Hmmmm.....maybe the children should have to earn their own money.
If all fortunes were earned, wealthy people would be much more likely to be conservatives, since they would have to understand how the world really works in order to become successful. This would cut down on the Kennedys and Rockefellers.
That would be a good thing for the parents of children to decide.
I don't want the GOVERNMENT deciding whether my children should have to earn their own money or not.
I think that should be up to the rich parents, not the government, to decide.
I recall very clearly as a youngster hearing my own father stating a similar thought. Esentially that inherited wealth was very likely detremental to character, and that confiscatory death taxes were perhaps not so evil. It stuck with me as he, like my entire family, was otherwise so anti socialist/democrat party. I recognised however that he had after all found it his lot to bail out his depression ruined parents, not enjoy the luxury of inherited wealth, and perhaps he felt some resentment from that . YET, in the final analysis he took great care to protect his assets by every means possible from confiscation by the government, and I assure you it afforded him great happiness and satisfaction to be able to bequeath much of the fruit of his labor to his family. You know , after all , it was HIS wealth , do do with as HE saw fit.
Yeah. We surely don't need the billions of dollars of charitable donations the old money heirs spend all of their time disbursing. It is much better for the government to do it. Jeeeeze.
The people MOST affected by the DEATH Tax ARE those whose fortunes are EARNED....they are the NEW wealthy who don't have enough money to protect it in Foundations....instead it's in their businesses, houses, etc. The Kennedy's, Rockefellers, Gates, and Buffets won't be paying any (or at least hardly any) estate tax.....think about it. Same probably goes for the Hollywood rich....they hire accountants, etc. in order to hide their money for tax reasons. Educate yourself.....before you mouth off, okay?
this shure blows it on bill gates.
That may well be true. But it's a policy that should be enforced by the owners of the already taxed wealth, not by the government.
Not all inherited wealth is multi-millions of dollars. When my Dad died, his wealth including his own home, equaled about 1.1 million. We had to sell his home, which when dead you do not get the $250,000 capital gains exemption any more, sell his car, all his stocks and pay over 50% on the 100,000. Remember it is 46% fed, another 9+ percent state!! So my brothers and I, at 50 years old inherited about $300,000 each. We all bought real estate, and businesses with that money. Then hired people to help us with our investments and that $300,000 is worth much more, to then pass onto our children. In most cases when "children" inherit money they are 50 or more years old and don't automatically turn into slackers and spend it all blindly.
The main point here is my Dad already paid tax on all the money he left to us. And those that say we win life's lottery, believe me I would rather have my Dad and Mom than their money.