16 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JULY 2019
POINT OF VIEW
EQUAL REPRESENTATION ELECT MORE MOMS
By STEVE BELLONE
Suffolk County Executive
Last May, Liuba Grechen Shirley
made history in her race against
Congressman Peter King when she
became the first female candidate
to get permission from the Federal
Election Commission to use campaign
funds to pay for child care. Shirley
brought to light an issue that has
made it disproportionately difficult
for mothers to run for public office.
The facts are the facts. Child care is
an issue that affects predominantly
women and can be a barrier to
those who want to put their hat in
the ring. Many mothers struggle
with the new cost of child care that
comes along with campaigning,
and the imbalance in the numbers
of mothers holding elected office
prove it.
In 2018 there were only about a dozen
women in Congress with children
younger than 18. But thanks to those
who have the courage to take on the
fight and blaze the trail for those who
will follow in their footsteps, that
number nearly doubled in 2019. But
the number still remains an unequal
representation.
While Shirley may have lost the election,
that hasn’t stopped her advocacy.
Her legacy is helping to create change
across the nation as more and more
states allow mothers to use campaign
funds for child care.
Motherhood should not been seen as
a liability when running for office —
it is a strength. This is about leveling
the playing field, ensuring everyone
who wants a seat at the table is given
an equal and fair opportunity.
It is time New York State does the
same, and I urge our leaders in
Albany to embrace the new faces of
leadership and work to propel more
mothers into elected office. The cost of
child care should never be a deterrent
for any mother who wants to run for
office.
While it remains an uphill battle,
we must keep pushing forward. I
look forward to the day when all
state and local candidates running
for office are given the same
chance.
It is time for equal representation,
and allowing campaign funds to be
used to pay for child care is what is
fair and right.
As New York State has done before
and continues to do, we must set an
example for others to follow.
“The cost of child care should never be a deterrent
for any mother who wants to run for office.”
Understanding Capital Gains Taxes
The capital gains tax (“CGT”) is a tax
imposed on the profit that is realized by
an individual when he or she sells certain
types of assets. The most common capital
gains are realized from the sale of stocks,
bonds, precious metals and real property.
With proper planning, an individual may
avoid or minimize the tax on capital gains.
The following is some pertinent information
to help one implement such planning.
1.WHAT IS CAPITAL GAIN? Capital
gain is the difference between the «basis»
or cost in property – usually real estate
or stocks, but also including artwork and
collectibles – and its selling price. The basis
is usually the original purchase price of the
property. For example, if a person purchases
a home for $50,000 (basis) and later sells it
for $300,000, the capital gains on such a sale
will be $250,000. However, the basis can be
adjusted if the owner of the property spends
money on capital improvements. If the
owner spent an additional $50,000 updating
the kitchen, the basis would now be $100,000
and the gain on its sale would be $200,000
($300,000 - ($50,000 + $50,000) = $200,000).
Accordingly, it is important to keep good
records of any capital improvements made
to real property in order to authenticate them
in the event of an audit.
2.HOW MUCH IS THE CAPITAL
GAINS TAX? The CGT rate will often
depend on the income level of the taxpayer.
One can assume the federal rate is 15 percent
unless the taxpayer has either very low or
very high income, and the state one resides
in imposes a tax as well (we can assume 5
percent, for a total of about 20 percent). If
the individual owned the property for less
than a year, he or she would be subject to
short-term capital gains tax rates, which are
essentially the same rates as the ordinary
income tax rate.
3.THE PERSONAL RESIDENCE
EXCLUSION. A person is entitled to
exclude up to $250,000 of capital gain on
the sale of his or her personal residence,
provided he/she has lived in and owned the
house for at least two out of the five years
prior to the sale. The two years do not have
to be the same for residence and ownership.
If a person selling the house is a nursing
home resident, the two-year requirement is
reduced to one year. A married couple will be
entitled to an exclusion of $500,000.
4.CARRY-OVER BASIS. If an individual
gives property to someone else, the
recipient of the property will retain the
same basis. For example, if parents gift to
their children a vacation home with a fair
market value of $500,000 that they purchased
many years ago for $25,000, the children’s
basis will also be $25,000. If the children
then sell the home, they will have a capital
gain of $475,000 and no personal residence
exclusion because they did not own and
reside in the home for at least two of the
previous five years. The combined state and
federal tax would be approximately $118,750.
5.STEP-UP IN BASIS. On the other
hand, the basis in inherited property
gets adjusted to the value on the date of
death. In the example of the vacation home,
if the parents passed it on to their children
upon their demise rather than giving it
to them during their lifetime, the basis
would be adjusted to $500,000, potentially
saving the children $118,750 on its sale.
Conversely, depending on the size of the
parents’ combined estate, the value of the
house may be subject to estate tax, which
would be payable within nine months of the
parents’ death, while the tax on capital gain
would not be due until the children sold the
property, perhaps decades in the future.
6.OFFSETTING LOSSES. In a taxable
year, any capital gain realized through
the sale of property can be offset with
capital losses from other assets and, in some
instances, a taxpayer can carry over loss from
one tax year to the next to offset future gains.
By understanding and considering these
rules, property owners can save on capital
gains taxes and avoid a number of potentially
expensive mistakes. One should seek
professional guidance to help implement
this type of planning.
Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. is the principal
of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates, a law firm
that concentrates in elder law, estate planning,
Medicaid planning, guardianships, estate
administration, trusts, wills, and real estate.
Debby Rosenfeld, Esq. is a senior staff attorney
at the firm. The law firm can be reached at
718-261-1700, 516-466-4422, or toll free at
1-877-ELDER-LAW or 1-877-ESTATES. Mr.
Fatoullah is also a partner with Advice Period,
a wealth management firm, and he can be
reached at 424-256-7273.
By Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. and Debby Rosenfeld, Esq.
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
/4.CA
