I assume this is what would happen, depending upon the nature of the estate. That, and any capital gains associated with it.
Is this the view you take of the great unwashed who voted improperly in the 2000 election? Bring back the hanging chads!
I can respect that. FWIW, I'm all in favor of increasing the estate tax exemption. I'm not in favor of repealing it until we start taxing capital gains at the same rates (or higher) as income.
According to Bill Gates Sr. and Chuck Collins of the group Responsible Wealth, nearly half of all estate taxes are paid by the wealthiest 0.1 percent of the American population -- a few thousand families each year. In 2001, Gates was the lead signer on Responsible Wealth's Call to Preserve the Estate Tax, which was signed by over 1,000 wealthy people personally affected by the estate tax -- including George Soros, Ted Turner, and David Rockefeller Jr. He points out that since it was enacted in 1916, the estate tax has helped to limit the concentration of wealth, making it easier for Americans to educate themselves, innovate, build new businesses, and prosper. Gates also points out that while there is no question that "some people accumulate great wealth through hard work, intelligence, creativity, and sacrifice" it is equally important to acknowledge "the influence of other factors, such as luck, privilege, other people's efforts, and society's investment in the creation of individual wealth such as a patent system, enforceable contracts, open courts, property ownership records, protection against crime and external threats, and public education." When will Americans move beyond this *#*#*#*#ing adolescence, and think long-term? Just mid-term would be enough for me...
What's wrong? If my dad dies a rich, rich man, why should I get that money and have it not be taxed? I didn't earn it. I'd have to pay taxes if I worked for it, but not if it's found money? WTF??? This is all part of the ideology of taxing work and not wealth, which is completely bassackwards way of organizing an economy.
Did you read the rest where I said it should be taxed, but not in the current form? No? Must have missed that one. I love the thinking that if you don't deserve the money, then the government's got dibs. What's that all about? Funny and typical.
That's not what I wrote. I wrote that it's nuts to tax earned income and not unearned income. As to your other point, no, I hadn't read that at the time I made the post.