title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: In 1951, Shels made it to the FAI Cup final where they met Cork Athletic who had already wrapped up the league. Tommy Carberry had scored in every round for the Reds and did so again in the final, played in front of over 38,900 fans, but it was only good enough to earn a replay which Athletic won. A sixth league title was won in 1953, and then in 1955–56 Shels played their only season in Irishtown Stadium. The ground, however, was far from complete despite a huge amount of voluntary work being carried out by supporters and offered no shelter for the fans from the elements. Shels were tenants at Tolka Park the following season.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: During that season Gerry Doyle was appointed manager and a new era was being ushered in for the Reds. The FAI Youth Cup was won in 1959 and Doyle was true to his word, "if they're good enough, they're old enough" and six of the Youth Cup-winning team became first-team regulars. Amongst them was Tony Dunne who would be later transferred to Manchester United with whom he picked up a European Cup winners medal in 1968.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: The early years of the sixties went great for the Reds. Three goal wins over Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk put Shelbourne in the 1960 FAI Cup Final where they beat Cork Hibernians 2–0 to get their hands on the trophy for only the second time. Cork Celtic were beaten by a Ben Hannigan goal in a play-off for the league in 1962 and only illness to three key players as a result of vaccinations taken on a League of Ireland representative trip to Italy cost Shelbourne the FAI Cup and a first 'double' as they went down to Shamrock Rovers in the final despite being red-hot favourites. The FAI Cup was however won the following year and it was a repeat of the 1960 final. A 2–0 win over Cork Hibs.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: With this success came the excitement of European club football, Shelbourne played their first European match against Sporting Clube de Portugal in 1962, they were beaten 2–0 in the first leg held at Dalymount Park and then 5–1 in Portugal to go out 7–1 on aggregate. The following season they took on FC Barcelona in the European Cup Winners' Cup but were beaten 5–1 on aggregate. In 1963 Shelbourne won another Leinster Senior Cup. In 1964 the club finally sold their last interest in Irishtown Stadium. Shelbourne won their first European game & tie in the 1964–65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, after the first leg resulted in a 0–0 draw and the second leg finished 1–1, Shelbourne won a playoff match against Portuguese side Belenenses, the following round they were eliminated 2–0 on aggregate by Atlético Madrid. On 19 November 1967 in a match between Shelbourne and rivals Bohemians, Shelbourne player Jimmy O'Connor set the record for the world's fastest hat-trick in top tier domestic league history. O'Connor scored three goals in 2 minutes and 13 seconds in Dalymount Park. Shelbourne won the Leinster Senior Cup in 1968. In the years that followed, televised highlights of English football began to be broadcast into Ireland and the crowds around most of the league grounds plummeted. Clubs in the league came under huge financial pressure, players left for England at a younger age, grounds became derelict, and media coverage almost disappeared.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: There was a bright enough start to the seventies as Athlone Town were beaten in the Shield final second replay, a win that would see the Reds enter the new UEFA Cup the following season. However, it was to be the last trophy the club would win for some time apart from their Leinster Senior Cup win in 1972. Cork Hibs beat Shels in the replay of the 1973 FAI Cup Final in Flower Lodge-the only time the final was ever played outside Dublin while Shelbourne were eliminated from the UEFA Cup by Hungarians Vasas SC in what would be their last European game for 21 years. Two years later Shels were shocked in the Cup final by amateurs Home Farm. During this time the club's ongoing problems were covered in a ground-breaking RTÉ fly on the wall documentary entitled "In My Book You Should Be Ahead". In 1978, Jimmy Johnstone, a European Cup winner with Celtic in 1967 signed briefly for the club. 'Jinky' only played 9 games for the Reds and the European Cup winner failed to score in any of his appearances.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: In 1984, Shels lost out to Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup semi-final replay. As the league was to expand to two divisions in the summer of 1985, the bottom four clubs at the end of the 1984/85 season were to be relegated. Needing a win on the last day of the season, Shels found themselves two down at half-time away to Galway United. However, a heroic comeback ensued and Shels got the three goals to take the points and avoid the drop. But the reprieve only lasted twelve months as Shelbourne were relegated on Goal Difference after finishing level on 13 points with Cork but on −25 goal difference compared to Cork's −21. Shels stay in the First Division was short-lived as they came back up straight away with Derry City. After two decades and more in the doldrums, the grey skies were clearing. Tony Donnelly took over the club in 1989 and started to invest heavily. Shels were out of the derelict Harold's Cross Stadium and taking over Tolka Park. Former Irish international Pat Byrne was installed as player-manager, and a plethora of new players arrived shortly after to bring back the glory days.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: The heavy investment in the club by the Donnelly family gave an almost instant return as Shels captured their eighth league title at the end of the 1991/92 season – the first for thirty years – when they won 3–1 away to outgoing champions Dundalk. Despite only needing a draw, Brian Flood sealed the win with a spectacular goal from thirty-five yards. Although the league title was lost the following season after two series of play-offs involving Cork City and Bohemians, the FAI Cup was won, again after a thirty-year wait, when a Greg Costello header was enough to defeat Dundalk in Lansdowne Road. The club made a return to European competitions after a 21-year wait in 1992 when they faced Ukrainian club SC Tavriya Simferopol in the newly formed UEFA Champions League, despite holding the Ukrainians to a scoreless draw in Dublin they were beaten 2–1 in Ukraine and eliminated from the competition. the following season Shelbourne won their first game in Europe for 30 years when they beat FC Karpaty Lviv of Ukraine, They advanced to play Greek Giants Panathinaikos and were beaten 5–1 on aggregate. Later that season the Reds won yet another Leinster Senior Cup.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: Two seasons later they were hammered 6–0 on aggregate by Icelandic club ÍA Akraness in the UEFA Cup, the previous season they finished third in the league and just two points behind winners Dundalk. Both the League Cup and the FAI Cup were won in sensational circumstances in 1996 under Damien Richardson. The League Cup was won, for the first time, in a penalty shootout against Sligo Rovers after Shels had come from two down late on. In the FAI Cup Final against St. Patrick's, Shels were reduced early on to ten men as keeper Alan Gough was sent off, and with no sub keeper, midfielder Brian Flood played seventy minutes in goal. Despite trailing 1–0, Tony Sheridan equalised with a stunning lob in the last couple of minutes to force a replay. With Alan Gough back in goal for the rematch, Shels won the trophy after Gough saved a late penalty and Stephen Geoghegan scored an even later winner. Shels became only the third club to retain the FAI Cup when they defeated Derry City 2–0 in the 1997 final. Shelbourne fell to SK Brann in the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary round.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: The 1997/98 season brought heartbreak. Shels lost the League Cup Final to Sligo Rovers, the FAI Cup Final to Cork City after a replay, and worst of all, missed out on the league title on the last day of the season, they were also narrowly eliminated from the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup by Kilmarnock. Richardson departed after this failure and in stepped the uncompromising Dermot Keely. Keely's first season ended in disappointment, Shelbourne finished third in the league and were knocked out of the FAI Cup at the Semi-Final stage. In the first Qualifying round of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Shelbourne were drawn against Glasgow side & one of the Old Firm teams, Rangers. Due to security concerns Shelbourne's home leg was moved to Prenton Park in Tranmere. Despite leading the 1st leg in Tranmere 3–0, Shelbourne were beaten 5–3 and later beaten 2–0 in the second leg. In the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup Shelbourne were beaten in the first round by Swiss club Neuchâtel Xamax.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: After a mediocre first season, Dermot Keely brought Shels a historic first-ever League and FAI Cup double in 1999–2000. Having secured the league with a 2–0 win in Waterford which saw Shels lose just once before then, the double was claimed thanks to a Pat Fenlon goal in the FAI Cup final replay away in Dalymount Park against Bohemians. The following season though saw Shels again let the league title slip away on the last day. Shelbourne beat Macedonian club FK Sloga Jugomagnat to set up a tie with Rosenborg BK, Shelbourne were eliminated by the Norwegians 4–2 on aggregate. The 2001–02 season was dogged in controversy as title challengers St Patrick's Athletic were docked nine points for fielding an unregistered player in accordance with the league's rules, before having them restored. The league eventually docked them fifteen points when it emerged a second unregistered player had played five games. This all led to Shels claiming their tenth league title, in the same season Shelbourne were eliminated from the UEFA Cup in the Preliminary round by Danish club Brøndby.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: Under new manager Pat Fenlon the title was missed out on in 2002–03 and Shelbourne were knocked out embarrassingly in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League First Qualifying round by Minnows Hibernians from Malta, but for the first time ever, Shels won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004 as the league changed to a summer season. They were eliminated from the 2003–04 UEFA Cup in the opening round of games in the competition by Slovenians NK Olimpija Ljubljana. Shelbourne entered the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds in the First Round. After beating KR Reykjavík they advanced to face the then Croatian League Champions HNK Hajduk Split, after the first leg in Croatia Shelbourne were trailing 3–2, however thanks to a 2–0 victory at home Shelbourne advanced 4–3 on aggregate, Shelbourne became the first Irish club to reach the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League and managed to pull off one of the biggest upsets in European Competitions caused by an Irish Club. However, Shelbourne's historic Champions League run came to an end when they were beaten by Spanish club, Deportivo La Coruña 3–0 on aggregate, having achieved a 0–0 draw in Lansdowne Road in front of 25,000 fans. That season the club also set a record for the longest European run in Irish history, a record they held for seven more seasons. After the Champions League exit at the hands of Deportivo the club was entered into the UEFA Cup. There, Shels met French side Lille and were beaten 4–2 on aggregate, having come back from a two-goal deficit in Lansdowne Road to achieve a credible draw thanks to a brace from substitute Glen Fitzpatrick. Shelbourne went on to win the League in 2004. Having just failed to make the group stages of the Champions League & UEFA Cup in 2004, Shels brought in big-name players for the 2005 season, but only finished third in the league and lost to Linfield in the first-ever Setanta Cup Final at Tolka Park, after beating Glentoran in the first qualifying round of the Champions League they were knocked out 4–1 on aggregate by Romanian club Steaua Bucharest, despite holding the Romanian side to a 0–0 draw in the first leg at Tolka Park.