LOS ANGELES — Attorneys for the late Michael Jackson won a major battle against the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday as a U.S.
In a 271-page opinion, Los Angeles Judge Mark Holmes ruled Monday that the IRS value of $482 million that it put on Jackson’s estate was too high, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A tax court has handed a major victory to the estate of Michael Jackson, finding that the IRS inflated the value of Jackson’s assets and image at the time of his death.
We tried from the beginning to follow the IRS rules and regulations and relied on the best experts possible.
The ruling ends years of debate over the estate’s worth after the IRS audited its returns in 2013, the Times reported.
Despite Jackson’s acquittal on all counts at his 2005 trial for child molestation, the allegations hampered his ability to find sponsors and merchandise partners for his tours.
“The fact that he earned not a penny from his image and likeness in 2006, 2007, or 2008 shows the effect those allegations had, and continued to have, until his death,” Holmes wrote.
Also in dispute was Jackson’s 50% stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a catalog that includes 175 Beatles songs, according to the AP.