You mean the Estate Tax exemption? I've believe all along that Estate Taxation is immoral. Socialist is "name calling"? Your economic and political views have identified you as Socialist, don't you think?
I honestly think that some liberals like yourself mean well. I really do, but it's the give, give, give, mentality, along with the less personal responsibility mentality, and the feds desire for more power/control that has led to the chart that traderdragon posted, as well as other problems.
Simply unbelievable how duplicitous you are. Truly shameless. As a CANADIAN you live in a country WITHOUT an estate tax yet you have the nerve to come on this thread and preach to American's the virtue of the death tax. And to Cutten and MVIC: I agree "double taxation" is a weak argument. EVERYTHING is double (or more) taxation. Landis is also right though. It's the RATE that's obscene. Hell a dying parent could just write you a check for "services" and your tax on it as earned income would save you a ton vs. the money being taxed as an estate. It's nuts. The death tax should probably have no exemption and be identical to the cap gains rate......
If you had asked me whether Canada should have a similar estate tax to that proposed by the Obama administration, then I would have said yes. There is no duplicity here. Merely a false inference on your part.
Thank you Pabst, Landis and Alpine. All great points indeed. Talk about an awful tax. By the time you cash your chips in 3.5 mil in assets really isn't that much. What about the farmers and ranchers? Where I am at a 3.5 million ranch or farm is about 3000 k acres give or take. Fairly easy to accumulate something like that over a lifetime or to have it passed down. It doesn't create any opportunities for people to do stuff like this. It encourages develpoment in areas where there probably shouldn't be.
I am neither on welfare nor on unemployment insurance, however I believe in the absolute necessity of both when properly applied. And what are your views regarding companies that outsourced jobs and laid off domestic employees, essentially telling them to pick themselves up by their own bootstraps -- the same corporate tools who wish to privatize their profits but socialize their losses, as the new saying goes. Can you imagine the impudence? The cheek? I believe it is in everyone's interest for there to be a safety net at the bottom rung. It is also the right thing to do. As an atheist, I find it less than amusing that some republicans use the bible (and flag) as nothing more than a prop and only when it serves their purpose to do so.