Free Republic

WASHINGTON - “Like grave robbers opening King Tut’s tomb, Congress can’t wait to get its hands on America’s retirement account assets,” the Wall Street Journal warned taxpayers last year. The warning was contained in an article written by Philip DeMuth, author of “The Overtaxed Investor: Slash Your Tax Bill and Be a Tax Alpha Dog.” He was writing about the House-passed Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, known by its less than honest acronym, “SECURE.” If you have laid aside investment funds for your kids to inherit to help them out after you’ve passed away, there will be...

It appears that the pop star Prince may have died without a will, leaving behind a multi-million dollar and growing estate. Although Prince has one full sister and five half-siblings, Prince’s family members will not be his biggest heirs. Both the federal government and Minnesota’s state government will assess so-called “death taxes” or estate taxes on Prince’s assets, taking away more than half his estate. Between his physical assets— cash, investments, home, etc.—and his future royalties, Prince’s estate has been estimated to be between $300 and $500 million. If Prince were married, he could have passed on the entirety of...

James Gandolfini will a tax 'disaster,' says top estate lawyer The late 'Sopranos' star's will is 'a disaster' that could see over $30 million of his estimated $70 million estate go to the government, top estate lawyer William Zabel told the Daily News. By Dareh Gregorian / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS The taxman is coming after James Gandolfini's heirs. The late "Sopranos" star's will is "a disaster" that could see over $30 million of his estimated $70 million estate go to the government, a top estate lawyer told the Daily News. "It's a nightmare from a tax standpoint," said William...

I heard a Commentator say that Steve Jobs created a Trust before his liver transfer to avoid Estate Taxes to his children. He wasn't sure that he had to pay a Gift tax on the transfer of 3 homes, 30 Million Shares of Apple and 120 Million shares of Disney.

The recent deaths of Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays and Ed McMahon have many Americans thinking about mortality. If you're a business owner of a certain age, as I am, it's something you think about daily. Unlike television personalities and performing artists, most business owners labor in relative obscurity. Our legacy, when we pass, is what we've built — and perhaps invented (in my case, agricultural equipment most Americans have never heard of) — and the hundreds and perhaps thousands of people who depend on us for jobs. We're unlike television personalities and recording artists in another important respect...

Warren Buffett has said it before and he's likely to say it again to Congress on Wednesday: He thinks the heirs of the wealthy should be taxed on their inheritance. Buffett, one of the world's richest men and now its biggest philanthropist, has been an outspoken critic of efforts to repeal the estate tax and is scheduled to testify at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on how current law affects estate tax planning. [snip]"Without the estate tax, you in effect will have an aristocracy of wealth, which means you pass down the ability to command the resources of the nation...

I.R.S. to Cut Tax AuditorsBy DAVID CAY JOHNSTON Published: July 23, 2006 The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half of the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their children and others. The administration plans to cut the jobs of 157 of the agency’s 345 estate tax lawyers, plus 17 support personnel, in less than 70 days. Kevin Brown, an I.R.S. deputy commissioner, confirmed the cuts after The...

No sooner had Warren Buffett made the single largest philanthropic donation in history than he was talking up the death tax. After signing over $30.7 billion to the Gates Foundation - and thus depriving the government of upward of $17 billion, depending on when he ultimately expires - Buffett told reporters, "I would hate to see the estate tax gutted. It's a very equitable tax." It's understandable that Buffett believes the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will do a better job spending his fortune than the U.S. Congress. For the impoverished, disease-stricken of Africa, the Gates Foundation is a far...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The multimillion-dollar lobbying effort to repeal the federal estate tax has been aggressively led by 18 super-wealthy families, according to a report released today by Public Citizen and United for a Fair Economy at a press conference in Washington, D.C. The report details for the first time the vast money, influence and deceptive marketing techniques behind the rhetoric in the campaign to repeal the tax. It reveals how 18 families worth a total of $185.5 billion have financed and coordinated a 10-year effort to repeal the estate tax, a move that would collectively net them a windfall...

The President aims to end estate taxes for the wealthiest Americans. He also wants to scrap a $255 death benefit for the poorest The contrast in President Bush's new budget could not be more stark. On one hand, he wants to eliminate what he likes to call the "death tax" -- a levy imposed on a handful of the nation's biggest estates. On the other, he wants to end Social Security's lump sum death benefit -- a $255 check that the families of many of the nation's poorest use to help pay for their funerals. There is a lot more...

BOSTON New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island were the only states to lose population from 2004 to 2005. The U-S Census reports that New York lost 26-thousand residents, a tenth-of-a-percent decrease. Massachusetts also had a tenth-of-a-percent decline, losing 8-thousand. Rhode Island lost about 3-thousand, or three-tenths of a percent. Experts attribute the trend to soaring housing costs, a stagnant job market and the arrival of fewer immigrants. Most of the states with the largest population growth are in the South and West. Nevada, with an estimated population increase of 3-point-5 percent, was the fastest growing state for the 19th consecutive...

Does a Re-election of President Bush and a Republican House and Senate give us the hope that true Estate Tax reform might be passed. I personally hope so. As a small Businessman its critical to my business as it is to other who employee American. -------------------------------------------------------- REASONS TO ELIMINATE THE FEDERAL ESTATE TAX Estate tax rates, which range from 41% to 48%, are substantially higher than other tax rates - the lowest estate tax rate is almost as high as the highest income tax rate of 39.6%. Moreover, the estate tax is imposed on earnings and assets that have already...