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Estate tax, by definition, IS a tax on middle and upper middle class inheritance! For the super-rich, it really doesn't matter that much...I can't believe anyone cannot see this as a simple fact.
How many middle class parents leave their kids with a +$2 million inheritance? Read the article I posted earlier... the estate tax only significantly affects about 2% of families.
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"How do you presume that? Starting a business is difficult and may take decades to really profit."
If he didn't profit from it then there wouldn't be much "estate" in it to tax. If the inheritor put some of his own capital into it then presumably he would already have partial ownership and wouldn't be taxed on that.
Give me a break here..."Daddy" has already paid just and due taxes on this money. You want to tax earned money twice?
Everyone pays double taxes, rich or poor. Sales taxes + payroll taxes, income taxes + property taxes... the only way to avoid it would be to go to a single tax to pay for all state, local, & federal spending. Estate taxes become less of a "double tax" as you climb higher up the wealth ladder because a large percentage of the biggest estates is made up of unearned, untaxed (or low-taxed) capital gains.
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Let's just pose a hypothetical. Say "Daddy" is a key member of Greenpeace, who's made some wise investments in alternative energy and other like industries/companies. He would like to pass on the bulk of his monetary capital to his daughter, who shares his passion for the environment, and who plans to re-invest this money into the continued battle for a healthy, balanced environment. Big Government steps in and says, "No, sir...you must pay penalty on this money...you're too darn rich not too!." Would you still argue FOR the estate tax in this instance? It's very easy to condemn the "wealthier than you" just for being richer until you find out who some of them might be.
I'm pretty sure there's an exemption or a reduction for charitable giving...
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And you seem to believe that a parent has NO RIGHT to choose to pass on their earnings, already taxed PARTIALLY and hard-won partially, to their child, without being penalized for it by the government? You obviously have a grudge against those who stand to benefit by inheriting their family's money or other assets.
Passing down the family business or the family farm is one thing... passing down 3 billion dollars and a ticket to a life of leisure is another thing entirely. People have a "right" to give their money to people but it has to be balanced with other "rights," such as the right to earn money or to use it to buy things, which would be compromised more if the estate tax was eliminated, since taxes on those actions would have to be raised to make up for the lost revenue.
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If all of us upheld this belief, most small businesses that would never last beyone one generation. The term "family business" would disappear.
Most small businesses aren't big enough to be greatly affected by the estate tax.
How many middle class parents leave their kids with a +$2 million inheritance? Read the article I posted earlier... the estate tax only significantly affects about 2% of families.
Sorry, fishmonger, but that stat comes straight out of someone's nether region.
And, there are many middle or upper middle class families whose total assets, including property, houses, and investments, might actually equal those amounts. 2 mill ain't that rich a coffer, in today's world. Sad but true.
I myself know a family that started a small tourist-based outfitter-guide business back in the 1940's. Bit by bit, asset by asset, with a few small property enlargments and improvements at at a time, they built it into a very profitable outfitter-guide operation. And THEY did it, themselves, with blood sweat, and toil; I worked there for a while and these folks didn't sleep more than 4 hours a night during tourist season. They are at least 4 generations old. Without inheriting the business, and its assets, and property, without eliminating most of the "estate-tax" (which, fortunately, they were able to do, by paying a CPA a pretty penny for the help), they would not be solvent today.
These folks still have to deal with the same issues their great-grandparents did as far as ...*more* property taxes, *more* environmental checks, etc.
Without their parent's and grandparent's and great-grandparent's help and inheritance money, they would never have been able to make the improvements and additions necessary to compete in today's market (relevant to their particular business). Should they have been forced to shut down and call it quits because someone didn't think their kids should inherit their money without severe penalty?
Yes, their business and assets today are worth well over 2 million dollars...but they still serve regular canoe-toting tourists at a reasonable price, with all the latest equipment and lodging.
The estate tax is pretty much obsolete, anyway, because an intelligent CPA can still find LEGAL ways to minimize and almost eliminate it. Just another useless, government-heavy law on the books that should disappear.
