[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 8, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9955-S9956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE IRS AND BASEBALL FANS

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise today as a proud St. Louis Cardinals 
baseball fan. I have been a St. Louis Cardinals fan a lot longer than I 
have been a U.S. Senator, and I have never been more proud of the team, 
nor of the city and the State which supports that team.
  This weekend we saw the fabulous Mark McGwire hit home runs 60 and 
61. And it was truly electrifying, not only for the people who were in 
the stands and watched the huge home runs--and when Mark McGwire hits a 
home run generally it is huge. He bounced one off of the dining room of 
the Stadium Club and it dropped back down beneath. There used to be a 
time when people didn't even think somebody could hit the Stadium Club. 
He has hit balls so far in Bush Stadium that they automatically start 
measuring them. The announcer of the Cardinal baseball games, the 
fabulous Jack Buck, talks about calling air traffic control to warn 
about it.
  There are a couple of things that I think need to be mentioned. No. 
1, Mark McGwire is the kind of fine human being whom we need as a role 
model for our young people today, when the national spirit is sagging 
and we are talking about scandals. Here is a man, the first thing he 
did when he came to St. Louis was make a significant donation to the 
St. Louis Children's Hospital. He is a man who worships his son. When 
he crossed the plate after hitting his 61st home run, he picked up his 
10-year-old son. There were some who were worried that the son might be 
in danger because of his enthusiasm. But Mark McGwire is truly an 
American hero.
  I would say also the same thing for Sammy Sosa, who was in the 
outfield with the Cubs when that 61st went out. Sammy Sosa is a class 
ballplayer, one we can be proud of.
  I will tell you something else that Missouri and the Midwest and 
America can be proud of, the young men who caught the home runs 60 and 
61. When they were asked, ``Are you going to sell it for a million 
dollars?'' They said, ``No, we are going to give it back to Mark 
McGwire.'' And this selfless act, giving the ball back to the guy who 
hit it so he could give it to Cooperstown, epitomizes the spirit. The 
signs in the stadium said ``Baseball City U.S.A.'' St. Louis is very 
proud of being Baseball City and everybody who comes in there is proud 
of it, and they are proud of the spirit of the fans who are there. But 
you have to know, the Grinch appears.
  Today's New York Times, classic spot for the Grinch to appear: ``Fan 
Snaring Number 62 Faces Big Tax Bite.''
  Now, get a life. The IRS spokesman has confirmed that the person who 
gives the ball back to Mark McGwire might be facing a gift tax of 
$150,000. The young man who caught number 60 is just out of college and 
he works in the promotion department of the Rams. The guy who caught 
number 61 is the catering manager who had to go to work at 4:30 this 
morning. They are going to have to pay $150,000? Now, that is about as 
ludicrous as anything I have seen. If the IRS wants to know why they 
are the most feared, disliked agency in town, this is the classic 
example.
  The New York Times interviewed a spokesman for the IRS who said: ``I 
can confirm your understanding of how the gift tax works. The giver of 
the gift is required to file a gift tax return. We'd have to take a 
look at all the circumstances: the value of the gift and who owns the 
baseball.''

[[Page S9956]]

  I am asking my colleagues to join me in a letter to the Commissioner 
of the IRS. We come here as Democrats and Republicans, but I know there 
is a strong, bipartisan enthusiasm for the support of baseball. And for 
the Commission to tolerate somebody saying that a fan who gives the 
ball back to Mark McGwire could owe a $150,000 gift tax is outrageous.
  The IRS needs to lighten up. The fact that the Tax Code could allow 
for such a ridiculous thing is one thing. We are going to be tackling 
the issue of tax reform in Congress. We have done much on the Taxpayer 
Relief Act. We have made strides. The new Commissioner has talked about 
making the IRS a consumer-friendly agency, but it is absolutely 
ridiculous that the IRS would seriously consider imposing a tax on a 
generous fan who happens to catch the historic ball and return it. Get 
a life. Surely there are baseball fans among the clever lawyers and 
accountants at the IRS who can devise reasons why this good deed should 
go unpunished. My staff and I are available to work with them. I think 
we can find a way to take care of it.
  But if the IRS wants to know what their problems are, they have to 
look no further than this threat. I have to tell you that if you do not 
think people are paying attention, our e-mail has been running, our fax 
machine; the calls are coming in.
  Dean Pfeiffer of Lee's Summit said:

