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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2021)
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 FAMILY OWNED 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com Mobile Service Hotel fi ned for overcharging people during wildfi re ROSEBURG — A hotel in Roseburg has been fi ned $31,000 for overcharging dozens of area residents who sought rooms after fl eeing a Outstanding Computer Repair Dale Bogardus 541-297-5831 Call or Text 24/7 Now fixing cell phones and tablets Helping you live Also recycling small your dream this electrics Holiday Season! 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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. lesschwab.com HERE TO HELP