Hooray for the Death Tax!

Townhall ^ | 6/9/2006 | Larry Kudlow

[goodnesswins]

Yeah, but JANE Sixpack has started a business and now she's got one worth about 3 million....with employees.....and in the State of Washington, if something happened to her....guess what.....the State would want to tax her ESTATE, including her home, her auto's, her jewelry, her business....how's THEM APPLES! In America is about the only place on earth where you can go from DIRT poor to wealthy.....mostly with HARD work....but, you think that should be penalized.....how special.

[Beagle8U]

And you didn't answer my question, what do you do for a living?

[A CA Guy]

You are delusional....

I am not delusional in wanting to direct the income in that tax to remove our debt.

If you mean I am delusional in thinking we could redirect it and get politicians to keep hands off, well there I am with you in seeing that as a major accomplishment.

[goodnesswins]

Have you paid off your house?????

[Mamzelle]

I'll bet Jane doesn't want to leave America to her nanny and pool boy.

Just can't get too worked up about it. I suppose it's the incipient populist in me--inherited wealth seems to breed busybodies, weaklings and Paris Hilton.

[Moonman62]

As for all the xenophobes who want to deport the illegal immigrants who toil in this economy, may I respectfully suggest that their generals (i.e., Lou Dobbs, Pat Buchanan, and Tom Tancredo) consider expanding their dragnet? Let’s deport rich people, too!

Larry should have quit while he was ahead.

[Beagle8U]

"Consulting area, but I won't say specifically what."

I don't blame you for that, I wouldn't admit to working for the Government either.

[A CA Guy]

Consulting and report writing on a monthly basis for various companies.

Beyond that I won't get specific. There are too many enemies of ours reading.

[A CA Guy]

No, not the government.

Private businesses.

[A CA Guy]

Have you paid off your house????? Yes, all of them.

[goodnesswins]

Your listening to the headlines.....there are Millionaires living next door to you.....going to work every day for 10 hours or more.....they just don't grab the headlines....they work! And, they provide jobs and taxes.

[Mamzelle]

I rresent posters who start demanding personal information on a public internet forum. And I often call them on the habit. You don't have the right to demand such a thing...and how would you know it was true if it was given to you?

[goodnesswins]

Well, good....at least your consistent....but, if you really think the debt should be paid down more, send more money to the government every year - you don't need more than one house do you?.....and earmark it for debt repayment only. THAT would be REALLY consistent.

[A CA Guy]

That is why a person in business with employees considers strongly as a corporation for limited liability and gets a large cheap umbrella policy or good errors and omissions insurance.

Employees are real difficult. You try and screw them over and even a corporation will not protect you from having them climb over to access your personal wealth for monies owed them.

The reason most people who work for themselves try not to hire people is all that you mentioned though.
People don't want the drama and liability in their lives.

[Mamzelle]

It is common to have a net worth these days of over a million. And there's a large tax break for leaving it to one's children. It just doesn't cover the multi-millionaires.

People with a net worth of a couple of million dollars probably mow their own lawns, btw. And raise their own kids and swab their own toilets.

Somebody in the GOP leadership, please start listening to Joe Sixpack or we're going to have a DNC majority very shortly and whatever hopes you have of buying Princess her own Learjet will go up in smoke.

[Beagle8U]

"I rresent posters who start demanding personal information on a public internet forum."

If someone is preaching paying more taxes, asking them if they work for the Government isn't prying personal information out of them.

You can resent all you wish.

[A CA Guy]

The tax code does insure I send my money to them.

It is a fact though that we do have the national debt.

My opinion is though as a conservative person you should not leave a debt for others.

We all die, and when I die, what I can't pass in the estate I do hope goes when taxed toward the national debt so we leave a clean slate for the next generation.

We are responsible for ourselves right?
Then if there is an estate tax being collected and if the monies going in is about to be super large from people dying off more, then why not wish to use that to pay the debt off?

Seems the best use of the tax if it still exists.

The problems would mostly be in keeping politician's hands off the money and letting it pay things off. That is where the biggest challenge is.

Once the debt is gone, remove or drastically cut the tax back.

[goldstategop]

The Death Tax is of Marxist inspiration. Behind it is the idea it is a crime to be rich and to inherit your wealth and pass everything you've acquired during your earthly existence on to your heirs. There's also the nonsensical idea that the government has a first call on your assets - it steals it by force from you for your own good. No wonder the public hates the Death Tax. And of course, what's just about seeing the tax man man visit you the same day you're mourning?

(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")

[goodnesswins]

People with a net worth of a couple of million dollars probably mow their own lawns, btw. And raise their own kids and swab their own toilets.

People with 5 million probably mow their own lawns, too. If they don't it's cause they are working too hard at their businesses to do it. Sheesh.....wealth envy is not becoming.

[A CA Guy]

This year there is a 2 million dollar deduction that goes as high as near 4.5 million in 2000 I think.

Then I think it expires and might go back to something like the old 600k.

By the way, interesting piece of knowledge.

If you are not a USA citizen, the deductions don't exist and they owe in a big way past the first 20k or so.