Bye, Bye Estate Tax!

[Japher]

3:32PM House OKs repeal of estate tax by Rex Nutting
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- The House approved legislation Wednesday to permanently eliminate the federal estate tax after defeating a Democratic proposal to maintain the 49% marginal tax on estates larger than $3 million or $6 million for couples. The bill, if approved by the Senate, would cut federal revenues by about $162 billion over 11 years and about $1 trillion over 20 years. The "death tax" is unfair and unproductive because it forces the liquidation of many small businesses, said Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash. Democrats, however, said the repeal is one more Republican gift to the wealthy. "How can it be fair to give the wealthiest 10,000 families in America a bonanza?" said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

just got this off of Bigcharts.com, can't find anything else on it yet (or I am blind)..

Anyway, I think it is great. Down with double, triple, and quadrouple taxation!!! How do you all feel?

[JohnT]

[chequita guevara]

I think that inheritences should be taxed at 100%.

The flipside is, why the hell are the Republicans trying to bankrupt the Federal government?

[GePap]

Until the Senate votes this in, hello estate tax.

The whole midnight clayse was a purely disingeneous action by congress to keep the cost of the 2001 tax break down. I whish the Dem. Senate of the time had had the guts to fight that.

The name "death" tax is horribly disingeneous. If it were a death tax, everyone would pay it. The tax is on someones estate, not the person who died. And the state has every right to tax it (which they do once). The whole "small farmer and bussinessman excuse" is sh1t. if you pity them so much, up the exemption from 600,000 to 1 million or a million half.

[JohnT]

Hell, Che, why don't you be linguistically honest about it and say "I think that all estates, no matter what size, need to be confiscated by force of law."

Now as to what the government is going to do with all those photo albums, family Bibles, and other trinkets... why, I'm sure the Bureau of Estate Confiscation can hold a yard sale.

[MRT144]

good to know that i wont be taxed on something ill never recieve.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by JohnT
Now as to what the government is going to do with all those photo albums, family Bibles, and other trinkets... why, I'm sure the Bureau of Estate Confiscation can hold a yard sale.

Personal items would be exempted, of course. BTW, Theben and I do stand to inherit a good sized bit (hopefully in 30 to 40 years and not sooner, we like our folks), so it's not as if I'm not arguing something that doesn't impact me.

[Sava]

Why are you guys happy about this mess? Nobody on these forums will be benefitting from this stupid repeal. Only the richest 0.3% of Americans even pay estate tax. I'm glad to see the Republican *******s in our government are out protecting a bunch of silver-spooned rich kids.

As for the stupid "double taxation" claim:

The Estate Tax is Not "Double Taxation"

Proponents of estate tax repeal claim the estate tax is unfair because the assets in an estate already have been taxed once as income under the income tax. Therefore, they argue, the value of the estate should not be taxed again. The premise on which this claim is based, however, is not accurate. A significant portion of the value of all estates — and a majority of the value of the largest estates — have never been subject to taxation as income. In our overall tax system, the estate tax completes the income tax; it taxes income that otherwise would avoid taxation entirely.

Without the estate tax, capital gains included in an estate would never be taxed. Under current law, the gain from appreciation of an asset is subject to the income tax only when the asset is sold. Upon the sale of an asset, the difference between the purchase price and the sale price is taxed as a capital gain. If a person holds on to an asset until he or she dies, however, the heirs inherit the asset at its value at the time of the decedent’s death. The gain on the asset from the time of purchase to the time of death is never taxed under the income tax.

Some of the capital gains income that escapes taxation under the income tax may be taxed under the estate tax. The appreciated value of the asset is included in the estate and, if the estate is large enough, subject to taxation.

A substantial proportion of assets subject to the estate tax appear to be untaxed capital gains. Estimates recently made by economists James Poterba and Scott Weisbenner, based on data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, suggest that unrealized capital gains make up about 37 percent of the value of estates worth more than $1 million and about 56 percent of estates worth more than $10 million.

from http://www.cbpp.org/5-25-00tax.htm
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

As for what this does for the government:

the federal revenue loss would be about $60 billion a year when the repeal is fully in effect a decade from now

That's nice. Not only are 99.7% of American's not going to benefit from this, but the Federal Government will fall deeper into economy killing debt.

[PLATO]

The estate tax has always bothered me. The government tells us to work hard and make a better life for our kids, then they want half of what we've worked for!?! Even after they taxed it when we earned it!?!

This law is a long time coming. I'm calling my Senators right now to voice my support!

[Sava]

I'm calling my Senators right now to voice my support!

Why? Most likely you are part of the 99.7% of Americans that won't benefit from this.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
so it's not as if I'm not arguing something that doesn't impact me.

I hope that you plan on donating the entire amount to charity in order to be consistent with your beliefs.

[PLATO]

Without the estate tax, capital gains included in an estate would never be taxed. Under current law, the gain from appreciation of an asset is subject to the income tax only when the asset is sold. Upon the sale of an asset, the difference between the purchase price and the sale price is taxed as a capital gain. If a person holds on to an asset until he or she dies, however, the heirs inherit the asset at its value at the time of the decedent’s death. The gain on the asset from the time of purchase to the time of death is never taxed under the income tax.

This is a bullcrap argument. Maintaining the basis at the original purchase price and then taxing the entire gain when sold would solve this easily. It would also mean that acapital gain would be taxed at a capital gain tax rate and not a 49% Inheritance tax rate.

The government does have the right to an income source, but the estate tax is thievery and hopefully will now be recognized as such!

[PLATO]

Originally posted by Sava

Why? Most likely you are part of the 99.7% of Americans that won't benefit from this.

Right is right and wrong is wrong Sava. How can I be untrue to my beliefs?

[Sava]

The government does have the right to an income source, but the estate tax is thievery and hopefully will now be recognized as such!

Why do the super-rich get so much sympathy, but millions of Americans living in poverty don't?

[GePap]

Originally posted by PLATO1003
The estate tax has always bothered me. The government tells us to work hard and make a better life for our kids, then they want half of what we've worked for!?! Even after they taxed it when we earned it!?!

This law is a long time coming. I'm calling my Senators right now to voice my support!

What?

Your kids? your kid grow up, they get an education, eventually leave the house and form their own families. You lose your legal obligation to take care of them by the time they are 25 or so.

If the government is taxing your estate, it means you are dead!. Your decendents did not earn a penny of those assets. Why should they get mana from heaven? Becuase you wanted them to? But you are dead as a doornail. The government has every right ot determine the policy concerning estates. they always have, since estate policy has a great deal of influence on the economy and politics of a state.