From: Halperin, Alan Sent: Wednesday, July 2, 2014 10:52 AM To: jeffrey E. Subject: Post-Death Actions of Foundation Affecting Estate Tax Value I thought of you when I read this article. Was this =our idea? Alan Wall Street <http://www.bloo=bergview.com/topics/wall-street> Texas Billionaire's Heirs Save Some Money on Taxes 10Jun 27, 2014 1:26 PM EDT=o:p> By Matt Levine <http://www.bloombergview.com/contributors/matt-levine> • a<=span> • A<=span> Every so often I hear a story that I find rather wonderful =and that I then pass along to you, just in case you and I share a similar sense of wonder. Here is one of those stories. It's about =eath and taxes. The story begins on Dec. 28 of last year, when a Dallas bil=ionaire named Harold Simmons died at the age of 82. He left the bulk of his $8 billion fortune to two of his daughters. Much of that <= href="http://www. bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-06/hidden-bill ionaire-daugh=ers-emerge-from-si m mons- estate.html"> fortune was in The biggest chunk of the estate was Contran's 93.8 percent stake in Va=hi <http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/24240/000005925514000010/=chl3dvhi020514.htm> , which was 318,156,746 shares.1 Valhi's stock closed on Dec. 27, 2013, at $14.91 per share <https://www.google.com/f=nance/historical?cid=37782&startdate=Jun+28%2C+2013&en=date=Jan+2%2C+2014&num =30&ei=IXStU6jAAqjZ6QHc-lDgDA> , making that stake worth about $4.7 billion as of Simmons's death. A=other 2,481,900 Valhi shares (0.7 percent, $37 million) were held by the H=rold Simmons Foundation, a charity controlled by Simmons's daughters.2 Other family members owned about 2.8 million sh=res ($41 million). Public shareholders owned about 15.7 million shares ($234 m=llion).3=o:p> Here are two facts about the federal estate tax:=/span> * &nb=p; The estate tax rate for 2013 and 2014 is 40 percent <http://wills.about.com/od/understandingestatetaxes/a/estatetaxch=ft.htm> of the value of the=estate.4 * &nb=p; The exe