       What a better issue to use to highlight the need for tax 
     reform. How can anyone defend a tax system that penalizes 
     such a selfless act?

  Scot George said:

       This tax on this person is as unAmerican as Saddam Hussein. 
     I urge you to act swiftly against the IRS on this matter.

  Mr. President, I warn you, there is a revolution brewing. There may 
not be enough agents to collect a gift tax from somebody who returns 
the 62nd baseball back to Mark McGwire.
  I do have a letter here to Commissioner Rossotti asking him to review 
this situation and clarify it so that when the fan catches the ball--we 
know he is going to be surrounded by security. The security is very 
tight to make sure he is not physically abused. And it is a jungle out 
there when people are going for the ball. We have security to protect 
him. We want to keep the IRS agents off of him.
  I say to my colleagues, if they wish to join me in signing this 
letter to the Commissioner to call this serious matter to his 
attention, I will have it today and it will be available for them to do 
so. I think that the time has come to say that a fan who catches a 
historic home run ball and gives it back to the guy who hit it should 
not be stuck by the IRS.
  I thank the Chair and yield the floor.
  Mr. GRASSLEY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sessions). The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. First of all, I want to compliment the Senator from 
Missouri for his comments. He, along with me and Senator Kerrey of 
Nebraska, was very much in the middle of the work of the IRS commission 
as representatives of the Senate on that commission, and also working 
with the legislation as members of the Finance Committee to bring about 
the consumer-friendly IRS that the legislation is supposed to do.
  Obviously, I am chagrined that there is still an attitude within the 
IRS that would be interpreting tax law the way that the Senator from 
Missouri has described it. I think he has accurately described it, 
because this morning when I was preparing to come to work I heard on 
WTOP the very news story to which the Senator from Missouri refers. I 
could only think in terms of, well, maybe it is a joke. Obviously, it 
is not a joke.
  But I also thought in terms of Mr. Rossotti, the Commissioner of 
Internal Revenue, had to be hearing that same report as we did. And 
before he got to the office, I hope that he had made some phone calls 
to make sure that this erroneous interpretation of law would be 
corrected, because that is what I would expect from Mr. Rossotti.
  To the Senator from Missouri, I will be glad to sign the letter that 
he has. I would also hope that Mr. Rossotti has this situation taken 
care of before the letter is received from the Senator from Missouri.
  Also, I would expect that the Senator from Missouri expects Mr. 
Rossotti, who is not a tax attorney and who was hired specifically by 
the President of the United States because he came from the business 
world, from an organization and a business that he formulated that was 
only successful because he was able to satisfy his consumers--he built 
his organization from a few employees to several thousand employees. He 
was willing to give this up because he knew that the challenge of 
making the IRS a more consumer-friendly organization was a legitimate 
challenge that had to be met, and he was willing to do that.
  So I see in Mr. Rossotti a person who is going to get this taken care 
of very quickly so we do not have to worry that when that 62nd home run 
is hit by McGwire that there is going to be a tax consequence as a 
result of hitting the 62nd home run.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I withhold that.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I wonder if the Senator could yield me 
some time. I do not know what the situation is on the floor right now.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, we are to recess at 
12:30, and the Senator from Iowa has time on the bankruptcy bill.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Before I yield, I think the thing to do--how much time 
is left?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. You have until 12:30.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I yield the Senator 5 minutes.
  Mr. HARKIN. I thank the Senator for yielding me time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I will speak for 5 minutes in morning 
business.

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