[ohio]

No, it's double taxation on money that someone worked very hard for.

And I worked really hard for my year-end bonus, but I still had to pay a much higher tax rate than on the rest of my income. That money is much more urgent need than an inheritance, but it is also in addition to standard income so I can afford to pay a higher tax on it. I also know that is the rule of the game and plan accordingly.

An awful lot of people still get wealthy despite knowing that they'll eventually pay an inheritance tax, so it's not like it's such a huge disincentive. Plus there are plenty of ways around it, namely trusts. And lastly, re-read what I wrote... there is no such thing as double-taxing. There is such thing as high and low taxes. Are you more pissed if I tax something twice at 5%or if I tax it once at 50%? It's perfectly reasonable to get pissed about the inheritance tax rate, but getting pissed that it's the second time that money got taxed while in your pocket is pretty silly.

 

[ohio]

Did you happen to catch this article?
From the NYT 1/8/07:
The report shows that a comparatively small number of very wealthy households account for a very big share of total tax payments, and their share increased in the first four years after Mr. Bush’s tax cuts.

This is the result of the rapidly increasing wealth gap, which is very very bad thing for both rich and poor. What you would want to show to prove your point is the above combined with an increase in total tax revenues proportional to the increased portion paid by the rich, and that is not what we've seen.

The rich benefit hugely from living in this country, and continue to do so, and continue to accumulate wealth, but I'm sure they appreciate you looking out for them.

 

[Jeremy R]

An awful lot of people still get wealthy despite knowing that they'll eventually pay an inheritance tax, so it's not like it's such a huge disincentive. Plus there are plenty of ways around it, namely trusts. .

The smart ones figure out ahead of time what their inheritance tax is gonna be and plan accordingly. For example, if you buy a life insurance policy for the amount of the inheritance tax (or estate tax),
when they die, the life insurance pays the tax, and you get the whole inheritance. Since life insurance money is tax free all you have in it are the insurance premiums which are nothing for the rich.

 

[LordOpie]

The smart ones....

None of them in this thread