Special Treatment
Apr 26th, 2006 at 10:57 am by Susie
Because they’re special:
Washington — Eighteen of America’s wealthiest families, including the Timkens of Canton, are bankrolling efforts to permanently repeal estate taxes that would save their families a total of $71.6 billion, according to a report released Tuesday by public interest groups.
Groups funded by the super-rich have engaged in a deceptive campaign to convince the public that estate taxes cause widespread problems for small businesses and family farms when they actually affect about one in 370 estates, said the report released by Public Citizen and Boston-based United for a Fair Economy.
This year, all assets under $2 million for individuals and under $4 million for couples are exempt from estate taxes. Current tax law will boost those exemptions to $3.5 million and $7 million in 2009, eliminate the estate tax in 2010, and reimpose it in 2011 with a $1 million exemption.
The House voted to permanently repeal the estate tax last year, but the measure stalled in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to override filibusters. Majority Leader Bill Frist says he will bring the bill up in May.
The estate tax is one of the most unfair taxes there even if it is only paid by the wealthy. It’s unfair since it’s double taxation. There was tax already paid when the money was earned so to make someone pay tax on it again is flat out wrong.
The bigger issue with taxes in my opinion is we have to stop with all the rewrites of the tax code and finally get the courage to throw it out and come up with a single unified tax code that is fair and understandable. Right now most people cannot do their own taxes since the laws are so confusing. But this will never happen since the elected officals don’t have the guts to do any real tough issue and the special interest don’t want a fair and clear system.
Estate tax is paid by the dead. You only get to die once, so the unfairness is limited.-) (The unfairness of taxing nominal interest however occurs again and again). It (slightly) reduces the unearned windfall to their decendents. I would have thought that there was a notion of fairness that said that all inheritance is unfair. There are libertarians who argue for more death duties but no income tax. What do you think of that?
Actually, I think you are right, there should be no estate duty but an inheritance tax instead. The income to the beneficiary has not yet been taxed - that would be consistant with the general logic of the tax system. The level of the tax should depend on the level of the inheretance not the size of the whole estate.
I agree that taxation needs complete logical reform (it should also be treated as one system together with social security and other transfer payments).