Memo to Warren the estate tax hits a lot of middle class people who, unlike yourself, can’t hide their money away in trusts.
Dear Warren, it sounds like you are a shill for ADM. Family farms get cut up and sold off to ADM when Pop dies. ADM doesn’t have that problem. Because corporations don’t die.
Roger that. Especially small businesses and farms.
Yeah, what a phoney. None of his clients have to worry about estate taxes.
What's really behind this is the insurance lobby (Buffet has LOTS of holdings in insurance). If the estate tax repeal sunsets in 2011 (Congress does nothing between now and then) then the federal estate tax exemption goes back to $1M per person.
I start drafting irrevocable insurance trusts and insurance companies start selling second to die policies like hot cakes! Mui bueno for your's truely and Mr. Buffet!
(Just because he hates his kids...)
Milton Friedman already explained why the estate tax is a terrible, terrible idea. Older people will have a strong incentive to spend money like it’s going out of style rather than leaving it to the government. It encourages luxury consumption at the expense of long term investment.
If you know that Uncle Sam’s going to take the house or business when you die, you mortgage ‘em to the hilt and go on world cruises, take the grandkids to Disneyland, you get the picture. If your kids are gonna get the assets, you try to pass on as much as you can, at least there’s some incentive not to take out a reverse mortgage, aka, the U-Haul on the back of the hearse.
Warren Buffet is a very poor judge of human nature, imho. He's a sourpuss who wants his grandkids to "benefit" from having to make it on their own and not get too used to luxury. Isn't he just so grand? Most people want the grandkids or kids to get the house.
Hey in an age where the $100 is the new $20 I say to Mr. Buffet - “Go ahead and give your dough to the Feds, leave mine alone”. OBTW look out for a lot of old folks dying mysteriously in Dec 2010. Gives new meaning to the term “deadline”.
Exactly