So the guy that started a business 40 years ago, who probably wasn't a winner of the "gene lottery" (what a convenient excuse for failure), but actually worked very hard will have his business liquidated to pay the estate tax and that is not an issue for you. Good for you! Unfortunately, it is an issue for his heirs and employees. Oh damn, forgot about them. Wait he can just buy tons of life insurance to pay the tax. Sorry, most people will get older and sicker and the cost of that much life insurance would be more than the tax! Of course, this simply ignores the fact that even if one could obtain enough insurance and was fortunate enough to die young enough to maintain it, that it is an absolute moral outrage to be forced to give away up to 50% of your wealth that has already been taxed a zillion times. But hey, it won't affect you (directly), so screw 'em!
Biden would support a Kerry/Michael Jackson ticket. And since when do we care what a bunch of socialist "foreign leaders" want?
You comments remind me of a line from a Chuck Norris movie, Code of Silence, where Chuck says: "Look buddy, if I want your opinion, I will beat it out of you."
BOGUS!!! Even Bill Gates dad says this was a bunch of crap. The estate tax effects only a very wealthy minority and it is a good thing for society to prevent massive accumulation of wealth in too few hands. m
LOL. I believe the estate tax kicks in at $600,000. I might be wrong on this but I believe that is the number. I know it's suppose to gradually increase over the next 10 years. I would hardly call $600,000 a wealthy minority. Many many people's homes are worth 600k plus alone not to mention their retirement savings. Get a grip man. The estate tax hurts not just the upper class but the upper middle class and some of the middle class.
Straight from the horses mouth...... BOGUS!!! Even Bill Gates dad says this was a bunch of crap. The estate tax effects only a very wealthy minority and it is a good thing for society to prevent massive accumulation of wealth in too few hands. m Okay the debate is over guys, hey if Gates says its so..... its so. I mean who in their right mind who dare to argue with the father of the worlds richest man. right? MAV, hold your laughter now.... this is serious. You don't think Mack would post anything but the most absolute nonrefutable remarks so you???
Mav, I may be wrong also (been a long time since I used to do financial planning). But I am sure this has not gone to a lower number. Anyway, when a spouse dies, the remaining spouse gets everything with no estate tax. When the second spouse kicks the bucket, then the $600k number "kicks in", but twice. So really the number is (or at least was), $1,200,000. (Tax on the family's beneficiaries ...usually surviving children). But, as I have said before, these taxes are generally paid with insurance money. Which is totally tax free itself. Peace, RS
Here is a good link to calculate current estate tax liability. During the Bush administration that 600,000 was raised to 1 million. This site pretty much explains it all. http://www.dinkytown.net/java/EstatePlan.html You know RS, I hate to say this, but remember the estate tax was created to basically keep any dynasties from forming. I would hardly call passing on a million dollars or even 5 or 10 million as the beginning of a dynasty. LOL. Fifty million, one hundred million, I don't know, maybe you could make an argument for that. But this tax is a joke. Basically what it is saying is that I might as well spend all my money on cocaine and hookers because whatever is left at death, the government is going to take the rest. Wow, that's a nice incentive not to save any money.