Michael Jackson Estate: Beatles Tax Attorney Sides With IRS, MJ’s Beatles Collection Worth A FORTUNE

The Michael Jackson estate debacle continues. Now, Beatles tax attorney Bruce Spizer is weighing in on the situation. According to TMZ, Spizer spoke exclusively with the publication in regards to Jackson’s Beatles collection. What he had to say only adds more fuel to the fire, further implicating the estate executors for the grossly negligent accounting of Jackson’s assets and value.

Spizer briefly explained the situation from his perspective where the Beatles are concerned. He also stressed how indecipherable it is to even come up with such a meager number to value royalty ownership of any Beatles collection. “No one could value that collection at zero with a straight face.”

Little Known Facts About Jackson’s History With The Beatles:

• In 1985, Jackson purchased the British broadcasting company ATV for a reported $47.5 million. That acquisition gave the King of Pop control of more than 200 Beatles songs.
• Ironically, the group’s song “Taxman” which actually explains the downfall of the celebrity windfall when you’re having to pay taxes out of pocket. Although the money flow is depicted to be highly attractive, it can be quite stifling when you’re footing such a large expense.
• In 1995, Jackson went on to merge ATV with Sony. That merger earned a reported $110 million, which doubled the value of the company.
• Once the publishing company was merged to create Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Jackson still successfully owned a 50 percent stake in the company.
• The new merger surged the company’s value to over $500 million, making it the third largest publishing company in the world.

Spizer, who has also authored 8 books about the famed British pop group, also gave an educated guess of what he personally thinks the collection may be worth. While he does agree that the IRS may have embellished the collective value of Jackson’s estate, the Beatles catalog value may also be “slighly inflated”. But, nevertheless he believes it to be worth a minimum of $300 million or as much as $400 million. However, that’s definitely a far cry from ZERO.

“For the Estate to list the value at zero, they lose all credibility,” said Spizer.

For those who aren’t aware of the estate’s most recent financial catastrophe previously reported on the Inquisitr, Jackson’s estate is accused of stiffing the IRS of more than $505 million in unpaid taxes by undervaluing assets. However, that staggering amount is only principal balance, as the government has opted to add a 40 percent penalty for the withheld information.

So, with a 40 percent penalty of approximately $200 million tacked on to the $505 million tax bill, Jackson’s estate is being forced to pay more than $700 million to the government. So, its quite clear that this debacle is far beyond the typical tax evasion problem a number of celebrities have faced.

Jackson’s estate managers spoke exclusively with TMZ stating that they are disputing the “entire IRS analysis of MJs assets”.