
planner Colleen Carcone, a
The 12 states that impose
director of wealth planning
their own estate taxes —
that gives such
strategies at TIAA.
Connecticut, Hawaii, Illi-
assets a new value
nois, Maine, Maryland,
at the owner’s
How step-up in basis
Massachusetts, Minnesota,
New York, Oregon, Rhode
lowers taxes
death.
Island, Vermont and Wash-
Although most estates
ington — and the District of
don’t owe estate taxes, anyone who’s
Columbia have lower exemption limits than
inherited a house, stock or other property
the feds. Massachusetts and Oregon have
has likely benefi ted from the step-up tax
the lowest exemption amounts, $1 million.
break that gives such assets a new value at
Six states — Iowa, Kentucky, Mary-
the owner’s death.
land, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsyl-
Say your savvy aunt paid $7,000 for a
vania — also levy taxes on people inher-
single share of Berkshire Hathaway stock
iting. Different tax rates and exemption
in 1990. That’s her tax basis. If she sold
limits apply, depending on the relationship
the stock for its closing price of $362,000
between the inheritor and the person who
on Feb. 10, she would owe tax on the
died. Immediate family members usually
$355,000 gain. If she generously gave you
pay the least, if anything, while distant
the stock and you sold it on Feb. 10, you’d
relations and nonrelatives pay more.
owe the same amount of tax because you’d
What you should do now:
also get her tax basis.
Now, let’s say that instead of giving
Keep good records
you the stock, she left it to you in her will
The idea of eliminating the step-up in
and she died Feb. 10. The stock would get
basis has been proposed in the past, but it
a new basis for tax purposes of $362,000.
faced headwinds in part because the prac-
All the gain that occured during her life-
tice benefi ts a wide range of voters.
time would never be taxed. If you sold the
Since there’s no concrete proposal to
stock later, you would owe tax only on the
change the step-up, there’s not much people
gain since her death.
Some kinds of inheritances, such as
can do to prepare for change other than
annuities or retirement accounts, don’t get what they should be doing anyway, which
the step-up. But it’s no exaggeration to
is keeping careful records. That means
say that far more people benefi t from our
“tracking the basis” of what they paid for
estate tax system — by inheriting homes
any assets as part of routine estate planning.
and other assets with a stepped-up tax
If you buy shares of a stock in a taxable
basis — than have to pay any estate taxes. account, for example, hang onto records
showing those purchases. The cost of any
Who pays gift and
improvements you make to a home or
other real estate also can increase its tax
estate taxes now
basis and potentially reduce taxes later.
This year, an estate has to be worth
“The one thing that we do think folks
more than $11.7 million to trigger fed-
should start doing today is really starting
eral estate taxes. Less than 0.1 percent
to think about the record-keeping,” Car-
of the people who died in the U.S. last
cone says.
year were expected to leave estates large
———
enough to owe any tax, according to the
Liz Weston is a columnist for the
Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
personal fi nance website NerdWallet.
People who have to pay gift taxes are
com, which provides columns to The
pretty rare as well. There’s an annual
Associated Press.
D
Online ordering,
carry-out, and
delivery available
Due to Governor Brown’s orders
and categorizing the county at
Extreme Risk, we are currently only
open for Carry-out and Delivery.
Travel Oregon is excited to
support these local initia-
tives that will play a signif-
icant role in the state’s eco-
nomic recovery.”
In Eastern Oregon, the
following are the amounts,
recipients and purpose of
the awards:
• $21,711 to the Greater
Hells Canyon Council to
help with mapping and trail
maintenance operations for
The Blue Mountains Trail, a
556-mile thru-hiking expe-
rience through northeast
Oregon.
• $20,000 to the Eastern
Oregon Visitors Associa-
tion for land stewardship
and maintenance efforts to
prepare Eastern Oregon’s
most visited public lands
for the coming season,
including the Wallowa
Whitman National Forest,
The Owyhee Region, The
Steens Mountain Wil-
derness and the Alvord
Desert.
• $24,500 to the Eastern
Oregon Visitors Associ-
ation for updates to six
Eastern Oregon Farm Trail
brochures with distribu-
tion, and creation of a new
on-the-ground kiosk.
• $25,000 to the Oregon
STATE BUSINESS NEWS
Man accused in $15M large fi re in September.
The News-Review
grass seed money
reports SUBH Investment
laundering schemes
SALEM — A former
manager of a Washing-
ton-based seed company
was charged this week with
laundering and wiring over
$15 million through sev-
eral schemes to defraud the
company’s former owner
and its customers.
Former Jacklin Seed
Company General Man-
ager Christopher Claypool
of Spokane, Washington
faces charges of conspiracy
to commit wire fraud and
money laundering against
the company’s former
owner, J.R. Simplot Com-
pany, U.S. Attorney Billy J.
Williams said this week.
Jacklin Seed Company
is a producer and mar-
keter of grass seed and turf-
grass based in Liberty Lake,
Washington, the Statesman
Journal reported. According
to the U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce,
the company contracted with
independent growers for the
production of proprietary
grass seed varieties and ful-
fi lled orders from a distribu-
tion facility in Albany.
Claypool, 52, oversaw
the company’s product sales
to domestic and interna-
tional distributors.
U.S. attorney offi cials
said Claypool’s alleged
schemes include packaging
seed varieties with false and
misleading labels, embez-
zling more than $12 million
while posing as a foreign
sales partner and conspiring
with a travel agency in Spo-
kane to infl ate costs of his
international travel.
It wasn’t immediately
known if Claypool has an
attorney to comment on the
case.
LLC, which does business
as Days Inn by Wyndham
in Roseburg, entered into an
agreement with the Oregon
Department of Justice on
Monday.
Devon Kumar, who lives
in a suburb of Portland, is
listed with the state as the
owner of the Days Inn. He
declined to comment when
contacted by the news-
paper. Kumar agreed to
pay $31,000 in fi nes to the
state department of Justice,
spread out in payments over
the next six months.
At the time of the Archie
Creek Fire, the Days Inn
rented or offered to rent at
least 31 rooms at a price
that was at least 15% higher
than the normal room price,
the agreement said.
The single highest rate
Days Inn charged in October
was $150 a night, yet during
the fi re the hotel rented 12
rooms for over $200 a night,
including six rooms for over
$300 a night, the Depart-
ment of Justice said.
— Associated Press
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Department of Fish and
Wildlife to make infra-
structure and accessibility
improvements to establish
Marr Pond as the only ADA
accessible fi shing facility in
Wallowa County.
• $35,000 to the city of
John Day to create a com-
munity “pit stop” with
food truck stalls, improved
parking and new public
restrooms.
Originally announced
as a $250,000 opportunity,
Travel Oregon received
more than $4 million in
requests through 135 appli-
cations. In response to the
high demand, the agency
reviewed internal program
dollars and reallocated
resources to increase the
award amount to $913,000,
which allowed funding for
34 projects. The agency’s
Destination Development
team will manage projects,
which range from direct
investments to more col-
laborative projects where
staff will work closely
with awardees through
implementation.
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