Steinbrenner Heir Sued by DOJ

New York Yankees co-owner and managing partner Harold "Hal" Steinbrenner is being sued by the Justice Department over a $670,494 tax refund he received in 2009.

According to Bloomberg, the complaint, filed Dec. 27 in federal court here, seeks to reclaim the funds issued to Steinbrenner in 2009. The refund stemmed from disputes between Steinbrenner and the IRS over the 2001 tax year and audits of the Major League Baseball team’s parent company for 2001 and 2002.

Hal Steinbrenner is the son of the late George Steinbrenner, the former Yankees owner who died in 2010. In 2007, George Steinbrenner and the IRS had settled the issues raised in the audit. That earlier agreement resulted in adjustments to the tax returns of the beneficiaries of a family trust, including a 25 percent share owned by Hal Steinbrenner. According to the complaint, Hal Steinbrenner paid his taxes in 2008, and then filed an amended 2001 tax return in 2009 seeking a refund because of an operating loss of $6.8 million carried back from 2002.

The IRS paid the refund and then stated that the refund claim should have been filed by March 1, 2009, roughly five months prior to Hal Steinbrenner seeking the refund.

 

 

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM ACCOUNTING TODAY