Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think inheritance tax should be illegal because the money/items being left have already had the taxes paid when the original owner purchased/acquired the items.
The inheritance tax is what plays hell with small family farms and businesses. Owner dies, he's a farmer. The estate is valued at $5M, $4.5M is in land value. Tax that at the above proposed 50% and the inheritor(s) have to come up with $2.25M in cash. Since most people don't have that laying around in petty cash the farm gets sold to a developer and all of a sudden McMansions on farmettes grow where corn/tobacco/wheat/soybeans, whatever, once were planted.
Inheritance taxes are theft, because tax has already been paid on that money. That is why there is no inheritance tax in Canada.
You are correct in part. There is no inheritance tax paid by the beneficiaries; however, the tax is paid by the estate...so there is still a tax. A rose by any other name is still a rose.
The inheritance tax is what plays hell with small family farms and businesses. Owner dies, he's a farmer. The estate is valued at $5M, $4.5M is in land value. Tax that at the above proposed 50% and the inheritor(s) have to come up with $2.25M in cash. Since most people don't have that laying around in petty cash the farm gets sold to a developer and all of a sudden McMansions on farmettes grow where corn/tobacco/wheat/soybeans, whatever, once were planted.
The small family farm and business worth 5 million dollars is not really a small family farm or business.
The effect of the estate tax in modern America is essentially ZERO, due to the ability to shelter assets in creative ways. Anyone running a business (farmers included) as a sole proprietor with assets of any kind in excess of 5 million are playing with fire in more ways than one.
I am in favor of inheritance tax. Since it is actual income, especially income that the recipient did not earn but inherited, I think it should be 50% for anything over 3 million with the exception of small business.
Why should the government get 50% of that money? If you worked your whole life and earned all that money, why should the government get a say so of how you wish it to be spent? Who are you to say they did not "earn it"? It is none of your business or the government's what someone does with their money after taxes. The government and especially obama is terrible with our money. Why give them more? Because they are so good at investing tax money in failing business like Solyndra?
The small family farm and business worth 5 million dollars is not really a small family farm or business.
The effect of the estate tax in modern America is essentially ZERO, due to the ability to shelter assets in creative ways. Anyone running a business (farmers included) as a sole proprietor with assets of any kind in excess of 5 million are playing with fire in more ways than one.
I used $5M as an example but I'll play.
Come down here and tell the farmers about all the tax shelters there are. At $50K/acre you get $3M at 60 acres. Buy out for transferrable development rights is now $8-12K/acre and that puts the land into Preservation. That knocks the inheritance tax down but, until this year, the State of MD imposed one on farms.
If it's not in Ag Preservation the new development rules make it almost impossible to develop.
I used $5M as an example but I'll play.
Come down here and tell the farmers about all the tax shelters there are. At $50K/acre you get $3M at 60 acres. Buy out for transferrable development rights is now $8-12K/acre and that puts the land into Preservation. That knocks the inheritance tax down but, until this year, the State of MD imposed one on farms.
If it's not in Ag Preservation the new development rules make it almost impossible to develop.
There should be more than enough lawyers and accountants in your area willing to help farmers avoid taxes.
Why should the government get 50% of that money? If you worked your whole life and earned all that money, why should the government get a say so of how you wish it to be spent? Who are you to say they did not "earn it"? It is none of your business or the government's what someone does with their money after taxes. The government and especially obama is terrible with our money. Why give them more? Because they are so good at investing tax money in failing business like Solyndra?
Obviously money that is inherited is not earned. That is the definition of inheritance. Inheritance is not any different than any other type of income with the exception of the fact that the money was not earned by the person receiving the income. It should be taxed as income. No different than winning the lottery, except the person that won the birth lottery did not even have to buy a ticket.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