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: 2006 saw a change in fortunes for Shelbourne, with 'The Reds' winning the title on the last day of the season on goal difference from the old Derry City, they also managed to reach the Intertoto Cup semi-finals in the Northern Region after beating Lithuanian club FK Vėtra 5–0 on aggregate, the largest victory in European Competitions for Shelbourne, but they were knocked out of the competition by Danish side Odense BK 3–1 on aggregate, 'The Reds' had been beaten 3–0 in the first leg at Fionia Park in Odense but earned a very respectable 1–0 win at Tolka Park, remaining undefeated at home in Europe for 8 games, an Irish record. In 2006 Shelbourne also reached the League of Ireland Cup final for the first time since 1998 but lost on penalties. In 2006 Shelbourne became a member of the 'European Club Forum'.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: However, after ongoing financial problems for Shelbourne during the 2006 season, Pat Fenlon resigned as manager and the vast majority of players left, some for rival clubs, others to British clubs.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: Shels withdrew from the 2007 Setanta Sports Cup and before the start of the new league season were demoted to the First Division by the FAI. Shelbourne announced on 29 March 2007 that they would not be applying for a UEFA licence to compete in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds. The club's majority shareholder Oliver Byrne suffered a brain tumour (he died in August 2007) and Joe Casey was installed as chairman. Former manager Dermot Keely was brought back in and assembled a squad just in time for the club to take its place in the 2007 League of Ireland First Division. A respectable 5th-place finish in the top half of the table was secured. In the 2008 campaign, they were odds-on favourites to win the First Division but a last minute goal by Limerick 37 in Tolka Park gave Dundalk the division and the accompanying promotion. In 2008 the club left the disbanded European Club Forum and joined its replacement, the European Club Association. In 2009, the chance for promotion evaporated when Shels lost 1–2 at home to Sporting Fingal in the promotion/relegation play-off semi-final. In 2009 Shelbourne left the European Club Association. In 2010 former Reds player Alan Mathews became the new manager. Under Matthews, Shelbourne won the 2010 Leinster Senior Cup, later that year Shelbourne narrowly missed out on a place in the Promotion Play-offs thanks to a 2–1 defeat at home to Waterford United on the final day of the season.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: 2011 was a year of mixed fortunes for Shelbourne, a change in the promotion rules allowing the First Division Champions & Runners-up both automatic promotion provided to be beneficial for Shelbourne. 'The Reds' clinched promotion back to the Premier Division thanks to 4–0 home victory against Finn Harps on 25 October. 2011 was also a memorable Cup year for Shelbourne, they were drawn to play Sheriff Y.C. in the fourth round, despite leading the game by two goals Shelbourne were beaten by Sheriff 3–2, however, Sheriff were subsequently found to have fielded an ineligible player and were ejected from the cup. Shelbourne were subsequently admitted to the Quarter-Finals. After victories over Limerick in the Quarter-Finals and St Patrick's Athletic in a Semi-Final replay they secured a place in the 2011 FAI Cup Final, where they were beaten 4–1 on Penalties by Sligo Rovers after the game finished 1–1 after extra time.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: 2012 saw Shelbourne finish eight out of eleven teams on their return to the Premier Division. The club also reached the Cup semi-finals, losing to Derry in a Replay at Tolka Park. However Shelbourne stayed in the top flight for just two seasons, with 'the Reds' finishing bottom of the 2013 Premier Division Alan Matthews was replaced by Johnny McDonnell as manager on 24 May 2013. The 2014 season saw Shelbourne finish second in the First Division, the club thus advanced to a promotion playoff against Galway United. Galway won the two-legged tie, and Shels remained in the First Division. At the end of the 2014 campaign, McDonnell left to manage Drogheda United and was replaced by Kevin Doherty. The 2015 season saw the club finish fourth in the league. A disappointing 2016 campaign ended in a sixth-place finish. Former player Owen Heary took over as manager midway through the season following the resignation of Kevin Doherty. In 2017, Heary's first full season as manager ended in a fourth-place league finish. In 2018, the team qualified for a promotion playoff after a third-place finish. Shels lost in the first round to Drogheda over two legs. In 2019, however, Shelbourne would regain promotion to the Premier Division for the first time since 2013 by winning the first division. They claimed the title with a 3–1 away win over Drogheda at United Park on 14 September 2019.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: In 2020, Shelbourne competed in the Premier Division for the first time since 2013. They were condemned to the First Division once again at the end of the 2020 via a promotion/relegation playoff, but secured a return after winning promotion and the 2021 First Division championship on 1 October 2021.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: In 1989 Shelbourne acquired the lease on Tolka Park from Dublin Corporation. Before moving to Drumcondra Shels had most recently been based in Harold's Cross Stadium, earlier they had been housed in Shelbourne Park, Irishtown Stadium and Dalymount Park. Shels had played home games regularly in Tolka during the fifties, sixties, seventies, and early eighties. Before Tolka Park was home to Shelbourne it housed Drumcondra F.C. from 1953 until 1972 when Drumcondra unexpectedly went out of business, vacating the ground. Home Farm were the next tenants in Tolka Park however the club never drew large crowds. When Shelbourne moved into the ground they invested heavily in the stadium, converting it into Ireland's first all-seater stadium and building a new stand behind the Drumcondra end goal in 1999. The first-ever League of Ireland match to be broadcast live on TV was a fixture between Shelbourne and Derry City, staged at Tolka Park during the 1996–97 season. In 2015, the club announced a future move as co-tenants of Dublin City Council-owned Dalymount Park once redevelopment was completed around 2020. In 2021, the redevelopment was planned to conclude by 2025.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: The club's fanbase is mainly drawn from the northside of Dublin although there are a number of supporters from the Southside, mainly the Ringsend area where the club originates from.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: 'Briogáid Dearg' ("Red Brigade") was formed in 2003 and is the club's single Ultras group. 'Reds Independent' are a Shelbourne supporters group formed in 1998 after Shelbourne FC moved their home UEFA Cup tie with Rangers out of the country and to Prenton Park, the home of Tranmere Rovers FC. The group gives Shelbourne fans an independent voice, through "Red Inc.", the longest-running fanzine in the League of Ireland. "Red Inc." was first sold as a sixteen-page publication priced fifty pence for a home league tie against Cork City on 31 January 1999. The 'Shelbourne Supporters' Development Group' was founded in 2006 with the aim of securing badly needed funding from the Shelbourne supporter base. The Group have been promised shares in Shelbourne FC Ltd and representation on the board if it raises a certain amount of money for Shelbourne FC each year.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: In October 2012 a Shelbourne FC Supporters' Trust was agreed to be launched by fans. The Trust's name was officially voted as "The 1895 Trust" in celebration of the founding year of the club. The Trust was officially launched in 2013.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: Shelbourne shares a rivalry with Bohemians largely because of geographical proximity as both clubs are now located roughly just one mile apart, and also because of their early days in the old Belfast-centered Irish League and the early Irish Free State league. The club also has rivalries with other Dublin sides St Patrick's Athletic and Shamrock Rovers.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: Shelbourne have a long, illustrious history in European competitions, taking on teams such as Kilmarnock, Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Panathinaikos, Rangers, Rosenborg, Brøndby, Hajduk Split, Deportivo de La Coruña, Lille, and Steaua Bucharest.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: Shelbourne first performed on the European stage in the 1962/63 season, taking on Sporting Lisbon in the European Cup. From 1995 to 2006, Shelbourne had been ever-present in European competition and enjoyed a considerable amount of success. However, due to the club's recent decline, they are currently unranked in the UEFA Team Rankings and are without any club coefficient points.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: In 2015 Shelbourne Ladies merged with Raheny United's senior women's team. This effectively saw Shelbourne Ladies takeover Raheny United's place in the Women's National League. During the subsequent 2015–16 season, Shelbourne Ladies finished as runners-up in FAI Women's Cup, the WNL Shield and the Women's National League. All three competitions were won by Wexford Youths. However Shelbourne Ladies did win the WNL Cup after defeating UCD Waves 3–2 in the final at Richmond Park on 1 May 2016. In 2016 Shelbourne won the FAI Women's Cup after defeating Wexford Youths 5–0 in the final. The most notable individual performance to come out of the game was undoubtedly that of Shels' Leanne Kiernan, who scored a hat-trick and picked up the 'player of the match' award for her efforts.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: The team won their first league championship when they finished the shortened 2016 season in first place. They qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Women's Champions League with that title. In March 2019 Shelbourne announced a number of steps intended to boost "equality and parity of esteem for all of our players". They dropped the word Ladies from the women's team's name and moved WNL home games from the AUL Complex to the main stadium at Tolka Park. The WNL team are the current 2021 WNL Champions. Also competed in the 2022 Women's Champions League qualifying rounds.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: It was announced on 21 April 2011, by the Football Association of Ireland that there would be the formation of a League of Ireland U19 Division. This giving young players in Ireland the prospect of ultimately breaking into the first teams of League of Ireland clubs.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: Shelbourne have seventeen schoolboy teams competing in the Dublin & District Schoolboy Leagues. Schoolboy teams have participated in numerous Youth Cups worldwide including the Milk Cup and Umbro Galway Cup.They also have a new u13s league of Ireland sse airtricity schoolboy team.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: Shelbourne are involved in a football scholarship programme with Larkin Community College, on Dublin's northside. This scheme is considered to have helped stop the falling enrolment rates, and early leaving of school, in part of Dublin's north inner city.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: Shelbourne also has an amateur team playing in the United Churches Football League, Division 1. However, the team started in the Amateur Football League Division 2. They won promotion to Division 1 in 2008 and earned a place in the Premier Division a year later following a playoff victory against Columba Rovers.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: In 2014 the team had silverware again. This time it was the Maher Cup after a 1:0 victory in the final.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: 2015 saw the team move away from the Amateur Football League to the United Churches Football League, where it remains to date.


