Thursday, May 30, 2019
INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 111
© 2019 The Michigan Daily
NEWS ....................................
OPINION ...............................
ARTS.......................................
MiC.........................................
SPORTS................................
MICHIGAN IN COLOR
Heritage
Samuel So creates a
44-page zine for APIA
Heritage Month called
SAMPLR
>> SEE PAGE 9
NEWS
Boba
Students reflect on
popularity of boba drinks
with new stores
>> SEE PAGE 2
OPINION
Authoritarianism
Zack Blumberg writes
about the insidious rise of
subtle authoritarianism
>> SEE PAGE 5
ARTS
New Tyler album
Heartbreak makes a
monster out of Tyler, the
Creator on “IGOR”
>> SEE PAGE 6
SPORTS
Women’s tennis
Seniors Kate Fahey and Bri-
enne Minor’s improbable
run in the NCAA Doubles
Championship
>> SEE PAGE 10
inside
2
4
6
9
10
Federal court reaffirms Ross
overstated property value
Court of Appeals
upholds Tax Court
ruling on charitable
tax deduction
On Friday morning, the U.S.
Court of Appeals upheld the
judgement in a case involving
alleged tax evasion by Stephen
M. Ross, University of Michigan
alum and benefactor for whom
the Ross School of Business
and Stephen M. Ross Academic
Center are named. Ross and
business partners are accused of
overstating the value of property
donated to the University in a
charitable tax deduction by the
Internal Revenue Service.
In the case, the billionaire and
real estate developer, along with
a group of business associates,
donated property — a Southern
California building which housed
a data center — to the University
to fulfill a gift. The University
then resold the property for
almost $2 million in cash to
satisfy the gift requirement, and
the $2 million eventually grew to
$5 million.
Though
the
property
was
appraised in 2017 for $3.4 million,
Ross and his affiliates claimed a
charitable tax deduction of $33
million, meaning they claimed
the property was worth nearly
$30 million more than its real
value. The IRS uncovered this
claim and has since imposed a
40% penalty for underpayment
of tax — a penalty upheld by the
Court of Appeals.
The University has contended
its innocence in this situation. In
2017, University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald said the University
was not found at fault, and he said
Friday afternoon the University
has no change in comment.
“During the course of this
case, which dates back more than
a decade, neither the Internal
Revenue Service nor the U.S. Tax
Court found any fault with the
university’s receipt or handling of
this donation from Stephen Ross,”
Fitzgerald
wrote.
“University
officials were called as potential
witnesses, but in June 2015 were
released prior to testifying, as
the
parties
determined
that
university officials had nothing to
add to the case.”
Fitzgerald
affirmed
the
transaction of the property was
reviewed by tax experts and legal
counsel.
Ronald Katz, Ross’ former
tax
accountant,
and
Harold
Levine, a lawyer who helped
with the donation, were charged
with felony obstruction and tax
evasion
respectively,
though
both cases are unrelated to Ross’
current legal situation.
Ross and his partners, listed
under RERI Holdings, faced their
latest loss in the case Friday when
the Court of Appeals upheld the
prior judgement of the Tax Court.
Academics talk
collaboration in
higher education
Town Hall examines
integration strategies
for STEM, arts at ‘U’
On Tuesday morning, about 70 people
gathered in the Michigan League for
“Branches from the Same Tree: A U-M
Town Hall on the Integration of Arts,
Humanities, and STEMM.” The event
focused on discussing how to best work
towards a more integrative environment
between
the
different
academic
communities on campus.
The
campus-wide
town
hall
was
hosted by the University of Michigan
President’s
Office,
Provost’s
Office,
ArtsEngine and Alliance for the Arts
in Research Universities in partnership
with the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering and Medicine.
Rebecca Cunningham, associate vice
president for research and health sciences,
opened the event by introducing the
challenges integration can help tackle.
Tom Rudin, director of the board on higher
education and workforce at the National
Academies
for
Sciences,
Engineering
and Medicine, held a demonstration
where attendees had Monopoly money
representing
University
funding.
Participants put the mock money into a
basket of their choice representing possible
funding recipients. Most of the attendees
put their mock money in baskets about
increasing interdisciplinary collaboration,
setting the tone for an event focused on
innovative ways to integrate the arts and
humanities with STEMM.
When the floor opened for questions,
many people voiced opinions on different
aspects of the exercise. Some expressed
time and space are resources just as valuable
as money.
Marvin
Parnes,
interim
executive
director of the alliance for the arts in
research universities, brought up a point
about integration that became a main
theme over the duration of the event.
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