http://http://confoundedinterest.wordpress.com/ I am just so sick thinking about all the hard work my dad has put in during his life to have his estate taxed at 55% one day when he passes....what do you guys like or dislike about proposed changes
There is still time to have things taken care of to avoid the tax if you care so much about government stealing your inheritance,
Of course, IIRC, the tax does not even kick in until after the first $1.2 million. If the estate is significantly larger than that, then you and your dad would be well advised to seek the consult of an estate planning attorney. To call that taxaggedon is a little melodramatic.
Estate taxes should be progressive with age and wealth. Too many old people hold too much wealth; their wealth largely becomes unproductive. All estate taxes do is encourage investment toward a younger, more productive demographic.
I'm all in favor of taxing estates over one million dollars heavily. There are ways to get around it somewhat. I believe that somewhere around 12,000 is the amount that can be gifted to an offspring tax free. So if he started giving out a 12k Christmas gift every year, that might reduce the amount that would be taxed in the estate. There are other things that can be done as well. That money isn't anything that the inheritors earned, and it's still a huge amount of $$$ coming someone's way who didn't do anything to earn it.
You're not going to get much sympathy here. There are several high-rep posters on the left that actively advocate for 100%, not exemption payroll taxes. It's not fair to people that don't have rich parents for people that do to get their parents' money passed down to them. That said, I believe the estate tax is the single most evil progressive invention in our tax code's short history.
Just to add, inheritance taxes don't tax "wealth." What they tax is the transaction where the money is transferred from one persons to another (or others). The tax is simply based on the monetary value of the transaction. This is no different than paying sales tax or a payroll tax or a capital gains tax. As has been mentioned, only inheritance amounts above $1.2M are subject to taxation, and there are multiple ways to minimize this. It's laughable to say this punishes people for saving - unless you believe it is a punishment for a dead man or woman to be relieved of his or her money.
Thinly disguised "I'm drooling over my Daddy's money" thread. The laws are written by lawyers so that people that pay lawyers can get around the laws. It ain't that hard, you just have to do it.
So you're saying the government deserves this money rather than the person the deceased has designated? Wow, sometimes liberals say things that reveal their true colors, and this is one of them.
With that statement, you're now qualified to be the next Fed chairman! Oh, wait, you weren't serious.