title: Shelbourne F.C.

text: The Shelbourne A team took part in the 2010 A Championship and finished sixth in Group 1. The team did not participate in the 2011 edition of the Championship, which was the last edition of the competition.


title: Último Dragón

text: On October 11, 1996, Asai won the J-Crown, a unification of eight lower weight division titles from various international promotions. At the time, he already held the NWA World Middleweight Championship; during this reign he also became the WCW Cruiserweight Champion, making him the most decorated wrestler in history. From December 29, 1996, through January 4, 1997, he concurrently held ten titles, a record which still stands. From 2013 until 2019, he competed primarily for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) as a freelancer. In 2019, he joined Dragongate as a senior advisor and wrestler.


title: Último Dragón

text: Asai trained in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) dojo in 1987, but was not drafted up by the promotion due to his small size. He moved to Mexico where he joined the Universal Wrestling Association and subsequently won the UWA World Welterweight Championship in 1988. In March 1990, he joined the Universal Wrestling Federation in Japan. He also competed in the Universal Lucha Libre promotion founded by his mentor Gran Hamada.


title: Último Dragón

text: In 1991, he signed with the Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion. In CMLL, he adopted the Último Dragón mask and persona. "Último Dragón", which means "Last Dragon" in Spanish, was initially a gimmick that saw Asai claiming to be the last student taught by legendary martial artist Bruce Lee, whose nickname was "The Dragon". The gimmick was later dropped, but the name remained. Late in 1992, Misteriosito was turned into "Último Dragoncito", a Mini-Estrella version of Asai. During the same period, Asai also signed with the Japanese WAR promotion, and due to co-promoting, he was able to wrestle for NJPW. In Japan, he became IWGP Junior heavyweight champion twice, and in Mexico, he held various titles. In later years, he wrestled for AAA.


title: Último Dragón

text: Asai made his American debut for the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion in 1996 initially under the mistranslated name "Ultimate Dragon". He was referred to by this name for over a year in WCW until they reverted to using his Spanish ring name. He quickly was pushed into the lime-light of the WCW Cruiserweight division with Sonny Onoo as his manager. He was instantly a heel based upon the fact he was Japanese and Sonny Onoo was his manager. He made his WCW pay-per view debut in 1996's Hog Wild against Rey Misterio Jr. for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship but lost. He got back the win at WCW World War 3 when he returned to WCW as the J-Crown champion. He then feuded with Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight title which he won at Starrcade 1996.


title: Último Dragón

text: Dragon later dropped the WCW Cruiserweight title back to Malenko but his stock was rising as he won the WCW World Television Championship from Prince Iaukea but lost it to Steven Regal. He then turned face by dropping Onoo as his manager and won back the WCW World Television title from Regal before losing to Alex Wright at Clash of the Champions XXXV. He would then win the WCW Cruiserweight title one last time from Eddie Guerrero, before losing the title on the first "WCW Thunder" to Juventud Guerrera. He then suffered an arm injury in 1998 that required surgery. The operation was botched, causing nerve damage. It was thought that this would force an end of his career and he announced his retirement.


title: Último Dragón

text: In 1997, Asai then became a trainer and founded the Último Dragón Gym, where he trained three classes of students, "Toryumon Japan", "Toryumon 2000 Project" (T2P), and "Toryumon X". His first class of students, which included Don Fuji, Dragon Kid, Magnum Tokyo, Cima and Suwa, worked for WCW early in their career. In 1998, Asai began co-promoting Grupo Internacional Revolución (IWRG) based out of Mexico, where he trained several of the top young wrestlers. In 1999, a promotion named Toryumon opened, with the vast majority of the roster having been trained by Asai. Toryumon was later renamed Dragon Gate as Asai parted ways with the promotion. He continued to train students at his gym.


title: Último Dragón

text: In 2002, Asai underwent another surgery to repair the damage done to his arm in hopes of returning to wrestling. In late 2002 Ultimo Dragon was in talks with World Wrestling Entertainment for another shot at a United States run. To get back into ring shape he returned to action for his T2P and Toryumon Mexico promotions. On November 26, he teamed with former WCW wrestlers Norman Smiley and Perry Saturn in a win against Masaaki Mochizuki, Kenichiro Arai and Toru Owashi for T2P. On December 7 he teamed with Mochizuki and Dragon Kid in a win over the team of Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio Jr. and El Duende for Toryumon Mexico.


title: Último Dragón

text: In the spring of 2003, he signed with World Wrestling Entertainment as the "Último Dragón", seeking to realize his two lifelong goals of competing in Madison Square Garden and performing at WrestleMania. He was brought in on the heels of the signing of Rey Mysterio on the belief that he would make as big of an impact as Mysterio did upon his WWE debut. Asai made his WWE debut in dark match victories against Rico, Crash Holly and Shannon Moore as they debuted a series of video packages hyping the debut of Dragon on "SmackDown!". He made his WWE television debut at Madison Square Garden on June 26, 2003 episode of "SmackDown!" in a match with Shannon Moore, where he debuted his finisher, the Asai DDT (a standing shiranui), to the American wrestling audience.


title: Último Dragón

text: Throughout the summer he competed in a tournament for the WWE United States Championship beating Jamie Noble but losing to eventual winner, Eddie Guerrero. He quickly rebounded by beating Kanyon in a "WWE Heat" match taped before Vengeance. He then wrestled on "WWE Velocity" for the next few weeks, leading to a match with Rey Mysterio on "SmackDown". Dragon won the match only after Tajiri interfered and showed respect to Dragon due to their Japanese heritage. The next week Dragon teamed with Mysterio to take on Tajiri and Nunzio. After this match, he was not seen on "SmackDown!" for several months until the build for the Cruiserweight Open at WrestleMania XX. At the event, Dragon participated in the Open. Dragon's WrestleMania resulted in one of WrestleMania's most famous blunders, tripping as he entered the arena from the backstage area and tripping as he was going up the turnbuckle for a pose. The first trip was edited out of the WrestleMania XX DVD, but the second wasn't. After the open, he faced Chavo Guerrero and Nunzio in his last WWE matches. On April 22, 2004, WWE announced that Asai asked for his release from WWE when he knew WWE wanted to unmask him and went back to Japan immediately.


title: Último Dragón

text: One month later after being released from WWE, Asai quickly picked up a New Japan tour on May 1, 2004. He has occasionally wrestled for the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. He also took part in the short lived Japanese independent promotion Dragondoor, ran by one of his students Noriaki Kawabata using mostly T2P and Toryumon X graduates. He would wrestle in matches against Último Guerrero and various other stars who wrestled in Mexico or Japanese based lucha libre promotions. Since the fall of Dragondoor he went back to Mexico to run another class of the Toryumon school, which has led to some standouts in Hajime Ohara, Kazuchika Okada and Pequeño Ninja. The rest of the Toryumon students along with Asai joined the Tatsumi Fujinami promoted Dradition promotion in Japan. In 2006, Asai began promoting the annual "Toryumon Mexico: Dragon Mania" wrestling show. He also wrestled at UWA Hardcore Wrestling based outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has wrestled against Sonjay Dutt, M-Dogg 20, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Jyushin Thunder Liger and Black Tiger all in the UWA. Since then he has been working in Japan for various independent promotions such as Pro Wrestling Kageki and Michinoku Pro. He has also been to Mexico as well as in Spain, working for Nu Wrestling Evolution.


title: Último Dragón

text: On December 15, 2013, Dragón defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru to win All Japan Pro Wrestling's World Junior Heavyweight Championship. He lost the title to Atsushi Aoki on May 29, 2014. On August 27, 2017, he regained the title by defeating Tajiri.


title: Último Dragón

text: On August 30 and 31, 2014, Dragón participated in a show in Pyongyang, North Korea promoted by the Inoki Genome Federation. He defeated Hajime Ohara on the first day and Heddi French on the second in singles matches.


title: Último Dragón

text: On March 22, 2015, Dragón won another title in All Japan, when he and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Mitsuya Nagai and Takeshi Minamino for the All Asia Tag Team Championship. They vacated the title on October 14.


title: Último Dragón

text: Ultimo Dragon starred in two films in 2008. The first was "Bloodstained Memoirs", also starring Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, Mick Foley and Keiji Muto. Ultimo Dragon's scenes were filmed in the UK and Italy. The other was "Ultimo Dragon", a heroic martial arts story.


title: Keith Potger

text: Keith Leon Potger (born 21 March 1941) is an Australian musician. He is a founding members of the Australian folk-pop group the Seekers. He was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and is of Burgher descent. In 1969, Potger and his business partner David Joseph co-founded the contemporary English pop group the New Seekers. Potger also records and performs as a solo artist.


title: Keith Potger

text: In September 2014, along with his colleagues in the Seekers, Potger was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).


