More excitement I see.
But I do have a confession. I started this thread in an attempt to discuss and point out how unfair the death tax was. Much to my surprise, later in the thread, I found the discussion changing from a general subject to people claiming that I didn't have that much money.
In an attempt to get the thread back on course, I stated a few things that were pointed out later to contradict things I had said previously. That is what you get when you state un and half truths.
So now we can get back on track with the facts.
I do worry about the death tax. If all goes as planned, in ten years I will be at about 4.5 million. Two businesses, investing for a long time, other assets, etc., will get me there. With the threshold at 3.5 million, I am concerned. Do I plan to die at 60? Of course not. And yes, I will get my 4.5 below the threshold by doing various legal things.
Fortunately, today that 3.5 changed:
The Lincoln-Kyl amendment would raise the death tax exemption to $5 million per individual and $10 million per couple, indexed for inflation. Under this amendment, the maximum tax rate is reduced to 35%. Currently, estates valued at more than $3.5 million, or $7 million for a couple, are taxed at a 45% rate. President Obama has proposed freezing it at this level so it can be dealt with at a later date. But if Congress doesnÂ’t act to freeze or reduce the estate tax, in 2011, it will revert to a staggering 55% tax on estates worth only $1 million or more.
Senate Vote On Death Tax Relief A Win For NCBA Members - Cattle Network
If you think about it, for someone who owns their own business, 3.5 million isn't that much. And if, in 2011, it reverts back to 55% (for estates over 1 million), then a lot more people are going to be in trouble.
Someone said that no one has ever had to sell their land to pay taxes. Wrong:
The government, should not take away the people's inheritance by forcing them to give up their property. Yet, each year families all across America are being forced to sell property to pay the Death Tax. A 2000 report by the U.S. Forest Service and Mississippi State University found that 33 percent of the forest owners were subject to the Death Tax and of those, 40 percent had to sell timber or land to pay the tax. Given that the average tree farm is worth $2 million and that the average annual income of a tree farmer is about $50,000, paying off the government's Death Tax will cause a number of families to be evicted from some, or possibly, all of their land.
Alabama Policy Institute :: A Good Man Leaves An Inheritance
I know most of you know this but I will say it anyway. This isn't how much cash you have in the bank. This is assets. Cash, businesses, property, etc.
Earlier, there were some quotations being thrown around.
Here are two more:
"Abolition of all rights of inheritance." - this is the third plank of Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto.
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. - Proverbs 13:22