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Page 16 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, May 14, 2021 DPH food testing prompts expanded national recall of enoki mushrooms STEP-UP IN BASIS PROPOSED TAX LAW CHANGE sues are avoided. No need for canceled checks, settlement statements, credit card statements, invoices, etc. No need to defend oneself in an IRS audit that most likely could not be won. Therefore, in the above exP resident Biden’s proposed repeal of the step-up in basis provisions of Internal Revenue Code Section 1014, if passed by Congress, will create a sweeping change in the tax code that will affect millions of American taxpayers. The step-up in tax basis provisions provide for the fair market value of all assets owned or constructively owned by the taxpayer at the time of his or her death to become the new “cost basis” going forward in the hands of the recipients of those assets (e.g. surviving spouse, children, relatives, etc.) pursuant to the terms of the Last Will and Testament transfer on death account, or a Living Trust, for example. As long as the assets are includible in the taxable estate of the decedent, regardless of whether or not a federal or Massachusetts estate tax has to be paid, the step-up in basis is achieved. This provision allows for a single-family home originally purchased for $75,000 to be left to one’s children at the time of death of a parent, while creating a new cost basis in the hands of the children equal to the fair market value at the time of death. If, for example, at the time of death, the fair market value of the home is $500,000, that will be the new cost basis. The children would be able to sell the home soon thereafter for $500,000 without having to pay any capital gains tax. One of the original purposes of the legislation was to avoid the unmanageable task of requiring the children to attempt to compute the cost basis of the home by going back 50 or more years to determine the original purchase price, capital improvements, closing costs, refinance costs, etc. By establishing the fair market value as the starting point after the date of death, all of those isample, if the Biden administration proposal is passed, if one assumes there were $75,000 in improvements over the years, there would be a $350,000 capital gain. If there were two children, the federal capital gains tax would be approximately $26,250 each and the Massachusetts capital gains tax would be $8,750 each, for a total of $70,000. This is certainly an increase in taxes to be paid by a lot of middle-class taxpayers. Millions of middle-class American taxpayers currently do not have to be concerned about such a capital gains tax in these circumstances. If the tax law is changed, it will be unavoidable. What’s important is not so much whether or not you agree or disagree with abolishing the step-up in basis provisions of the tax code, but whether or not you realize this will affect just about everybody, not just the rich and famous. This will also affect appreciated stock that a mother or father may leave to his or her children. Even a $100,000 stock portfolio built up over years of investing may have a cost basis of only $25,000. Without the benefit of the step-up in cost basis provisions, the children, upon a later sale of the stock, will realize a $75,000 capital gain and incur a $15,000 combined federal and Mass capital gains tax. The repeal of this long-standing provision will have profound implications for millions of taxpayers, not just the wealthy. Such a repeal would also create a disaster from a taxpayer compliance standpoint as well as from an IRS enforcement standpoint. Such a new tax law would amount to nothing less than a middle-class tax hike, and this would have nothing to do with the proposed increase in the capital gains tax rate for those who earn more than $400,000 per year. Joseph D. Cataldo is an Estate Planning/Elder Law Attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation. T esting conducted by disease investigators at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has led to the expansion of a national recall of enoki mushrooms – after two packages the investigators purchased in the Commonwealth tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. Guan’s Mushroom Co. of Commerce, Calif., said it is recalling all packages of its enoki mushrooms and suspending national distribution after tests conducted at the Massachusetts State Public Health Laboratory by staff from DPH’s Food Laboratory came back positive for Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, pregnant women, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals might suffer only short-term symptoms, such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. The State Public Health Laboratory’s findings highlighted the presence of this organism in the company’s mushroom product found on store shelves in Massachusetts. “This outcome of our food surveillance testing demonstrates how public health in Massachusetts works to protect the food supply and enable consumers to purchase products and dine out with confidence,” said Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel. The company said the recalled products were distributed to retail stores nationwide from produce distributors in California, New York and Pennsylvania. The company said no illnesses have been reported to date and credited DPH as well as routine testing by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for prompting the recall. The enoki mushrooms come in a clear plastic package with the description “Enoki Mushroom” in English, Korean and French, with Guan’s logo in the front. On the back, there is a UPC code. For the 100g/3.5-ounce, the code is 859267007020, and code 810023170303 is for the 200g/7-ounce. Questions about the recall can be directed to DPH’s 24-hour Epidemiology Program hotline at 617-983-6800. 2021 Youth Public Safety Academy to be held virtually C HELMSFORD – The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office has announced that it will be offering a free, virtual Youth Public Safety Academy (YPSA) once again this summer. “While our goal had been to host an in-person camp this summer, it takes months of planning to properly prepare for a high-quality learning experience like YPSA,” said Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian.“With limited guidance available to us early in the planning process on how summer camps could safely operate and what compliance measures might look like, we decided the best decision was to follow the successful model we implemented last year when we held a series of free, virtual YPSA sessions.” Additional information re~ LEGAL NOTICE ~ NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Malden Community Preservation Committee Notice is hereby given that the City of Malden Community Preservation Committee will hold a public hearing on Wed. May 19, 2021, at 6:00PM Eastern Time (US and Canada), via remote hearing, at which members of the public are invited to attend to participate and provide comments. The CPC will invite the applicant for funds for improvements to Wallace Park Wall to present and will receive public comments on this proposal: Project Hearing for Wallace Park Wall Application Public Comment and Q&A If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact Maria Luise, ADA Compliance Coordinator at mluise@cityofmalden.org or 781-397-7000, Ext 2005 The hearing will be hosted by the City of Malden on Zoom and will be accessible to members of the public who are invited to attend and provide comments via the following link and/or telephone: https://cityofmalden.zoom.us/j/93302232709?pwd=QkEzWGZpdDE1QjNBcGhzQWl0Q1lJZz09 Passcode: 663321 Or Telephone: US: +1 929 436 2866 or +1 646 518 9805 Webinar ID: 933 0223 2709 Passcode: 663321 For further information, or to submit written comments and questions, please contact the City of Malden Community Preservation Committee via email at maldencpc@cityofmalden.org May 7 & 14, 2021 garding the 2021 Virtual YPSA will be released in the coming weeks.Families with questions about YPSA may contact Director of Community Affairs Ken Doucette at 978-495-7408 or at kdoucette@sdm.state.ma.us. To read the full letter from Sheriff Koutoujian to families regarding this year’s YPSA, please visit middlesexsheriff.org/YPSA.

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