title: Keith Potger

text: Keith Potger was born on 21 March 1941 in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), to Justin Vere Potger (1914-1990) and Joan Frances Meier (1920-2004). His two brothers are Ralph and Nigel. At age 6, Potger's family migrated to Australia and he began teaching himself to play the banjo, guitar and keyboard. While at Melbourne High School, Potger performed in vocal groups which evolved into the Seekers in early 1962. The lineup of the Seekers then consisted of Athol Guy, Bruce Woodley, Ken Ray and Potger. When Ray left the group in late 1962, Judith Durham joined and they focused on the folk and gospel music boom, accompanying themselves on guitars, banjo and double bass.


title: Keith Potger

text: The Seekers consisted of Judith Durham, Athol Guy, Bruce Woodley and Potger, an ABC radio producer. Through Potger's position, the three were able to make a demo tape in their spare time. This was given to W&G Records, which wanted another sample of Durham's voice before agreeing to record a Jazz Preachers' album. W&G instead signed The Seekers for an album, "Introducing The Seekers", in 1963. Potger does not appear on the album cover because he was not allowed to have a second job.


title: Keith Potger

text: In early 1964, the Seekers sailed to the United Kingdom on the "S.S. Fairsky", on which the group provided the musical entertainment. Originally, they had planned to return after ten weeks, but they received a steady stream of bookings through the Grade Agency because they had sent the agency a copy of their first album. On 4 November 1964 at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, the Seekers recorded "I'll Never Find Another You" composed and produced by Tom Springfield and subsequently released in December 1964. In February 1965, the song reached number one in the UK and Australia, while their 1966 recording of Springfield and Jim Dale's "Georgy Girl" (from the film of the same name) reached number two (Billboard chart) and number one (Cashbox chart) in the United States.


title: Keith Potger

text: In 1967, the Seekers set an official all-time record when more than 200,000 people (nearly one tenth of the city's entire population at that time) flocked to their performance at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. Their TV special "The Seekers Down Under" scored the biggest TV audience ever (with a 67 rating), and early in 1968 they were all awarded the nation's top honour as "Australians of the Year 1967". On a tour of New Zealand in February 1968, Durham advised the group that she was leaving The Seekers and subsequently left in July 1968.


title: Keith Potger

text: In the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, the Seekers reunited and toured extensively. In September 2014, each of them was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).


title: Keith Potger

text: When the Seekers disbanded in 1968, Potger's musical activities turned to songwriting and record production in major recording studios in the UK. The New Seekers are an English pop group, formed in London in 1969 by Potger. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music would have pop as well as folk influences. They achieved worldwide success in the early 1970s with hits including "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" and "Beg, Steal or Borrow".


title: Keith Potger

text: The New Seekers' second album, "Keith Potger and the New Seekers", released in 1970, is their only one to feature Potger as a member.


title: Keith Potger

text: Returning to Australia in 1978, Potger wrote and produced television jingles and music tracks as well as performing solo concerts throughout the 1980s. In 1988, he wrote and produced stage musicals for the Australian Bicentenary. In 2004, Potger released his first solo album, "Secrets of the Heart". This was followed by "Sunday" in 2007 and in 2010, with "Smile Now".


title: Keith Potger

text: In November 2018, Potger coined the word "mynonym" to be an autological synonym for the word palindrome.


title: Keith Potger

text: On 18 November 2006, Potger married Australian actress Nicola Paull in front of six witnesses and a celebrant on the Mornington Peninsula. They divorced on 8 February 2014. The following year, Potger was reportedly living in Braidwood, New South Wales.


title: Keith Potger

text: Potger's previous two marriages were to Pamela Potger (1994–2004; divorced), and British swimmer Pamela Powley (22 January 1966 – 1984; divorced), from which they had two children. Their son Matthew (born in London, 1967) is an actor and composer.


title: Keith Potger

text: In 1983, Potger won a Golden guitar award and was inducted into the Roll of Renown at the Tamworth Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA)


title: Nako Yabuki

text: She joined HKT48 in November 2013. From 2015 to 2017, she was a concurrent member of AKB48. In 2018, she competed in the South Korean survival show "Produce 48". She placed sixth and debuted as a member of Iz*One. She is an exclusive model for Love Berry. Yabuki is also known for her role as young Minami Asakura in the film "Touch" (2005).


title: Nako Yabuki

text: Yabuki made her film debut as young Minami Asakura in the coming-of-age film "Touch" in 2005. Two years later, she appeared in JCB and Dainichi commercials. In 2009, she appeared in the made for television films "Detective Samonji Susumu" and "My Father's Longest Day".


title: Nako Yabuki

text: She appeared in a Koala's March commercial in 2011. In 2012, she appeared in the short film "On the Shinhori River". The following year, she appeared in the tokusatsu superhero film "Gatchaman".


title: Nako Yabuki

text: Yabuki is a fan of Rino Sashihara. During an AKB48 handshake event, she met Sashihara, who told her to audition for the group. Yabuki decided to audition for HKT48 instead, after Sashihara was demoted and transferred to HKT48. In 2013, she passed the third generation auditions for HKT48.


title: Nako Yabuki

text: In 2018, Nako participated in reality girl group survival show "Produce 48," and after ranking #6 in the final ranking, she placed in the top twelve, and became a member of Korean-Japanese idol group Iz*One. She and the other two Japanese members of the group took a hiatus from their respective Japanese groups until their contracts with Iz*One expire in April 2021.


title: Nako Yabuki

text: On April 29, 2021, her contract with Iz*One officially expired and she and the other two Japanese members returned to Japan. On May 15, 2021, Nako officially resumed HKT48 activities with a theater appearance.


title: Nako Yabuki

text: On October 16, 2022, during HKT48's 11th anniversary concert, she announced her graduation from the group with a graduation concert which would be held on Spring 2023.


title: Nako Yabuki

text: Since her debut in 2013, Yabuki has taken part in five of AKB48's annual general elections. Her placements were as follows :


title: The Iron Maidens

text: The Iron Maidens are an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 2001 as an all-female tribute act to English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The band currently consists of drummer Linda McDonald, bassist Wanda Ortiz, lead vocalist Kirsten Rosenberg and guitarists Courtney Cox and Nikki Stringfield.


title: The Iron Maidens

text: The Iron Maidens were originally formed in June 2001 by lead vocalist Jenny Warren and bassist Melanie Sisneros, formerly of the Iron Maiden tribute band "Wrathchild". drummer Linda McDonald and guitarist Josephine Draven, both formerly of Phantom Blue, and guitarist Sara Marsh, joined Warren and Sisneros shortly afterward to form the band's first lineup. Sisneros left the band in 2002 to pursue other interests and was replaced by Wanda Ortiz.


title: The Iron Maidens

text: In 2003, the band started work on their debut album. The project was delayed when Warren gave notice of her departure from the band to focus more on her personal and child's needs. After Warren's departure, new vocalist Aja Kim made her debut in the band and helped complete the album ("World's Only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden"), which was released in June 2005.


title: The Iron Maidens

text: After the album's release, Draven left the band. In February 2007, Heather Baker joined to replace Draven. In May, the band released its second album "Route 666", which features a guest appearance by Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell.


title: The Iron Maidens

text: In summer 2008, Heather Baker and Aja Kim left the band to pursue solo careers. The two were replaced by guitarist Courtney Cox and vocalist Kirsten Rosenberg (formerly of the Maryland-based cover band HighWire). In January 2010, Marsh, who was ill, was taken off some of the Japanese tour shows and did not rejoin the band. Baker rejoined the band to temporarily fill in Marsh's spot for a handful of shows.


title: The Iron Maidens

text: In August 2010, The Iron Maidens released a DVD of their Japan tour titled "Metal Gathering Tour Live in Japan 2010".


title: The Iron Maidens

text: Upon Marsh's departure from the band, former members Elizabeth Schall and Heather Baker would return briefly to fill in the vacant Murray position (2009–2010). For tours 2010–2014, the role of Dave Murray would be shared between artists Nili Brosh, Nita Strauss, and Nikki Stringfield. In 2014,the band approached Nikki Stringfield to become a permanent member in the Murray position.


title: The Iron Maidens

text: Nita Strauss (Ibanez), Courtney Cox (Caparison) and Nikki Stringfield (Schecter) are the first female artists to have their own signature guitar with their associated guitar companies.


title: The Iron Maidens

text: In June 2014, Nita Strauss was hired to replace Orianthi as Alice Cooper's touring guitarist for the remaining 2014 tour dates. She has toured with Alice Cooper since that time.


title: The Iron Maidens

text: On September 8, 2015, the group announced that long-time guest guitarist Nikki Stringfield had been officially added as a permanent member of the band.


title: The Iron Maidens

text: Rosenberg and Stringfield appeared as contestants on the August 3, 2017, episode of the music game show "Beat Shazam".


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The estate tax in the United States is a federal tax on the transfer of the estate of a person who dies. The tax applies to property that is transferred by will or, if the person has no will, according to state laws of intestacy. Other transfers that are subject to the tax can include those made through a trust and the payment of certain life insurance benefits or financial accounts. The estate tax is part of the federal unified gift and estate tax in the United States. The other part of the system, the gift tax, applies to transfers of property during a person's life.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: In addition to this federal estate tax, many states have enacted similar taxes. These taxes may be termed "inheritance taxes" to the extent the tax is payable by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, as opposed to an estate tax, which is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The estate tax is often the subject of political debate, and opponents call it the "death tax". Some supporters of the tax have called it the "Paris Hilton tax".


