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New York Times Op-Ed: Rich Kids Can Spare Some of Their Inheritance
New York Times ^ | 10/16/2019 | Henry Aaron

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 ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: communism; inheritance; wealthtax
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1 posted on 10/16/2019 9:11:43 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Hand it over Pelosis, Clintons, Bidens, Obamas...


2 posted on 10/16/2019 9:12:44 AM PDT by madison10
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To: SeekAndFind

Sure the Sulzberger kids would be able to abide by this, eh?


3 posted on 10/16/2019 9:13:28 AM PDT by OttawaFreeper ("The Gardens was founded by men-sportsmen-who fought for their country" Conn Smythe, 1966)
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To: SeekAndFind

I favor taking everything from george soros’s kid.


4 posted on 10/16/2019 9:13:38 AM PDT by I want the USA back (The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it. Orwell.)
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To: SeekAndFind

We shall take fruits of your hard work and your families hard work that you want to pass on to your family....


5 posted on 10/16/2019 9:16:49 AM PDT by KC_Conspirator
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To: SeekAndFind

The parents build a business and leave it to their children, who then have to sell off a significant portion, fatally damaging the business, in order to pay taxes. Sure, that’s fair.


6 posted on 10/16/2019 9:17:08 AM PDT by Rocky
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To: SeekAndFind

How many times do you want to tax it.


7 posted on 10/16/2019 9:17:18 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: SeekAndFind
But if you get lucky in the lottery of life and land an inheritance, you owe no federal tax

That is because the tax has already been paid via the death tax.

8 posted on 10/16/2019 9:18:17 AM PDT by taxcontrol (Stupid should hurt - dad's wisdom)
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To: SeekAndFind

“...Life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness....”

Nope, nothing about fairness.


9 posted on 10/16/2019 9:18:24 AM PDT by Personal Responsibility (If we disarmed democrats gun violence would decrease by 90%.)
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To: SeekAndFind

But if you get lucky in the lottery of life and land an inheritance”

That’s really how they see it.

These people are sick.


10 posted on 10/16/2019 9:19:10 AM PDT by ConservativeDude
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To: Sacajaweau

RE: How many times do you want to tax it.

As long as the government needs to “Do something” via some “program”, it will never be enough.


11 posted on 10/16/2019 9:19:58 AM PDT by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
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To: SeekAndFind

There goes the family farm.

Hey folks, the tax was already paid on it the first time it was earned. As the kids buy property, build business or buy stuff, more taxes will roll in.

The mind set is that the default position is that the wealth belongs to the government (”the people”) and that there is no abiding interest in the money you earned after you die.


12 posted on 10/16/2019 9:21:10 AM PDT by Dr. Sivana (Sutor, ne ultra crepidam--Appelles of Kos)
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To: SeekAndFind

The elimination of inherited wealth is one of the planks of the Communist Manifesto.


13 posted on 10/16/2019 9:21:42 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Everyone who favors socialism plans on the government taking other people's money, not theirs.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Providin be raciss!


14 posted on 10/16/2019 9:21:57 AM PDT by The Toll
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To: SeekAndFind

My son won $50,000 in the lottery. He got $35,000 after taxes. What is not fair is the gubmint taking way more than it’s “fair share”. The gubmint would like to take all of our earnings and then give us what they consider to be our “fair share” of our own earnings.


15 posted on 10/16/2019 9:22:22 AM PDT by certrtwngnut (4- Do something,,,,even if it's wrong.)
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To: I want the USA back
I favor taking everything from george soros’s kid.

People in THAT bracket have thousands of ways to hide and move the money so that it is either protected from taxation, or can never be found.
16 posted on 10/16/2019 9:22:34 AM PDT by Dr. Sivana (Sutor, ne ultra crepidam--Appelles of Kos)
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To: KC_Conspirator

I recently finished dealing with my mother’s estate.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania did tax it. Frankly I would have much rather donated that money to charity where it would have actually done some good.

As it is it was off to Harrisburg to be used in the usual graft, corruption, kickbacks and cronyism that are the hallmark of this state.

No reason to think the Feds would do any differently.


17 posted on 10/16/2019 9:23:29 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer)
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To: SeekAndFind

“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? “

When the parent worked for the money the family paid all the taxes required.


18 posted on 10/16/2019 9:24:19 AM PDT by fproy2222 ( Good Common sense depends on who you are in common with.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Seems like bad ideas never die. There is always some fool around to resurrect them.
Family businesses & Family farms crippled &/or forced to close or quick sale at major loss, already taxed this money once...duh.
We only have to look at the UK to see what a disaster is inheritance tax. Most of the once wealthy families are house poor and need to give their land & homes to the National Trust or open their homes to tourism. The tax money is wasted by the Government instead of being invested and generating job opportunities. Government as parasite destroying the host (the citizens).


19 posted on 10/16/2019 9:24:59 AM PDT by JayGalt (You can't teach a donkey how to tap dance. Nemo me impune lacessit!)
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To: SeekAndFind
"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?"

YES! It IS "FAIR"!!!!

This mindless pretense that anybody who has a dollar more than you is obligated to "share", is leftist rationalization for GOVERNMENT THEFT!

20 posted on 10/16/2019 9:25:10 AM PDT by G Larry (There is no great virtue in bargaining with the Devil)
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