Posted on 10/16/2019 9:11:43 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
In America, if you play by the rules, working to earn a living and saving to provide for the future, taxes take a piece of your earnings. If you win a state lottery, you owe tax. But if you get lucky in the lottery of life and land an inheritance, you owe no federal tax. That isn’t fair, is it? Extending the federal tax code to include inheritances would end that inequity. Inheritance taxes — regulated differently in the states that have them — are a levy paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died.
Extreme inequality is troubling both because it fosters gross and wasteful consumption and because it undermines the principle of political equality: Nearly unencumbered transfers of wealth permitted under current law perpetuate those imbalances, creating dynasties of the rich and hampering economic and social mobility.
“Ah,” you may be thinking, “Don’t we have an estate tax to break up wealth dynasties?” We had one once. But now it arguably exist only in name.
As recently as 1976 the estate tax applied to more than 7 percent of all descendants at a top rate of 70 percent. In 2019, however, just 0.07 percent of all descendants will owe any estate tax, a 99 percent decrease. Successive increases in the estate tax exemption over the last political generation have let all but the wealthiest — and those who neglect to consult lawyers and accountants — escape estate tax almost entirely. Ed McCaffery, a law professor at the University of Southern California, has described it as being akin to a “voluntary tax.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“Life’s Lottery” goes back to Dick Gephardt in the early 1990’s.
Who is this idiot.....
There are numerous taxes on inheritance.....what a doofuss
Usual jealousy
“Just because your parents were irresponsible, lazy, stupid, drunks or drug addicts does not give you right to take my parents money who were none of those things.”
Bingo, and my wife and I don’t feel guilty of minimizing what California and the IRS get from our estates.
I had forgotten about that worthless oxygen thief.
That's because the estate tax is paid by the decedent.
Either you have rights, or you don't. Property rights are the first to go, because they're low hanging fruit...establishing the principle you have the 'rights' the government 'gives' you.
Hand it over Pelosis, Clintons, Bidens, Obamas...
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Yep...especially if they are on the political Left.
Abolition of all rights of inheritance.Same old game as played for 1½ centuries.
— Third plank of communism
What I find most disturbing in this is that Mr. Aaron apparently feels he has the unquestioned right to take other people’s property and distribute it as he sees fit. One has to wonder if his parents ever told him “No” as a child. This “lottery of life” argument is particularly silly - that “lottery” contains quite a bit more than a savings account balance, it also contains genes that will kill you and being born in a place about to undergo an artillery attack or a volcano. If Aaron can’t redistribute those he isn’t doing much for that “lottery”.
The top tier of wealth routinely shields themselves entirely from inheritance taxes by setting up "non profit", "charitable" foundations, which can shield their wealth for generations.
If you REALLY want to make the ultra-wealthy pay taxes, eliminate the tax-free foundations, or at least make ALL their investment income taxed at the full corporate rate.
Chelsie Hubble can go back to Podunk, AR and pick fruit or raise worms.
Better yet. Tax the hell out of ALL foundations, the real mother’s milk of the trust-fund crowd. Setting up a foundation is a blatant tax avoidance scheme. Add to that the fact that most foundations promote Leftist propaganda and projects. They have no redeeming social value and if not banned, should at least be taxed at the rate of 50%-70% annually. This would be a wealth tax that would beneficial to the nation.
Trust fund journalists should lead the way.
Just what we need: some self-appointed @$$hole to decide what's fair.
ML/NJ
PA is a great state for living retirees. Just make sure you move out of there before you die. 5% inheritance tax. It’s one of the few states with an inheritance tax.
Estate tax and inheritance tax are different.
A: "Why, until we have it all!"
Let this be fair warning to ALL AMERICANS!
What happens when LIEberals are elected to public office?
LIEberals LIE TO, CHEAT AND STEAL FROM the Citizenry!
LIEberals routinely violate the law and ignore the US Constitution!
TAXMAN: “A vote for ANY LIEberal, whether it be in a local, state or federal election, is a vote against America!”
POTUS: “A vote for any Democrat in 2020 is a vote for the rise of radical socialism and the destruction of the American dream!”
TAXMAN: “America cannot survive a LIEberal victory in 2020!”
PA is a great state for living retirees. Just make sure you move out of there before you die. 5% inheritance tax. It’s one of the few states with an inheritance tax.
Estate tax and inheritance tax are different.
Double taxation. What a brilliant idea.
and lets not forget the politicians also!
Let us say the current gift tax limits apply, thus you, as an individual can give $15k/year to any number of people without penalty to you or the recipient. Double the amount if married even if filing a MFJ tax return. Go over that amount and you, the giver, should start filing a gift tax return which MAY mean paying taxes on the gift.
IRS Form 709 gives details but basically any gift in a single tax year is based at 'Fair Market Value' and is cumulative over the lifetime of the giver to the recipient. CURRENT lifetime tax-free limit is $11+ million but in the recent past it was as low as a single million. Also note that earlier years had lower exempt reporting amounts as low as $10k.
In short and not knowing the circumstances of the inheritance, the parent could have been land-rich and cash poor. Giving away the land was probably impractical before the death and expensive afterwards.
NOTE: This is NOT Tax Advice. While I am an Enrolled Agent (EA), there is always something that makes an individual's tax filing unique and what I have written above is very generic. Do your OWN study and, if needed, consult a tax professional!
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