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: If an asset is left to a spouse or a federally recognized charity, the tax usually does not apply. In addition, a maximum amount, varying year by year, can be given by an individual, before and/or upon their death, without incurring federal gift or estate taxes: for estates of persons dying in 2014 and 2015, (effectively $10.90 million per married couple, assuming the deceased spouse did not leave assets to the surviving spouse) for estates of persons dying in 2016. Because of these exemptions, it is estimated that the largest 0.2% of estates in the U.S. will pay the tax. For 2017, the exemption increased to . In 2018, the exemption doubled to per taxpayer due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. As a result, about 3,200 estates were effected by this 2018 increase and were not liable for federal estate tax.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The federal "estate tax" is imposed "on the transfer of the taxable estate of every decedent who is a citizen or resident of the United States."


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Federal estate taxes give very wealthy families incentives to transfer resources directly to distant generations in order to avoid taxes on successive rounds of transfers. Until recently such transfers were impeded by the rule against perpetuities, which prevented transfers to most potential not-yet-born beneficiaries. Many American states have repealed the rule against perpetuities, raising concerns that the combination of tax incentives and new legal rights encourages the devotion of vast wealth to perpetual trusts designed to benefit distant generations, avoid taxes, and maintain a degree of control over the financial affairs of descendants in perpetuity.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: One of the major concerns that motivate estate planning is the potential burden of federal taxes, which apply both to gifts during lifetime and to transfers at death. In practice, only a small fraction of U.S. estates is taxable, reflecting that exemption levels are high and transfers to surviving spouses are entirely excluded from taxable estates; but those estates that are subject to federal taxation typically face high rates. Taxpayers commonly arrange their affairs to soften the impact of federal taxation.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The starting point in the calculation is the "gross estate". Certain deductions from the "gross estate" are allowed to arrive at the "taxable estate".


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The "gross estate" for federal estate tax purposes often includes more property than that included in the "probate estate" under the property laws of the state in which the decedent lived at the time of death. The gross estate (before the modifications) may be considered to be the value of all the property interests of the decedent at the time of death. To these interests are added the following property interests generally not owned by the decedent at the time of death:


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: As noted above, life insurance benefits may be included in the gross estate (even though the proceeds arguably were not "owned" by the decedent and were never received by the decedent). Life insurance proceeds are generally included in the gross estate if the benefits are payable to the estate, or if the decedent was the owner of the life insurance policy or had any "incidents of ownership" over the life insurance policy (such as the power to change the beneficiary designation). Similarly, bank accounts or other financial instruments which are "payable on death" or "transfer on death" are usually included in the taxable estate, even though such assets are not subject to the probate process under state law.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Once the value of the "gross estate" is determined, the law provides for various deductions (in Part IV of Subchapter A of Chapter 11 of Subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code) in arriving at the value of the "taxable estate." Deductions include but are not limited to:


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Of these deductions, the most important is the deduction for property passing to (or in certain kinds of trust, for) the surviving spouse, because it can eliminate any federal estate tax for a married decedent. However, this unlimited deduction does not apply if the surviving spouse (not the decedent) is not a U.S. citizen. A special trust called a Qualified Domestic Trust or QDOT must be used to obtain an unlimited marital deduction for otherwise disqualified spouses.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The tentative tax is based on the tentative tax base, which is the sum of the taxable estate and the "adjusted taxable gifts" (i.e., taxable gifts made after 1976). For decedents dying after December 31, 2009, the tentative tax will, with exceptions, be calculated by applying the following tax rates:


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: --Internal Revenue Code section 2001(c), as amended by section 302(a)(2) of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4853), Pub. L. No. 111-312, 124 Stat. 3296, 3301 (Dec. 17, 2010), as amended by section 101(c)(1) of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012; see "Instructions for Form 706 (Rev. August 2013)," page 5, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury, at (PDF)


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The tentative tax is reduced by gift tax that would have been paid on the adjusted taxable gifts, based on the rates in effect on the date of death (which means that the reduction is not necessarily equal to the gift tax actually paid on those gifts).


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: There are several credits against the tentative tax, the most important of which is a "unified credit" which can be thought of as providing for an "exemption equivalent" or exempted value with respect to the sum of the taxable estate and the taxable gifts during lifetime.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: For a person dying during 2006, 2007, or 2008, the "applicable exclusion amount" is , so if the sum of the taxable estate plus the "adjusted taxable gifts" made during lifetime equals or less, there is no federal estate tax to pay. According to the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the applicable exclusion increased to in 2009, and the estate tax was repealed for estates of decedents dying in 2010, but then the Act was to "sunset" in 2011 and the estate tax was to reappear with an applicable exclusion amount of only .


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 became law on December 17, 2010. The 2010 Act changed, among other things, the rate structure for estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2009, subject to certain exceptions. It also served to reunify the estate tax credit (aka exemption equivalent) with the federal gift tax credit (aka exemption equivalent). The gift tax exemption is equal to for estates of decedents dying in 2013, and for estates of decedents dying in 2014.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The 2010 Act also provided portability to the credit, allowing a surviving spouse to use that portion of the pre-deceased spouse's credit that was not previously used (e.g. a husband died, used of his credit, and filed an estate tax return. At his wife's subsequent death, she can use her credit plus the remaining of her husband's). If the estate includes property that was inherited from someone else within the preceding 10 years, and there was estate tax paid on that property, there may also be a credit for property previously taxed.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Because of these exemptions, only the largest 0.2% of estates in the US will have to pay any estate tax.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Before 2005, there was also a credit for non-federal estate taxes, but that credit was phased out by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 authorizes the personal representative of estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2011, to elect to transfer any unused estate tax exclusion amount to the surviving spouse, in a concept known as portability. The amount received by the surviving spouse is called the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE, amount. If the personal representative of the decedent's estate elects transfer, or portability, of the DSUE amount, the surviving spouse may apply the DSUE amount received from the estate of his or her last deceased spouse against any tax liability arising from subsequent lifetime gifts and transfers at death. The portability exemption is claimed by filing Form 706, specifically Part 6 of the estate tax return. Whether the personal representative has an obligation to make the portability election is presently unclear.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: For estates larger than the current federally exempted amount, any estate tax due is paid by the executor, other person responsible for administering the estate, or the person in possession of the decedent's property. That person is also responsible for filing a Form 706 return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In addition, the form must be filed if the decedent's spouse wishes to claim any of the decedent's remaining estate/gift tax exemption.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The return must contain detailed information as to the valuations of the estate assets and the exemptions claimed, to ensure that the correct amount of tax is paid. The deadline for filing the Form 706 is 9 months from the date of the decedent's death. The payment may be extended, but not to exceed 12 months, but the return must be filed by the 9-month deadline.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: As noted above, a certain amount of each estate is exempted from taxation by the law. Below is a table of the amount of exemption by year an estate would expect. Estates above these amounts would be subject to estate tax, but only for the amount above the exemption.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: For example, assume an estate of in 2006. There are two beneficiaries who will each receive equal shares of the estate. The maximum allowable credit is for that year, so the taxable value is therefore . Since it is 2006, the tax rate on that is 46%, so the total taxes paid would be . Each beneficiary will receive of untaxed inheritance and from the taxable portion of their inheritance for a total of . This means the estate would have paid a taxable rate of 19.7%.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: As shown below, the 2001 tax act would have repealed the estate tax for one year (2010) and would then have readjusted it in 2011 to the year 2002 exemption level with a 2001 top rate. That is, had no further legislation been passed, the estate of a person who died in the year 2010 would have been entirely exempt from tax while that of a person who died in the year 2011 or later would have been taxed as heavily as in 2001. However, on December 17, 2010, Congress passed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. Section 301 of the 2010 Act reinstated the federal estate tax. The new law set the exemption for U.S. citizens and residents at per person, and it provided a top tax rate of 35 percent for the years 2011 and 2012.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: On January 1, 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was passed which permanently establishes an exemption of (as 2011 basis with inflation adjustment) per person for U.S. citizens and residents, with a maximum tax rate of 40% for the year 2013 and beyond.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The permanence of this regulation is not ensured: the fiscal year 2014 budget called for lowering the estate tax exclusion, the generation-skipping transfer tax and the gift-tax exemption back to levels of 2009 as of the year 2018. The exemption amounts of in 2018 and in 2019 are also currently (as of December 2018) scheduled to sunset 12/31/2025 (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017).


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: A decedent who is a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico and resident at the time of death in a U.S. possession (i.e., PR) is generally treated, for federal tax purposes, as though he or she were a nonresident who is not a citizen of the United States, so the $5 million exemption does not apply to such a person's estate. For U.S. estate tax purposes, a U.S. resident is someone who had a domicile in the United States at the time of death. A person acquires a domicile by living in a place for even a brief period of time, as long as the person had no intention of moving from that place.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The $11.2 million exemption specified in the Acts of 2010 and 2012 (cited above) applies only to U.S. citizens or residents, not to non-resident aliens. Non-resident aliens have a $60,000 exclusion instead; this amount may be higher if a gift and estate tax treaty applies.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: For estate tax purposes, the test is different in determining who is a non-resident alien, compared to the one for income tax purposes (the inquiry centers around the decedent's domicile). This is a subjective test that looks primarily at intent. The test considers factors such as the length of stay in the United States; frequency of travel, size, and cost of home in the United States; location of family; participation in community activities; participation in U.S. business and ownership of assets in the United States; and voting. A foreigner can be a U.S. resident for income tax purposes, but not be domiciled for estate tax purposes.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: A non-resident alien is subject to a different regime for estate tax than U.S. citizens and residents. The estate tax is imposed only on the part of the gross non-resident alien's estate that at the time of death is situated in the United States. These rules may be ameliorated by an estate tax treaty. The U.S. does not maintain as many estate tax treaties as income tax treaties, but there are estate tax treaties in place with many of the major European countries, Australia, and Japan.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: U.S. real estate owned by a non-resident alien through a foreign corporation is not included in a non-resident alien's estate. The corporation must have a business purpose and activity, lest it be deemed a sham designed to avoid U.S. estate taxes.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: All property held jointly with a surviving noncitizen spouse is considered to belong entirely to the gross estate of the deceased, except for the extent the executor can substantiate the contributions of the noncitizen surviving spouse to the acquisition of the property.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: U.S. citizens with a noncitizen spouse do not benefit from the same marital deductions as those with a U.S. citizen spouse.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Furthermore, the estate tax exemption is not portable among spouses if one of the spouses is a noncitizen.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Currently, fifteen states and the District of Columbia have an estate tax, and six states have an inheritance tax. Maryland has both. Some states exempt estates at the federal level. Other states impose tax at lower levels; New Jersey estate tax was abolished for deaths after Jan 1, 2018.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: In states that impose an inheritance tax, the tax rate depends on the status of the person receiving the property, and in some jurisdictions, how much they receive. Inheritance taxes are paid not by the estate of the deceased, but by the inheritors of the estate. For example, the Kentucky inheritance tax "is a tax on the right to receive property from a decedent's estate; both tax and exemptions are based on the relationship of the beneficiary to the decedent."


