GOP estate tax repeal

Well dead money in the sense of what happened in Japan. The culture was built on savings so people put money in banks nad postal savings accounts and got good rate of returns. When the economy was suffering and Japan central bank lowered rates that money stayed in those accounts despite the piss poor returns. Just a cultural and given Japan's history immediately after WWII. I call it dead money because it was just parked rather than circulating in other investments.

In the U.S. we really don't have that problem because we are not savers at all, clearly overspenders from the Government down to the poorest person sporting the latest cell phone. I have seen the cleaning crew at one of my buildings with iPhones and SUV haha.

Only reason I have "savings" is because I have not figured out how to spend it all yet

 

I’m wondering if anyone on this forum has actually even looked at their tax bill this year?

 

Why should I focus on the grantor not the grantee?

Fair point about a child's college education. Does that fall under a gift giving? It specifically might not because education has very unique rules. But if you bought your child a house, that certainly would.

There should be limits that allow for gift giving... I think the current limit was 5MM. It's higher under the new code.

But it does not benefit society if wealth continues to concentrate at the top - and inheritance is the primary way that happens.

 

You lose two choices when you die: you can't buy the car and you can't save/invest the money. That's because you are dead.

I understand your argument. Conservatives spout "Double taxation" as the reason against an estate tax. It's not a good reason by itself. The reality is that you don't want to pay more to the government and this is another battleground for it. You would happily exchange a higher estate tax for no income tax, I bet; and I bet you would be upset if your income tax rates went up by double but the estate tax was eliminated for everyone.

Society doesn't benefit if vast amounts of wealth are transferred to succeeding generations.

 

The United States can not go Bankrupt, therefore Social Security cannot go bankrupt. What can happen however is idiots can intentionally damage the Social Security System by by not following through on the Trustees' recommendations based on the actuaries calculations. The Trustees have been calling for an increase in the contribution rate for years -- originally a very modest increase -- that Congress has ignored for years.

 

Trumpy said, "... Most Americans will see a tax cut. Only a small percentage of tax payers will see an increase". So... if you're one of those with an increase, then you're a "tax donkey"... as am I. (Can't have a tax cut across the board without a decrease in spending.... and you know they didn't do that!) If there's a tax cut for some, must be a tax increase for others. Thank you very much!! Still... hosed as I am... yet again... I wouldn't vote a Lefty/Commie in his place. (Trumpy is only taking some/more. The DemoCraps plan on taking EVERYTHING!!)

 

So maybe the son should've been made part owner before his folks passed

 

We should tax all net income, both earned and unearned (inheritance is unearned income) at exactly the same rates and use the same progressive brackets for both. This is inherently fair as everyone from the poorest pauper to the wealthiest business magnate would then pay exactly the same rate on the same dollar of net income, whether earned or unearned. It would also mean quite a simplification in tax filing. The number of brackets should be considerably increased and the rate in the top bracket should be somewhere between 50 and 70%. Bracket collapse introduced in the 1980s has caused much mischief. It's made concentration of control of the federal government in the hands of a few wealthy individuals even worse, and returned the country to near the plutocracy it was1792. The Founders would be very proud of us.

Dividends should be deductible for corporations and taxed as income to the recipients.

 

You kinda have to know what is included in this. If my parents pass away and I get their house, should that count as "estate inheritance" for the purposes of this discussion? I doubt it. Not unless it's a $5 million home or something.

 

I have.