Dem's want to raise the estate tax exemption to $3 million......

[OneTwentyoNine]

This is really aimed at the BRAIN DEAD freepers and lurkers who REALLY believe that if grandma dies and leaves you a couple of thousand that you own taxes on every PENNY of it. Check the facts you idiots before you listen to blowhards like Limbaugh and Boortz who sail past the real facts about estate taxes.

In 2005 estates worth up to $1.5 MILLION are TAX FREE--its $3 MILLION if owned by a couple. Dem's want to double those amounts and leave the tax on the RICHEST 2.11% that actually had to pay some estate taxes last year.

I'm sorry but if you inherit more than $$$3 MILLION and have to pay some taxes ONLY on the amount over $3 million I don't feel any pity for your rich ass. Pay the small amount of taxes and be thankful.




http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=667077

[mzmolly]

1. Here F-N here!

:toast:

[smoogatz]

2. Agreed.

In fact, I think the ceiling could reasonably go higher--up to $10 million, say. That way family businesses and farms would be exempt. The point is to prevent the establishment of a permanent aristocracy.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. family businesses and farms are exempt

effectively and currently. The current rules make it exceedingly rare for any family farm or business to fall under the estate tax. At the reasonable 3.5M exemption something like 99.5% of everyone would be exempt.

The war on the estate tax is a war on progressive taxation itself.

Democrats have to connect tax cuts to deficits to SS cuts. They have allowed the rethugs to argue these points in isolation as of they were not connected. They keep allowing the thugs to fight on their turf with their framing, with their endless pack of lies.

Oh and while we are on the subject, the other lie regarding the estate tax is that it is !horrors! double taxation. Somewhere between 56% (now) and well over 80% (under the reasonable 3.5M proposal) of estate wealth HAS NEVER BEEN TAXED AT ALL as it is unrealized capital gains. For example a house that has accrued value for 40 years, or stocks and bonds that have been parked in a brokerage account for decades.

[LiberalFighter]

10. It is not a tax on the deceased as believed and lied about

It is a tax on income not earned by the benefactor

[Yupster]

11. It's a tax on the heirs

The deceased is dead, and dead men pay no taxes.

[RobertSeattle]

3. Dear Freeper, you'll still get the double-wide tax free

Never has so much been given to so few who don't need it anyway.

[punpirate]

4. Even without this increase...

... it's not exactly going to kill anyone:

http://www.dkosopedia.com/index.php/Federal_Gift_and_Estate_Taxation

This also ignores that the wealthy have gotten very creative about getting around existing estate tax law. One scheme, described in David Cay Johnston's book, Perfectly Legal, has been for terminally ill wealthy people to buy very expensive short-term insurance policies which, conveniently, pay out close to what their pre-tax estates would be worth. And, that's just one way--moving money offshore over a number of years is another.

The funny thing is that for the absurdly wealthy, even paying 55% on their estates upon death leaves their heirs with levels of wealth inconceivable to most of us. The original purpose of the law was to prevent the creation of aristocratic dynasties, and now, it's not an inhibition to that, at all, even at the earlier top rate.

[PeaceProgProsp]

6. Regardless of those schemes, the threat of estate tax has benefits.

It encourages rich people to spread out their wealth as far down in generations as possible. There are better ways to do it, but at least the estate tax prevents a pseudo-royality from forming in the US.

If people could amass huge fortunes just one generation down from the deceased, you're going to find very rich families making strategic marriages and then combining tremendous wealth in the immediately succeeding generation.

As it is now, the law encourages you to put all your money into trusts with beneficiaries that don't get control of the principle for sometimes almost two generations, if I understand correctly.

This is one of the big things that people miss in this discussion of estate tax. Even though you can avoid paying it these days, that doesn't mean it isn't important. It encourages behaviour that prevents American royalty. And even though it could be better, I think the US is in for a huge cultural schock when there's no more estate tax. There's already a huge polarization of wealth in America, and without an estate tax, it's going to be incredibly hard for the working (and disappearing middle) class to wrestle that wealth away from the super-wealthy.

[PeaceProgProsp]

5. Why does the estate tax get scaled for inflation, but not AMT?

In 2001 Republicans wanted to scale estate tax from 50% over 1 million to 0% on everything because all those family farmers and expensive home owners were getting hit so hard by taxes (and the democrats are willing to scale it up to 3 million), but nobody says anything about scaling AMT for inflation.

The Democrats should say that they will not let estate tax get adjusted for inflated wealth unless the Republicans do something about AMT.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. why would the billionaire party care

about a tax that now basically targets the middle class?

[Yupster]

9. $ 3 million is perfect

I would think even most Republicans would agree with that number were they allowed to vote their opinion.

I wish it was $ 3 million when my family got bitten by it in the late 90's. Then it was $ 600,000 and everyone in my extended family and our charities got bit by it.