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: For decedents dying in calendar year 2014, 12 states (Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington) and the District of Columbia impose only estate taxes. Delaware and Hawaii allowed their taxes to expire after Congress repealed the credit for state estate taxes, but reenacted the taxes in 2010. Exemption amounts under the state estate taxes vary, ranging from the federal estate tax exemption amount or , indexed for inflation (two states) to (New Jersey). The most common amount is (three states and the District of Columbia). In 2014, four states increased their exemption amounts: Minnesota (phased up to for 2018 deaths), Rhode Island ( for 2015 deaths), and Maryland and New York (both phased their exemptions up to the federal amount for 2019 deaths). Top rates range from 12 percent to 19 percent with most states, like Minnesota, imposing a top rate of 16 percent.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Five states (Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) impose only inheritance taxes. The exemptions under state inheritance taxes vary greatly, ranging from no exemption (Pennsylvania) for bequests to unrelated individuals to unlimited exemptions (Iowa and Kentucky) for bequests to lineal heirs, such as children or parents of the decedent. No states tax bequests to surviving spouses. Only two states (Nebraska and Pennsylvania) tax bequests to lineal heirs. Top tax rates range from 4.5 percent (Pennsylvania on lineal heirs) to 18 percent (Nebraska on collateral heirs).


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: One state— Maryland —imposes both types of taxes, but the estate tax paid is a credit against the inheritance tax, so the total tax liability is not the sum of the two, but the greater of the two taxes. Its inheritance tax does not apply to bequests to lineal heirs.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Mitigation strategies can include making inter vivos (lifetime) transfers that are subject to lower effective tax rates than transfers at death, transferring property through insurance trusts or grantor retained annuity trusts, making gifts to charity, transferring minority business interests, taking maximal advantage of each spouse’s opportunity for exempt transfers; and many others, not the least of which is simply spending more of one’s resources during lifetime and thereby reducing total transfers. A 2021 investigation using leaked IRS documents found more than half of the richest 100 Americans are using grantor retained annuity trusts to avoid paying estate taxes when they die.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Taxes which apply to estates or to inheritance in the United States trace back to the 18th century. According to the IRS, a temporary stamp tax in 1797 applied a tax of varying size depending on the size of the bequest, ranging from 25 cents for a bequest between and , to 1 dollar for each . The tax was repealed in 1802. In the 19th century, the Revenue Act of 1862 and the War Revenue Act of 1898 also imposed rates, but were each repealed shortly thereafter. The modern estate tax was enacted in 1916.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The modern estate tax was temporarily phased out and repealed by tax legislation in 2001. This legislation gradually dropped the rates until they were eliminated in 2010. However, the law did not make these changes permanent and the estate tax returned in 2011.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: But late in 2010, before that clause took effect, Congress passed superseding legislation that imposed a 35 percent tax in 2011 and 2012 on estate in excess of . Like the 2001 legislation, the 2010 legislation had a sunset clause so that in 2013 the estate tax would return to its 2001 level. But then on New Year's Day 2013, Congress made permanent an estate tax on estates in excess of at a rate of 40 percent.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: One of the most important issues in assessing reform options is the impact on charitable giving. The estate tax encourages charitable giving at death by allowing a deduction for charitable bequests. It also encourages giving during life, as explained below. But the tax reduces charitable gifts by reducing the amount of wealth decedents can allocate to various uses. The net impact of these effects is ambiguous in theory. It is found that estate tax repeal reduces charitable bequests by between 22 and 37 percent, or between $3.6 billion and $6 billion per year. To put this in perspective, a reduction in annual charitable donations in life and at death of $10 billion due to estate tax repeal implies that, each year, the nonprofit sector would lose resources equivalent to the total grants currently made by the largest 110 foundations in the United States. The qualitative conclusion that repeal would significantly reduce giving holds even if repeal raises aggregate pre-tax wealth and income by plausible amounts.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Some simple examples show the channels through which estate tax repeal would affect giving and why it is plausible to believe that repeal would reduce such giving. Holding pre-tax wealth constant, the estate tax directly reduces the price of charitable bequests and the level of after-tax wealth that decedents can allocate to various uses. The effect of estate tax repeal depends on the relative magnitude of the changes in price and after-tax wealth; and the relative responsiveness of charitable bequests to changes in each.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Estate tax repeal would have significant deleterious effects on charitable bequests and charitable giving during life. Although estate tax reform will raise many issues, the impact on the nonprofit sector should be a central part of the debate.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The estate tax is a recurring source of contentious political debate and political football. Generally the debate breaks down between a side which opposes any tax on inheritance, and another which considers it good policy.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Proponents of the estate tax argue that large inheritances (currently those over $5 million) are a progressive and fair source of government funding. Removing the estate tax, they argue, favors only the very wealthy and leaves a greater share of the total tax burden on working taxpayers. Proponents further argue that campaigns to repeal the tax rely on public confusion about the estate tax and about tax policy more generally. William Gale and Joel Slemrod give three reasons for taxing at the point of inheritance in their book "Rethinking Estate and Gift Taxation". "First, the probate process may reveal information about lifetime economic well-being that is difficult to obtain in the course of enforcement of the income tax but is nevertheless relevant to societal notions of who should pay tax. Second, taxes imposed at death may have smaller disincentive effects on lifetime labor supply and saving than taxes that raise the same revenue (in present value terms) but are imposed during life. Third, if society does wish to tax lifetime transfers among adult households, it is difficult to see any time other than death at which to assess the total transfers made."


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: In response to the concern that the estate tax interferes with a middle-class family's ability to pass on wealth, proponents point out that the estate tax currently affects only estates of considerable size (over $5 million, and $10 million for couples) and provides numerous credits (including the unified credit) that allow a significant portion of even large estates to escape taxation. Proponents note that abolishing the estate tax will result in tens of billions of dollars being lost annually from the federal budget. Proponents of the estate tax argue that it serves to prevent the perpetuation of wealth, free of tax, in wealthy families and that it is necessary to a system of progressive taxation.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: A driving force behind support for the estate tax is the concept of equal opportunity as a basis for the social contract. This viewpoint highlights the association between wealth and power in society – material, proprietary, personal, political, social. Arguments that justify wealth disparities based on individual talents, efforts, or achievements, do not support the same disparities where they result from the dead hand. These views are bolstered by the concept that those who enjoy a privileged position in society should have a greater obligation to pay for its costs. The strength of political opposition to the estate tax, proponents argue, would not be found under a veil of ignorance, in which policy makers were kept from knowing the wealth of their own families.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Winston Churchill argued that estate taxes are "a certain corrective against the development of a race of idle rich". This issue has been referred to as the "Carnegie effect," for Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie once commented, "The parent who leaves his son enormous wealth generally deadens the talents and energies of the son, and tempts him to lead a less useful and less worthy life than he otherwise would'." Some research suggests that the more wealth that older people inherit, the more likely they are to leave the labor market. A 2004 report by the Congressional Budget Office found that eliminating the estate tax would reduce charitable giving by 6–12 percent. Chye-Ching Huang and Nathaniel Frentz of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities assert that repealing the estate tax "would not substantially affect private saving..." and that repeal would increase government deficits, thereby reducing the amount of capital available for investment.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: In the 2006 documentary, "The One Percent", Robert Reich commented, "If we continue to reduce the estate tax on the schedule we now have, it means that we are going to have the children of the wealthiest people in this country owning more and more of the assets of this country, and their children as well... It's unfair; it's unjust; it's absurd."


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Proponents of the estate tax tend to object to characterizations that it operates as a "double tax". They point out many of the earnings subject to estate tax were never taxed because they were "unrealized" gains. Others describe this point as a red herring given common overlapping of taxes. Chye-Ching Huang and Nathaniel Frentz of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities assert that large estates "consist to a significant degree of 'unrealized' capital gains that have never been taxed..."


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Supporters of the estate tax argue there is longstanding historical precedent for limiting inheritance, and note current generational transfers of wealth are greater than they have been historically. In ancient times, funeral rites for lords and chieftains involved significant wealth expenditure on sacrifices to religious deities, feasting, and ceremonies. The well-to-do were literally buried or burned along with most of their wealth. These traditions may have been imposed by religious edict but they served a real purpose, which was to prevent accumulation of great disparities of wealth, which, estate tax proponents suggest, tended to prevent social destabilization, revolution, or disruption of functioning economic systems.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Economist Jared Bernstein has said: "People call it the 'Paris Hilton tax' for a reason, we live in an economy now where 40 percent of the nation's wealth accumulates to the top 1 percent. And when these folks leave bequests to their heirs, we're talking about bequests in the tens of millions".


