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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, OCTObEr 24, 2025 Page 19 BEACON | FROM PAGE 18 an oil leak in Massachusetts every year. They noted that leaks can incur costly damage to the residence itself, but under Massachusetts law, owners are responsible for environmental cleanup, which can rise to $100,000 or more, to dispose of contaminated soil and mitigate the spread in surrounding areas. “Under current law, insurers are not mandated to provide coverage for heating oil releases but are only required to make it available to customers that explicitly request it,” said sponsor Rep. Jeff Roy (D-Franklin). “However, most homeowners are unaware that an oil spill is excluded from their base coverage. Most only discover this after they experience a catastrophic spill. In contrast, residential catastrophes stemming from other common forms of energy [like] natural gas and electricity, etc. are covered under typical homeowners’ policies.” Roy continued, “This means that all insurance payers contribute to paying such claims, regardless of whether they use that form of energy or not including those using home heating oil. My bill addresses this inequity by requiring that coverage be provided automatically to all homeowners and raising coverage limits to keep pace with rising cleanup costs. This small affirmative change will help prevent homeowners from going bankrupt or funding environmental cleanups with their retirement funds, children’s college funds or their life’s savings.” “This legislation is about ensuring that no family loses their home or savings because of an accident they never saw coming,” said the Senate sponsor of the bill, Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow). “[My bill] will work to help prevent homeowners from going bankrupt or funding environmental cleanups by requiring that coverage automatically be provided to all homeowners and raising coverage limits to keep pace with rising cleanup costs.” BAN EMPLOYERS FROM ASKING FOR CREDIT REPORTS (H 4450) - Would prohibit employers from obtaining the credit reports of existing or potential employees except in certain circumstances including hiring for a position that requires national security clearance; a position for which a person is required by federal or state law to obtain a consumer report; and some executive or managerial positions at a financial institution. “The [bill] reduces barriers to employment by limiting the use of personal credit reports in the hiring process,” said the original sponsor of the bill in 2024, former Duxbury representative Josh Cutler, who is now Gov. Maura Healey’s Undersecretary of Apprenticeship, Workbased Learning and Policy in the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. ”Credit scores were never intended to be used for employment purposes and pre-employment credit checks can create needless barriers for otherwise qualified workers. Eleven other states already taken similar steps.” Rep. Kenneth Gordon (D-Bedford), the sponsor of the proposal, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking him to comment on his bill and its approval. REQUIRE UNIFORM BALLOTS (H 832) – Would require all election ballots to be uniform in size. “[My bill] requires all ballots be uniform in size, material and content for all voters, whether marked by hand or using a ballot-marking device,” said sponsor Rep. Sean Garballey (D-Arlington). “It also prohibits tabulating votes from barcodes, QR codes or any non-human-readable marks, mandating that votes be counted only from the selections visibly marked by the voter, except in limited cases where non-uniform ballots are necessary to comply with federal law or specific counting methods.” HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legBEACON | SEE PAGE 22 STRATEGIC GIFTING OF ASSETS I f you plan on making an outright gift of appreciated property such as stocks or real estate, keep in mind that the donee of your gift will accept the property with a cost basis equal to your cost basis. The cost basis might be the purchase price of the original stock or real estate plus any improvements made to the real estate. If the real estate is rental real estate, the cost basis is reduced by depreciation taken over the years since first placed in service. Generally, it is best to gift assets that have not appreciated much, if at all. Cash is always a good asset to gift because there are no cost basis issues or date of death valuation issues. You must always consider whether or not you deem it best to make outright gifts to children or to make gifts to an irrevocable Trust or a gifting Trust for their benefit. An outright gift to a child that might have creditor issues or that might be involved in a divorce would not be such a good idea. Trusts have spendthrift provisions that would offer protection to a child in the event of a lawsuit or divorce. Currently, there is no gift tax in Massachusetts. The federal gift tax exemption is currently $13,999,000. Under the Big Beautiful Bill passed in July of this year, Congress increased the exemption to $15,000,000 as of January 1, 2026. The federal estate tax exemption is currently $13,999,000. That too will be increased to $15,000,000 on January 1, 2026. The federal gift tax exemption and estate tax exemption are a unified exemption. You can either gift $13,999,000 federal gift tax free or die and bequeath $13,999,000 estate tax free, but you can’t do both. The tax-free gift amount is currently $19,000 per donee. A tax-free gift made does not reduce the $13,999,000 gift tax/estate tax exemption amount. When you die with appreciated stock or real estate that is includible in your taxable estate (even though your estate might be less than $13,999,000 for federal purposes or $2,000,000 for Massachusetts purposes) your beneficiaries obtain the benefit of Internal Revenue Code Section 1014 and receive a new cost basis equal to the fair market value at the time of your death. The huge benefit to your beneficiaries is that when they sell the appreciated property shortly after you pass, there would be no capital gain or very little capital gain resulting in no capital gains tax or very little capital gains tax. Retaining certain rights in a Trust, for example, will provide for inclusion in your taxable estate in order to obtain that much desired step up in cost basis. Another benefit of Code Section 1014 is that the beneficiary of the appreciated property receives preferential longterm capital gains tax treatment even if the beneficiary sold the appreciated property within one year from the date of death. Remember, short term capital gains are taxed at ordinary income tax rates federally and are taxed at the rate of 8.5% in Massachusetts. It is always important to select what assets to gift and how to make the actual gift. The tax implications can be significant. Transferring real estate or a stock portfolio to an irrevocable Trust structured as a grantor-type Trust would provide for a step-up in cost basis at the time of your death, avoid probate, and offer protection from a nursing home five years after the Trust is funded. Such a transfer is not a completed gift for tax purposes due to the right to receive income generated from the Trust, or the right to occupy, enjoy and possess any real estate held in Trust, or the right to determine the ultimate beneficiaryof the Trust. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation.

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