California Developer’s Transfers Deemed Solely for Tax Avoidance

A Los Angeles developer owes the state of California an additional $5.31 million in tax and penalties, plus interest, after the Office of Tax Appeals ruled that certain real estate transfers lacked economic substance.

Andrew Meieran transferred his interests in several properties in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Tulsa, Okla., to the A. Meieran Family Trust shortly before the trust sold them to third parties. The short turnaround time “belies appellants’ contention that they transferred assets to AMFT for estate planning purposes,” Administrative Law Judge Huy “Mike” Le wrote in a nonprecedential opinion released Tuesday.

That means Meieran and his ...