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Free market supporters of the tax, including Adam Smith and the founding fathers would argue that people should be able to get to the top of the market through earning wealth, based on meritocratic competition, not through unearned, inherited handouts, which were central to the aristocratic systems they were opposed to, and fought the War of Independence to free American citizens from. Smith wrote:


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Unearned transfers of wealth work against the free market by creating a disincentive of hard work in the recipients, and others in the market. If the income from estate tax is reduced, this would have to be made up broadly through taxes on working people. Accordingly, if estate tax was increased relative to other taxes, Irwin Stelzer argues it could pay for "lowering the marginal tax rate faced by all earners. Reduce taxes on the pay for that extra work, and you will get more of it; reduce taxes on the profits from risk-taking, and entrepreneurs will take more chances and create more jobs. Reduce the taxes on recipients of inheritances, on the other hand, and they will work less and be less likely to start up new businesses..".


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Unhindered inheritance has another possible influence on some in the market; if many of the wealthiest in the country acquired their wealth through inheritance, while contributing nothing to the market personally to get there, people at the lower end of the market may have equal economic potential as many of those receiving some of this 40 percent of wealth, but did not have the luck of being born to wealthy parents. The disparity in fair chance of acquiring initial wealth, on top of pre-existing differences in non fiscal sustenance like differing qualities of education, inherited work ethic, and valuable connections, causes resentment and the perception that hard work is of diminished importance, when some, due to bad luck will struggle to afford the basics of living even at maximum effort, while others may never need to work, and even present this lifestyle as ideal.. The disparity in initial gifted wealth also means a reduced ability for some to accumulate wealth; it is a lot easier to put money aside if you inherited a house and do not have to rent one. These factors create a system perceived to be rigged against those who are not lucky enough to be born into wealthy families, along with political instability; continuous infighting and even civil wars. Reducing estate tax exacerbates this situation, while increasing estate tax promotes a fairer free market, especially if this excess wealth is used to encourage productivity, while also encouraging wealthy parents to focus on providing the best skills and education for their children. Michael J. Graetz has said: "Indeed, that's what the case for the estate tax boils down to: basic fairness. The tax affects a small number of people who inherit large amounts of wealth—and who can afford to give up a portion of their windfall to help finance their government."


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Some proponents of a steep estate tax argue that concentrating wealth in the hands of a few is harmful to both the economy and to democracy itself. Oscar Mayer heir Chuck Collins writes "Billionaires are expanding their shares of the pie at the expense of investments in our social safety net, infrastructure, and education systems," and notes that "Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis observed, 'You can have concentrated wealth in the hands of a few or democracy. But you can’t have both.'"


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Some people oppose the estate tax on principle of individualism and a market economy. In their view, proponents of the tax often argue that "excess wealth" should be taxed without defining "excess" or explaining why taxing it is undesirable if it was acquired by legal means. Such arguments are seen to have a predilection for collectivist principles that opponents of the estate tax oppose. In arguing against the estate tax, the "Investor's Business Daily" has editorialized that "People should not be punished because they work hard, become successful and want to pass on the fruits of their labor, or even their ancestors' labor, to their children. As has been said, families shouldn't be required to visit the undertaker and the tax collector on the same day.".


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: A similar argument is based on a distrust of governments to use taxes for the public good. In an article in "Washington Examiner", Michael Shindler argued that "inheritance of multigenerational wealth allows people, especially young people, to comfortably pursue callings that, despite their vital importance to human flourishing, are typically uncompensated by the market" and cites Lord Byron, Thomas Jefferson, and Ludwig Wittgenstein as examples of such individuals. Similarly, Shindler also argues that "whereas in Europe museums, theaters, symphony halls, and other cultural institutions are typically government-subsidized, here they gain the bulk of their funding from the generosity of philanthropic foundations founded and sustained by the stewards of multigenerational wealth...Consequently, American culture is less an expression of the whims of bureaucrats and more a manifestation of the will of its citizenry."


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Other arguments against an estate tax are based on its economic effects. The Tax Foundation published research suggesting that the estate tax is a strong disincentive to entrepreneurship. Its 1994 study found that a 55% tax rate had roughly the same effect as doubling an entrepreneur's top effective marginal income tax rate. Also, the estate tax was found to impose a large compliance burden on the U.S. economy. Past studies by the same group estimated compliance costs to be roughly equal to the revenue raised – nearly five times more cost per dollar of revenue than the federal income tax – making it one of the nation's most inefficient revenue sources.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Another argument is that tax obligation can overshadow more fundamental decisions about the assets. In certain cases, it is claimed to create an undue burden. For example, pending estate taxes could be a disincentive to invest in a viable business or an incentive to liquidate, downsize, divest from or retire one. This is especially true when an estate's value is about to surpass the exemption amount. Older people may see less value in maintaining a farm or small business than reducing risk and preserving their capital, by shifting resources, liquidating assets, and using tax avoidance techniques such as insurance, gift transfer, trusts and tax-free investments.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Another argument is that the estate tax burdens farmers because agriculture requires more capital assets, such as land and equipment, to generate the same income that other types of businesses generate with fewer assets. Individuals, partnerships and family corporations own 98% of the nation's 2.2 million farms and ranches. The estate tax may force surviving family members to sell land, buildings, or equipment to continue their operation. The National Farmers Union advocated relief for farmers by increasing the exemption per estate to $5 million. Americans Standing for the Simplification of the Estate Tax advocates relief for farmers and small business owners by eliminating death as a taxable event in what the group describes as a down payment on their estate taxes during their earning years. Along these lines, the American Solution for Simplifying the Estate Tax Act, or 'ASSET Act', of 2014 (H.R. 5872) was introduced on December 11, 2014 to the 113th Congress by Rep. Andy Harris.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Another set of arguments against the estate tax is based on its enforcement. The Tax Foundation notes that because the tax can be avoided with careful estate planning, estate taxes are just "penalties imposed on those who neglect to plan ahead or who retain unskilled estate planners". A disparity between tax rates may encourage wealthy people to minimize taxation by moving their wealth outside the United States. As a result, the collected tax will be far less than claimed by proponents and will lower the tax base, opponents argue. However, most countries have inheritance tax at similar or higher rates.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The caption for section 303 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, enacted on August 16, 1954, refers to estate taxes, inheritance taxes, legacy taxes and succession taxes imposed because of the death of an individual as "death taxes". That wording remains in the caption of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: On July 1, 1862, the U.S. Congress enacted a "duty or tax" with respect to certain "legacies or distributive shares arising from personal property" passing, either by will or intestacy, from deceased persons. The modern U.S. estate tax was enacted on September 8, 1916 under section 201 of the Revenue Act of 1916. Section 201 used the term "estate tax". According to Professor Michael Graetz of Columbia Law School and professor emeritus at Yale Law School, opponents of the estate tax began calling it the "death tax" in the 1940s. The term "death tax" more directly refers back to the original use of "death duties" to address the fact that death itself triggers the tax or the transfer of assets on which the tax is assessed.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: While the use of terms like "death duty" had been known earlier, specifically calling "estate tax" the "death tax" was a move that entered mainstream public discourse in the 1990s, as an attempt to give it a devastating new nickname in a manner similar to a neologism. This happened after a proposal was shelved that would have reduced the threshold from $600,000 to $200,000, after it proved to be more unpopular than expected, and awakened political interest in reducing the tax. For some reason, surveys suggest that opposition to inheritance and estate taxes is even stronger with the poor than with the rich.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Many opponents of the estate tax refer to it as the "death tax" in their public discourse partly because a death must occur before any tax on the deceased's assets can be realized and also because the tax rate is determined by the value of the deceased's persons assets rather than the amount each inheritor receives. Neither the number of inheritors nor the size of each inheritor's portion factors into the calculations for rate of the estate tax.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Proponents of the tax say the term "death tax" is imprecise, and that the term has been used since the nineteenth century to refer to "all" the death duties applied to transfers at death: estate, inheritance, succession and otherwise.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Chye-Ching Huang and Nathaniel Frentz of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities assert that the claim that the estate tax is best characterized as a "death tax" is a myth, and that only the richest 0.14% of estates owe the tax.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Political use of "death tax" as a synonym for "estate tax" was encouraged by Jack Faris of the National Federation of Independent Business during the Speakership of Newt Gingrich.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Well-known Republican pollster Frank Luntz wrote that the term "death tax" "kindled voter resentment in a way that 'inheritance tax' and 'estate tax' do not".


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: In 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump released a health care plan which used the term "death penalty" in the context of health savings accounts which would pass tax-free to the heirs of an estate.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The federal government also imposes a gift tax, assessed in a manner similar to the estate tax. One purpose is to prevent a person from avoiding paying estate tax by giving away all his or her assets before death.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: There are two levels of exemption from the gift tax. First, transfers of up to (as of 2020) per (recipient) person per year are not subject to the tax. Individuals can make gifts up to this amount to each of as many people as they wish each year. In a marriage, a couple can pool their individual gift exemptions to make gifts worth up to per (recipient) person per year without incurring any gift tax. Second, there is a lifetime credit on total gifts until a combined total of (not covered by annual exclusions) has been given.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: In many instances, an estate planning strategy is to give the maximum amount possible to as many people as possible to reduce the size of the estate, the effectiveness of which depends on the lifespan of the donor and the number of donees. (This also gives the donees immediate use of the assets, while the donor is alive to see them enjoy it.)


