FB Roundup: US billionaire tax rise proposal, Chelsea FC bid deadline, BNY Mellon Global Family Office appointment
Joe Biden proposes billionaire income tax
US President Joe Biden has put forward a proposal for a Billionaire Minimum Income Tax in his fiscal year 2023 budget proposal.
As part of the Biden administration’s bid to reduce the United States federal deficit, the proposed tax will “Eliminate the inefficient sheltering of income for decades or generations,” according to The White House.
The budget, which still needs to be approved by the United States Congress before it can come into effect, proposes that families and individuals worth more than $100m pay at least 20 per cent in taxes on income and unrealised gains (the increase in an unsold asset and investment value). The administration asserts that for many wealth holders, their true income avoids true taxation as it can be held onto for generations.
If it comes into effect, the proposal would allow ultra-high-net-worth individuals to spread payments on unrealised gains over nine years. The nine-year tactic would effectively act as a prepayment plan on the tax wealth holders will owe when they eventually realise their gains.
“It’s not a wealth tax; it’s an income tax reform,” said David Gamage, a tax law professor at Indiana University, to Al Jazeera. “This is a minimum income tax that includes the true economic value” of income that can be held for a very long time.”
According to The White House, approximately 700 billionaires would be affected by the proposal with an estimated $361 billion raised over ten years. The budget proposal also includes a raised top tax rate of 39.6 per cent on wealthy individuals and a corporate tax rate hike to 28 per cent.
Preferred bid for new Chelsea FC ownership to be presented by April 18
The remaining four bidding groups for Chelsea Football Club have been told that a preferred bid will be presented to the UK government and Premier League on April 18.
The Raine Group, the merchant bank supervising the sale of the hotly contested auction, aims to reveal the favoured proposal to club directors on April 11, a week before the bid presentation.
The four remaining bidding groups - which includes a consortium headed by former British Airways and Liverpool FC chairman Sir Martin Broughton [pictured right] and British Olympian turned sports businessman Lord Coe; a group led by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and London-based property developer Jonathan Goldstein; a syndicate comprising the Chicago Cubs-owning Ricketts family and Citadel hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin; and a final collective led by American private equity billionaire Stephen Pagliuca - have been told by Raine that they must commit at least £1 billion to future investment in the club.
The bids are expected to be assessed on a variety of criteria, including the level of equity, future investment commitments, speed and certainty of purchase and appropriate stewardship of the club.
Bidders already eliminated from the process include London property developer and lifelong Chelsea fan Nick Candy, former US ambassador Woody Johnson and Saudi Media Group.
BNY Mellon appoints new head for global family office
The New York-based BNY Mellon Wealth Management has appointed Nancy N. Keller-Go as their new global head of fiduciary, global family office.
Keller-Go will be heading up a global team of trust professionals advising family offices, charitable trusts and foundations.
“Nancy has impeccable credentials with extensive leadership and management experience to support our global family office fiduciary offering,” said Vincent Hayes, global head of family office. “Our clients will find particularly attractive her focus on trusts, family legacy and transformative philanthropy; experience with domestic and non-US trust structures; and her close ties to the art and collector communities.”
Keller-Go has more than two decades' experience supporting high-net-worth individuals, families and charities and has previously been the investment and wealth structuring market director for Bank of America Private Bank.
“The great team is already here,” said Keller-Go. “My job is to amplify our positive impact on clients’ lives and to promote a courageous and inclusive culture at BNY Mellon.”
