Estate Lunacy

Who said anyone was normal?

I'll throw this out here again... we're running a record deficit, brought to us by a GOP-controlled Congress, and a Republican President who never saw a spending bill, or any other bill, worthy of a veto. If this tax is going to be slashed, eliminated, modified, or any other thing that results in a reduction of revenue, then where are you getting the money to replace that revenue stream?


A real way to lower potential taxes on middle class families is to reform the alternative tax. This estate tax "kerfluffle" (trademark by basso), is nothing but another benefit to the rich. The richer you are, the more you benefit. If you have an estate of up to a few million, for all practical purposes, you're not affected. If you want to help the middle class, reform the alternative tax. If you want to help those with higher incomes, and higher estates than a few million bucks, and you want to get rid of the estate tax, show me how we're going to pay for it, and how those that are moderately wealthy, to very wealthy, are going to help pay for cutting the estate tax.

I thought conservatives were for balanced budgets, fiscal restraint, and helping the middle class. (I threw that in there in hopes of a conservative or two affirming that they are for tax relief for the middle class, instead of tax relief for the wealthy. raise a hand and be counted)

Conservatives, where is the revenue coming from to replace that lost by repealing the estate tax? I don't want to be negative, heaven forbid, so if you can explain it with a chirpy, Katie Couric kinda style, it'd be very cool. Thanks!



Keep D&D Civil.

 

By the way... since glynch has a bug up his butt about education funding in the State of Texas, I'll toss in the fact that the State of Texas used to pay for 60% of the cost of public education in Texas. That is a fact. Google it, if you wish. Today? The State of Texas pays for 40% of the cost of public education in Texas. That is a fact as well.

Who is paying the difference? We are, the people of Texas, with higher local taxes. It's very ironic that Perry and company, when they're not busy getting "paid off," for favors rendered, have had numerous special sessions to "fix" our tax system, and improve funding for education. The truth is that it's been slashed for years, by the state. Now they claim to be cutting the very taxes localities had to raise to cover the slashed education funding by the Legislature. So where is this money coming from? Raising taxes, but not enough, not enough by billions of dollars, which is a bill that will come due down the road in a couple of years.

Just thought I'd toss that in there. Yet another example of GOP fiscal insanity.

But hey!! It's with a smile on my face!!!


Keep D&D Civil.

 

I'm not really following this discussion, but I want to throw in that when I went to college, I payed $4 a semester hour.

 

You're preaching to the choir, man. This is what's frustrated me about the GOP recently. I'm just not in favor of taking money away from Americans to solve the problem. Cutting spending is a much better option.

 

This thread, and thank god I'm back and in an altered"FFB" state, is a disaster of mis/dis- information. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night (morning)

 

Honestly bnb, the tax was repealed a few years ago. The rest of your assumptions, I don't have the time and energy to refute, which is actually saying something for me.

 

They figure there's going to be 30 more years of a Democrat controlled Congress so they can use that time blame them for raising taxes...

 

If the estate tax was repealed a few year ago, why are they talking about repealing it? The taxable estate is gradually increasing and there will be 0 estate tax if you happen to die in 2010, but as I understand things, the exemption drops back to $1,000,000 in 2011.

 

Why not tax the recipient(s) of the estate windfall rather than the estate itself?

 

There are ways to use to full 4 million exemption per couple even when one of them dies before the other. (Setting up trusts would be the most common one) Of course you would need to hire account/lawyer.

 

Kinda makes you wonder how much does Sam really know about this subject.

 

There are 2 extremes that each side tends to argue. One side brings up the "family farm", while the other focuses on the "ultra-elite". Here is a story I am familiar with and I think there are a lot of these folks as well:


I have been friends with a person for 30+ years. She has 2 siblings and all 3 have worked hard in various jobs their entire lives. They would be considered middle-class. Their father started with essentially nothing. He graduated college in the early 50s and started working. In the 70s he founded a company with a couple of other guys and they had a handful of employees. He made a nice living but nothing spectacular. In the 90s he co-founded another company. He started this compnay from scratch and his hard work led to its success. The company grew to where they employ 5000+ worldwide. Due to his hard work and risk taking thousands of families have jobs. He never received public assistance to help him found his companies. No one was there to bail him out if he failed.

All the while my friend and her siblings have continued their jobs and living their middle-class lifestyle. Her father recently had the opportunity to sell his stake in the company and he reaped the monetary windfall he worked so hard to achieve (although the huge windfall was not what he was striving for his entire life). He paid the taxes on his windfall. He is now in the position where he will have to deal with estate taxes when he and his wife pass on. He has millions but not billions. He has paid taxes on his earnings all his life. He paid taxes on the profits from selling his stake. He would like to enjoy watching his children and grandchildren enjoy his money before he dies and use it to secure their futures afterwards. There are "gifting" strategies that take care of some of this but an awful lot is still subject to tax.

Exactly why should his estate have to pay taxes upon he and his wife's death?

 

I have some beach front property in Arizona you might be interested in.

The estate tax laws will change before 2009.

 

Why should I ever have to pay taxes? I am a nice guy. I got a wife and kid. I do proper by both of them. ... Why-o-why?

 

This is NOT a loophole that I am talking about. Each person has a 2 million exemption, by definition a couple has 4 million exemption. When one of the couple dies, the money is transfered to the other, at that point he/she only has a 2 million exemption left. By creating a estate trust, they can make full use of the 4 million exemption rather than 2. This is not a loophole, rather proper estate planning. Its completely legitimate and people do it all the time.

 

i'm aware. but it typically involves giving everything away before you die.