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Furthermore, transfers (whether by bequest, gift, or inheritance) in excess of million (tied to inflation in the same manner as the estate tax exemption) may be subject to a generation-skipping transfer tax if certain other criteria are met.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: The combined (Federal and state) estate, inheritance, and gift (EIG) tax burden per decedent's impact on the number of firms in the United States. The increase in the gift tax tax burden per decedent reduces the growth in the number of companies, mostly small firms. The asymmetric liquidity effect, which restricts small business owners' ability to collect the funds required to pay the estate tax without liquidating their estates, can be attributed to the higher dissolution rate among small firms.


title: Estate tax in the United States

text: Many very wealthy people avoid the estate tax by moving money into trusts or charitable foundations before death.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Maharashtrian or Marathi cuisine is the cuisine of the Marathi people from the Indian state of Maharashtra. It has distinctive attributes, while sharing much with other Indian cuisines. Traditionally, Maharashtrians have considered their food to be more austere than others.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Maharashtrian cuisine includes mild and spicy dishes. Wheat, rice, "jowar", "bajri", vegetables, lentils and fruit are dietary staples. Peanuts and cashews are often served with vegetables. Meat was traditionally used sparsely or only by the well off until recently, because of economic conditions and culture.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: The urban population in metropolitan cities of the state has been influenced by cuisine from other parts of India and abroad. For example, the South Indian dishes "idli" and "dosa," as well as Chinese and Western dishes such as pizza, are quite popular in home cooking, and in restaurants.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Since they occupy a vast area with distinct geographical differences and food availability, the Marathi people from different regions have produced a diverse cuisine. The diversity extends to the family level because each family uses its own unique combination of spices and ingredients. The majority of Maharashtrians are not averse to eating meat, fish and eggs, however, the staple diet for most people is mostly lacto-vegetarian. Many communities such as the brahmins, or the varkari sect members only follow the lacto-vegetarian diet.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: The traditional staple food on Desh (the Deccan plateau) is usually "bhakri", spiced cooked vegetables, "dal" and rice. However, North Maharashtrians and urbanites prefer "roti" or "chapati", which is a plain bread made with wheat.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: In the coastal Konkan region, rice is the traditional staple food. Wet coconut and coconut milk are used in many dishes. Marathi communities indigenous to Mumbai and North Konkan have their own distinct cuisine. In South Konkan, near Malvan, another independent cuisine developed called Malvani cuisine, which is predominantly non-vegetarian. "Kombdi vade", fish preparations and baked preparations are more popular there.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: In the Vidarbha region, little coconut is used in daily preparations but dry coconut and peanuts are used in dishes such as spicy "savji"s, as well as in mutton and chicken dishes.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Maharashtrian lacto-vegetarian dishes are based on five main classes of ingredients that include grains, legumes, vegetables, dairy products and spices.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Staple dishes in the cuisine are based on a variety of flatbreads and rice. Flatbreads can be wheat-based, such as the traditional trigonal "ghadichi poli"  or the round "chapati" that is more common in urban areas. Bhakri is an unleavened bread made using grains such as "ragi" or millet, "bajra" or "bajri or" "jwari" – and Bhakri forms part of daily meals in rural areas.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Traditionally, the staple grains of the inland Deccan plateau have been millets, "jwari"  and "bajri". These crops grow well in this dry and drought-prone region. In the coastal Konkan region the finger millet called "ragi" is used for "bhakri". The staple meal of the rural poor was traditionally as simple as "bajra bhakri" accompanied by just a raw onion, a dry chutney, or a gram flour preparation called "jhunka". Jhunka with bhakri has now become a popular street food in Maharashtra.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Increased urbanization of the Maharashtra region has increased wheat's popularity. Wheat is used for making flatbreads called chapati, trigonal "ghadichi poli" , the deep-fried version called puri or the thick paratha. Wheat is also used in many stuffed flatbreads such as the Puran poli, Gul poli (with sesame and Jaggery stuffing), and Satorya (with sugar and khoya (dried milk)).


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Wheat flatbreads are also made with vegetable stuffings such as peas, potatoes and Gram dal. One of the ancient sought-after breads was Mande. As with rice, flatbreads accompany a meal of vegetables or dairy items.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Rice is the staple food in the rural areas of coastal Konkan region but is also popular in all urban areas. Local varieties such as the fragrant "ambemohar" have been popular in Western Maharashtra.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: In most instances, rice is boiled on its own and becomes part of a meal that includes other items. A popular dish is varan bhaat where steamed rice is mixed with plain "dal" that is prepared with pigeon peas, lemon juice, salt and ghee. "Khichdi" is a popular rice dish made with rice, mung "dal" and spices. For special occasions, a dish called "masalebhat" made with rice, spices and vegetables is popular.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Milk is important as a staple food. Both cow milk and water buffalo milk are popular. Milk is used mainly for drinking, to add to tea or coffee or to make homemade dahi (yogurt). Traditionally, yogurt is made every day using previous day's yogurt as the starting bacterial culture to ferment the milk. The Dahi is used as dressing for many salad or "koshimbir" dishes, to prepare Kadhi, to prepare cultured buttermilk (Taak) or as a side dish in a "thali". Buttermilk is used in a drink called "mattha" by mixing it with spices. It may also be used in curry preparations. Milk is also the prerequisite ingredient for butter and Ghee (clarified butter).


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Until recently, canned or frozen food was not widely available in India. Therefore, the vegetables used in a meal widely depended on seasonal availability. In Maharashtra, spring (March–May) is the season of cabbages, onions, potatoes, okra, "guar and tondali", "shevgyachya shenga", "dudhi", marrow and "padwal". During the Monsoon season (June–September) green leafy vegetables, such as "aloo" (Marathi: आळू), or gourds such as "karle", "dodka" and eggplant become available. Chili peppers, carrots, tomatoes, cauliflower, French beans and peas become available in the cooler climate of October to February.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Coal fired roasted young cobs of Sorghum (Jwari) is a popular item during winter picnics to the farms.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Vegetables are typically used in making "bhaaji"s (Indian stew). Some "bhaaji"s are made with a single vegetable, while others are made with a combination. Bhaajis can be "dry" such as stir fry or "wet" as in the well-known curry. For example, fenugreek leaves can be used with" mung dal" or potatoes to make a dry "bhhaji" or mixed with "besan" flour and buttermilk to make a curry preparation. "Bhaaji" requires the use of "goda masala", consisting of a combination of onion, garlic, ginger, red chilli powder, green chillies, turmeric and mustard seeds. Depending on a family's caste or specific religious tradition, onions and garlic may be excluded. For example, a number of Hindu communities from many parts of India refrain from eating onions and garlic altogether during chaturmas, which broadly equals the monsoon season.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Leafy vegetables such as fenugreek, amaranth, beetroot, radish, dill, colocasia, spinach, "ambadi", sorrel (Chuka in Marathi), "chakwat", safflower (Kardai in Marathi) and tandulja are either stir-fried (pale "bhaaji" ) or made into a soup ("patal bhaaji" ) using buttermilk and gram flour.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Many vegetables are used in salad preparations called "koshimbir"s or "raita". Most of these have dahi (yogurt) as the other main ingredient. Popular "Koshimbir"s include those based on radish, cucumber and tomato-onion combinations. Many "raita" require prior boiling or roasting of the vegetable as in the case of eggplant. Popular "raita" include those based on carrots, eggplant, pumpkin, "dudhi" and beetroot respectively.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Along with green vegetables, another class of popular food is various beans, either whole or split. Split beans are called "dal" and turned into "amti" (thin lentil soup), or added to vegetables such as "dudhi". "Dal" may be cooked with rice to make "khichadi". Whole beans are cooked as is or more popularly soaked in water until sprouted. Unlike Chinese cuisine, the beans are allowed to grow for only a day or two. Curries made out of sprouted beans are called "usal" and form an important source of proteins. The legumes popular in Maharastrian cuisine include peas, chick peas, "mung", "matki", "urid", kidney bean, black-eyed peas, kulith and toor (also called pigeon peas). Out of the above toor and chick peas are staples. The urid bean is the base for one of the most popular types of papadum'.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Peanut oil and sunflower oil are the preferred cooking oils, however cottonseed oil is also used. Clarified butter (called "ghee") is often used for its distinct flavor. It is served with Puran poli, Varan bhaat, chapati and many other dishes. Fresh home made butter is usually served with bhakri.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Depending on region, religion and caste, Maharashtrian food can be mild to extremely spicy. Common spices include asafoetida, turmeric, mustard seeds, coriander, cumin, dried bay leaves, and chili powder. Ingredients used especially for kala or black masala spice blend include cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, cardamom and nutmeg. Other spice blends popular in the cuisine include goda masala and Kolhapuri masala. Common herbs to impart flavor or to garnish a dish include curry leaves, and coriander leaves. Many common curry recipes call for garlic, onion, ginger and green chilli pepper. Ingredients that impart sour flavor to the food include yoghurt, tomatoes, tamarind paste, lemon, and "amsul" skin. or unripe mangoes.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Chicken and goat are the most popular sources for meat in Maharashtrian cuisine. Eggs are popular and exclusively come from chicken sources. Beef and pork are also consumed by some sections of Maharashtrian society. However, these do not form part of traditional Maharashtrian cuisine.


title: Maharashtrian cuisine

text: Seafood is a staple for many Konkan coastal communities and is popular in other parts of the state too. Most of the recipes are based on marine fish, prawns and crab. A distinct Malvani cuisine of mainly seafood dishes is popular. Popular fish varieties include Bombay duck, pomfret, "bangda", Rawas, and "surmai" (kingfish). Seafood recipes are prepared in different ways such as curried, Pan frying, or steaming in banana leaves.