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Strategies & Market Trends : Income Taxes and Record Keeping ( tax ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Richard Forsythe who wrote (2293)	9/15/1999 1:57:00 PM
From: Kaye Thomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5810

I don't think there's any question that you would have a wash sale if you sold BRK.B at a loss and bought BRK.A, simply because the A shares are convertible into B shares. If you went in the opposite direction, selling A at a loss and buying B, there's at least some room for argument that the securities aren't substantially identical because the B shares aren't convertible to A shares. But apart from the 1:30 ratio and the one-way convertibility, there's no difference in economic rights between the two classes. (They have different voting rights and only class A shareholders can participate in a charitable giving program.) Shares of the two classes aren't identical, but in my view they are substantially identical and therefore you have a wash sale (at a 1:30 ratio) in either direction. BTW, to all who may read this, I'm very busy these days and drop in here only once in a while. Please accept my apology if you direct a message to me and don't get a timely response. Kaye Thomas, author Fairmark Press Tax Guide for Investors fairmark.com