Tax Purposes

The Sun's recent article concerning skybox tickets used by MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakebrings to light the arrogance of the mayor ("Mayor invites family, donors, allies to M&T box," Feb. 9). I am confused as to the services her family provides to the city that would make them eligible to receive such a lucrative gift, a gift she bestows on them on a regular basis. Your article never mentioned the cost to taxpayers to provide food for her guests. I would assume the mayor doesn't make enough money to feed her family herself.

Q. My wife and I purchased an $80,000 house in 1989. We now want to buy another home, but we must first sell the one we have. After all the fees and commissions are paid, we will lose about $2,500 on the sale.Money notesCan we count this as a "capital loss?" It sure would ease th sting.A. Sorry, but there is no such thing as a capital loss on the sale of a personal residence, at least not for income tax purposes. In other words, you can't deduct the loss on your tax return.However, if you had made money on the sale, it would have been considered a capital gain and, under certain conditions, you would have been required to pay tax on the profits.

I'm confused. Republican also-ran gubernatorial candidate Brian Murphy is trying to convince us that Warren Buffett was wrong when he told Congress he ought to be taxed more ("Warren Buffett is wrong," Aug 25). Mr. Murphy attempted to demonstrate that Warren Buffett is wrong primarily by claiming that the Maryland millionaire's tax has caused many millionaires to flee from the state. However, now comes word that Representatives Xavier Becerra (D-California) and Peter Visclosky (D-Indiana)

A Pikesville condo owned by Raymell "Ray" Rice has been on the market since August and recently dropped in price. The four bedroom, three-and-a-half bath home is in the gated Gray Rock community. Multiple listing service photographs show one room with a sign on the door that reads "man cave. " Nearby there's a framed poster of Rice in his Rutgers uniform. There's also a photo of a closet filled with large athletic shoes. The shoes Rice likely wore while becoming a Super Bowl-winning football star.

I am a shareholder in BP PLC who is concerned about the company's prospects, especially with its leadership issues. - K.L., via the Internet The giant oil company, formed by the merger of British Petroleum Co. and Amoco Corp. in 1998, has set the bar high with production growth targets that exceed those of its competitors. It has an impressive portfolio of deep-water oil and gas projects and in liquefied natural gas, while its chemical operations are especially strong in Asia. A consistent performer, it hasn't had an unprofitable year in the past decade, and its disclosure of financial information has been admirable.

A vacant building in a prime location at Annapolis City Dock is about to be sold. An investment group led by Mark Ordan, CEO of Sunrise Senior Living, has signed a deal to buy the former Fawcett Boat Supplies building at 110 Compromise St. The building sits in a key spot in downtown Annapolis and will figure into the city's plans to redevelop the City Dock area. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, and Ordan said it won't be final until the proposal passes a five-month study period "to make sure we have the support and cooperation of the city and the various constituents.

The defunct Baltimore International College is selling its former headquarters at 17 Commerce Street, according to a statement Monday from the real estate firm handling the sale. Real estate leasing and sales firm Cushman & Wakefield is marketing the building “as a redevelopment opportunity for multifamily, hotel, office or retail use,” the statement said. “Originally home to the Baltimore Grain Trading Exchange, the 80,555 square foot Commerce Exchange Building was built in 1906 after the Great Baltimore Fire and completely renovated in 1985,” Cushman & Wakefield said.

Richard Eberling, 68, accused by Dr. Sam Sheppard's son of killing the doctor's wife, the crime that helped Inspire "The Fugitive," died yesterday.Mr. Eberling, serving time for an unrelated killing, died in a prison hospital ward, said Joe Andrews, a spokesman for the Ohio prisons system.Dr Sheppard's son. Sam Reese Sheppard, said it, was Mr. Eberling, not his father, who killed Marilyn Sheppard in 1954 at the Sheppards' home in the Cleveland suburb of Bay Village.Dr. Sheppard was convicted of murder and spent 10 years in prison until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction.

When my mother died Sept. 4, 1988, she left me some stock in both Bethlehem Steel and Polaroid. As you're probably aware, both these stocks have gone belly up. ... I'm trying to find out what the prices of those stocks were on that date of Sept. 4, 1988, and if I can claim a capital loss, since I need to do that for my income tax. Let's take the points you've raised one at a time: Stock price: For determining how much of a profit (or loss) to report for tax purposes, you must know the "basis" of the stock.

Joseph Ross Prevost, who as chief appraiser of merchandise for the U.S. Customs Service in Baltimore ruled that paintings by a chimpanzee were taxable, died Saturday of heart failure at the Charlestown Retirement Community. He was 94.His spent his entire career with the Customs Service here, beginning in 1922 and ending with his retirement in 1965. He was head of the examiners who determined the value of imported cargo for tax purposes.In 1958, Arthur Watson, the director of the Baltimore Zoo, imported a dozen paintings by Congo, a chimpanzee at the London Zoo, for an art exhibition here.