Classic Residences by Hyatt, a set of businesses that run high-end retirement communities, is enmeshed in a dispute with the I.R.S. over unpaid taxes that the I.R.S. claims total over $107 million. Classic Residences claims that the money is not owed, and that their tax payments are compliant with U.S. tax law.
The clash is centered around the tax law interpretation of entrance fees paid by the retirement communities’ new residents, who spend upwards of $2 million to begin renting a living unit. Hyatt maintains that these fees, which are almost entirely returned after a client moves out or dies, are correctly interpreted as interest-free loans and not taxable income.
However, with such fiscal shortcomings, the government may be adopting a more aggressive stance toward such loosely interpreted and ambiguous income. As a Wall Street Journal article indicates, “some aspects of the Classic Residence entrance fees might lead the U.S. Tax Court to agree with the IRS.”