“Contrary to ad's claim that "your family" might be crippled, the vast majority of families actually are not affected by the estate tax. In fact, less than 3 percent of deceased adults in 2002 had estates subject to the tax, according to the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and figures from the IRS.”
“The Tax Policy Center projects that roughly 440 taxable estates were primarily made up of farm and business assets in 2004.”
and
“...the Center found only 7,090 taxable estates for 2004 that included any farm or business income. That's still just 38 percent of all taxable estates.”
And on the “Double Tax” subject...
“The study also found that estates worth more than $10 million were 56.4 percent made up of unrealized, untaxed capital gains.”
“Contrary to ad's claim that "your family" might be crippled, the vast majority of families actually are not affected by the estate tax. In fact, less than 3 percent of deceased adults in 2002 had estates subject to the tax, according to the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and figures from the IRS.â€
“The Tax Policy Center projects that roughly 440 taxable estates were primarily made up of farm and business assets in 2004.â€
and
“...the Center found only 7,090 taxable estates for 2004 that included any farm or business income. That's still just 38 percent of all taxable estates.â€
And on the “Double Tax†subject...
“The study also found that estates worth more than $10 million were 56.4 percent made up of unrealized, untaxed capital gains.â€
So, 7,000 farming or small-business owning families should be penalized for making too much money (and who decides what is too much?)
For families/entities making over 10 mill, the estate tax doesn't matter worth a chit.
As I said, any party that can afford a CPA can probably eliminate much of these stupid taxes...LEGALLY...which just goes to show...estate tax is another example of big Gov't, dumb law, which just needs to disappear...but for those folks that might not want to/have money to spend on a CPA...F U is what you say to them. Where does this estate tax money go, by the way?
You never answered to the specific example I offered, by the way. What taxes should they have to pay for being in business for 60 years?
As I said, any party that can afford a CPA can probably eliminate much of these stupid taxes...LEGALLY...which just goes to show...estate tax is another example of big Gov't, dumb law, which just needs to disappear...but for those folks that might not want to/have money to spend on a CPA...F U is what you say to them.
Uhhh..."those folks" that cannot afford an accountant or attorney won't have to worry about the estate tax.
Everyone pays double taxes, rich or poor. Sales taxes + payroll taxes, income taxes + property taxes... the only way to avoid it would be to go to a single tax to pay for all state, local, & federal spending. Estate taxes become less of a "double tax" as you climb higher up the wealth ladder because a large percentage of the biggest estates is made up of unearned, untaxed (or low-taxed) capital gains.
I'm pretty sure there's an exemption or a reduction for charitable giving...
"What if the dad wasn't giving his money to the organization, but to his daughter, directly, to further her SUPPORT of the organization? Be careful...these distinctions and definitions are how politicians make their money."
Passing down the family business or the family farm is one thing... passing down 3 billion dollars and a ticket to a life of leisure is another thing entirely. People have a "right" to give their money to people but it has to be balanced with other "rights," such as the right to earn money or to use it to buy things, which would be compromised more if the estate tax was eliminated, since taxes on those actions would have to be raised to make up for the lost revenue.
Most small businesses aren't big enough to be greatly affected by the estate tax.
See my bolded quote in above quote...dang it, I'm still to stoopid to figure out how to post below a section of the quote yet still separate it from the quote....HEHEHEH..we all have our limitations...make fun at large, please!
Uhhh..."those folks" that cannot afford an accountant or attorney won't have to worry about the estate tax.
BS...my friend's folks could afford both, in a pinch, but it would set em back...(not the resort owners, but another couple) ...you are not seeing the picture here.
BS...my friend's folks could afford both, in a pinch, but it would set em back...(not the resort owners, but another couple) ...you are not seeing the picture here.
What on earth are you talking about? If your "friend's folks" can afford lawyers and CPAs, then they are not "those folks" you referred to earlier: ...but for those folks that might not...have money to spend on a CPA...
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