Posted on 11/09/2008 6:40:13 AM PST by Devilinbaggypants
I have a feeling that there will be alot of money going into the walls of homes, as Obama and the Democrats seek to steal more and more of American’s hard earned dollars.
You mean just steal it? The contractor was entitled to the same amount as the old geezer’s heirs: $0.00.
A poster on another forum made the point that due to inflation the value was not very high. If the same amount had been used to purchase gold at that time, then hidden... the amount would be over $6 MILLION dollars.
Actually given the age of the bills, I think that whole thing is rather complicated. You cannot take $182,000 in old bills to the bank and expect that some questions aren't going to be raised. At any spend rate, sooner or later it will start to raise questions, and you fill find yourself splainin to the IRS.
The heirs lost any claim to the money when they sold the house. The contractor never had any claim to the money.
The only theft here-what the IRS got.
Sort of a reverse multiplier effect.
The homeowner’s offer of a ten percent finder’s fee was appropriate.
I wouldn’t hire this contractor to rake my leaves.
Actually, it is the love of money that is the root...
You couldn’t purchase gold at that time.
I don't see any interpretation of any law I've ever heard that allows for anything other than the money belonging exclusively to the owner of the house. Sure, it may be nice of her to offer some to the guy who found it, but neither he nor the heirs of the prior owner have any claim, IMHO.
Actually, the actual literal translation is: The LOVE of money LEADS TO ALL KINDS of evil.
Complicated yes.
IRS complications, only if you do it wrong ala “Goodfellows”. If you did things smart, like take it offshore, you’d have no problem.
But some of the bills were worth much more than thier face value. Old money, generally is no problem.
I’d sort it out and sell the good stuff to dealers in inconspicuous ammounts (no more than a few K), not on Ebay - then you’d have to pay taxes, but what the hey.
The point is the only thing we have a right to in this home are the things we brought into the home. IMO, the contractor did not have the right to this money but a finders fee would a good thing to do.
Even if he put the equivalent amount in silver coins, the face value of those coins (which at that time were 90% silver and never subject to confiscation) while exceedingly heavy, would be about 10x face value today.
So $120,000 in coins would be worth at least 1.2 Million today, even assuming that none of them had any numismatic value. Of course that many coins might have filled up his whole basement :-)
I was trying to point out how inflation has eaten so much into our dollar's value.
I’m still waiting for the happy ending:
IRS.
LOL Reminds of a fire in my neighborhood in Stratford ct. 20 years or so ago. A local minor mobster was frantically tearing apart the sheetrock to save the cash in the walls in the midst of a fire when the police and fire dept. showed up.
It made the papers and had he some explaining to do with the IRS.
Fascinating story, but they should counted their blessings and considered themselves lucky they found it before January 20, 2009 - otherwise they would no doubt have been forced to hand it over to federal commissars.
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