Whale 'vomit' sparks cash bonanza

[emad]

An Australian couple who picked up an odd-looking fatty lump from a quiet beach are in line for a cash windfall.

Leon Wright and his wife took home a 14.75kg lump of ambergris, found in the innards of sperm whales and used in perfumes after it has been vomited up.

Sought after because of its rarity, ambergris can float on the ocean for years before washing ashore.

Worth up to $20 a gram, Mr Wright's find on a South Australian beach could net his family US$295,000 (£165,300).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4642722.stm

[rockymountaindem]

1. This is unreal

Things usually come in twos for me. The other day I was talking with some people about the origin of the middle finger flip off during the 100 Years' War, and I came home to find a thread on it here at DU.

Just two days ago I was watching an episode of Futurama (a show I hardly ever watch), and it involved one of the characters trying to get something out of a whale and ended up with a bunch of that ambergris stuff. I've never even heard of it before, and now here I've seen two things on it in two days. Wierd...

[emad]

2. SPOOKY BIZ!

And more spooky whale biz, from last weekend's London whale story:



Oliver Cromwell's death preceded by giant Thames whale in 1658
SNIP
"And even the like precurse of fierce events
As harbingers preceding still the fates
And prologue to the omen coming on..."

In Shakespeare, mighty events are helalded by portents, such as the presence of strangem out-of-place animals. Indeed, the death of Cromwell in 1658 was preceded by the arrival of a large whale in the River Thames. What does yesterday's visitor portend?

----------------------

Diarist John Evelyn recorded: "After a long conflict it was killed with the harping irons.....after a horrid groan it ran quite on shore, and died."

ENDSNIP

From Daily Telegraph Opinion column, Saturday 21 January 2005
Sorry no online link for this.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=191x14502

[DS1]

3. If this happened in the U.S., would they have to pay taxes?

Because I'd call bullshit on that if they did

[SOteric]

4. Not on finding the lump of puke, no.

But if they sold the stuff in the U.S., then the profits are income from sale of property. So yes. However, there are other countries and the Cayman Islands to consider.

[DS1]

6. Would the Cuban feet-dry policy apply for vomit that washed up in Miami?

[pitohui]

7. absolutely -- usa tax law is whacky

and the person below who thinks they wouldn't have to pay taxes if they kept the ambergris and didn't sell it -- that person is wrong and hopefully not a tax advisor in usa

you do owe income tax on a gain of that nature because you have just substantially raised your personal net worth, so you do have income

the first time i heard of this enforced was when some folks were breeding some v. valuable birdes (hyacinth macaws, at that time worth $20K for a pair), altho they did not sell the birds but instead kept them in their own private facility, when audited, the irs ruled they had to pay some form of income tax because of the huge increase in their net worth, i'm blocking on what it was called, but it'll come back to me, so yeah, the tax had to be paid even tho the birds weren't sold!

might as well sell, find out the real value of the ambergris as opposed to the b.s. value -- i doubt they will be able to sell it for anything like the price quoted, which is prob. a retail price, the media is notorious for exaggerating prices like that -- but sell, get your money, file a schedule c for small business and deduct any expenses in contacting buyers and getting the ambergris identified and graded, shelter what you can in a keogh or simple-ira, so pay your taxes but keep the taxes low and you'll still be getting money back from your find when you're old

[Wapsie B]

5. Horse urine is too.