I do think that capital gains are taxed fairly at this moment so I wouldn’t have a problem if basis were to remain the same when property was inherited and taxed at its eventual sale. But until a gain is actually realized why should an heir have to sell the company or the farm that was left to them to pay the taxes on a tranfer in which no gain was realized? Following is a letter to the New York Times that shows the self-interest of some in the financial community. Does this guy's clients really appreciate this pilot fish to the government shark attitude?
To the Editor:
As a financial adviser, I spend much of my time helping clients decide how to handle their estate tax liability.
I draw three boxes on a white board: family, charity, government. I then ask what percentage they want to give to each when they die.
Nearly everybody focuses on family and charity. In conjunction with their other advisers, I then create an estate plan that reduces or eliminates the government's share and redirects it to family or charity.
It's not that hard to structure an estate to avoid the tax. That's what the thousands of accountants, lawyers and financial planners do.
From my perspective, the estate tax is purely optional. So repeal is unnecessary except for the uninformed, the unfocused or those people who are unwilling to pay their financial planning team a little more to make the tax go away or be reduced.
People pay their professionals to avoid lots of income tax legally, and they do it every year. Why is it so hard for them to pay a little every few years to review the estate plan and avoid much or all of the estate tax?
Using this logic, we should push for income tax repeal as well. But that's another story.
Marc J. Lewyn
Atlanta, June 9, 2006
So basically the Death Tax is a tax on the dumb. But, not only are Mr. Lewyn’s services charged for, the products to accomplish it either costs something too, or demands that control of the earned assets be turned over to someone else. This Asshat says, pay me over and over (because the thieves keep changing the rules) so you won't have to pay tax on what you have already paid tax on. A recent case I know has a gentleman paying over $33,000 a year in order to replace the government’s vampire bite and get his estate proceeds going where I believe he should be able to direct them without this additional charge, which is just a different kind of tax only payable to the "thousands of accountants, lawyers and financial planners" membership in which the Asshat above is so proud of. Vultures.
The Death Tax is about envy, pure and simple. Sometimes I think the purpose is specifically punish those people that have the gall to earn enough to accumulate something even after all the reditributionist taxes are paid. The money goes right back into the economy either way. Do you want people making jobs or congressional rapscallions buying votes? That’s the decision. The congresscritters know what they want and only threatening them with retirement can sway most of them.
