My knees and feet are now more affected than my hands. Sadly, this makes me walk funny, and I've pulled, or somehow angered a calf muscle, which makes me have to walk funny, which is hurting my heels. My sneakers are in Maine, I think, because the five of us can't find them anywhere. My sandals make my feet worse. /whingey whingey babypants

egad. This just keeps on with the craptasticness, doesn't it.

If I've been paying taxes on my money all my life, and managed to invest what I could wisely, well goody for me. That stuff is mine. The money that bought it has already been taxed and I'm a damned broken record.

Well, as long as you're not a multimillionaire, then it won't be taxed.

I think it kicks in at a million dollars, which I think is too low. But very few people inherit that much as it is.

Honestly, I think that depends on where people live, and the population is much denser in areas where real estate prices are much higher. Seriously, my parents bought their house in '65 for less than 17K. My mother sold it after it being on the market 2 hours, for 480K. Her realtor told her not to accept it, and hold out for more, but she hates the marketing aspect of selling a house--having to keep it picture perfect and vacate at a moment's notice for a prospective seller. She just wanted it done.

wealth that appreciates and is passed down from generation to generation is NEVER taxed until it is sold

And what asset is this, passed for generations, eluding the tax collector like a thief in the night? A family home, perhaps-- or maybe a chunk of principal held in stocks (which cannot be lived on unless it's throwing off dividends, which are taxed). Who are these people who are living off this cashless wealth?

The estate tax is the best way to tax appreciated wealth.

I really can't agree that this is somehow better than the capital gains tax-- I mean, saying that the estate tax is better is silly, silly, silly. It's a tax assessed purely on the basis of the original holder dying, and assessed before any profits are realized-- so the money isn't there to pay it.

This method was attempted before and proved so difficult (because people had to figure out the worth of the asset when it was first purchased)

I think what they're getting at is that it's so much easier to just tax the entire asset than reserve the original investment from taxation? I'm sure the potential taxpayer would really appreciate that. In any case, this is how capital gains tax is computed and paid, so it's not THAT fucking hard.

Incidentally, Cindy mentioned something that's true-- an inter vivos trust is easy and pretty much avoids an estate tax. So this is kind of moot.

Right, what's the point of building up an estate if you can't pass it along to your children?

If I were to somehow become rich, I'd set up my will so that Annabel and any future sibling would have enough money to get any education they wanted without going into debt, plus a little boost to get them started in life, but not so much that they'd never have to work a day in their lives. I'd leave the rest to nonprofits or to set up need-based scholarships at my alma mater.

And while that sounds all smug and virtuous, my main motive is "God forbid that Annabel should ever be a Paris Hilton."

Right, what's the point of building up an estate if you can't pass it along to your children?

Having a comfortable or even luxurious retirement. Maybe it's because my family has never had anything to pass on to the next generation, but don't see it as anything anyone shold want to do, or should have a fundamental right to do. It's just not obvious to me.

I don't get the "but the family business will go under if it's subject to the estate tax" argument. Incorporate, people, it's not hard or expensive.

Incidentally, Cindy mentioned something that's true-- an inter vivos trust is easy and pretty much avoids an estate tax. So this is kind of moot.

And this is why I don't understand why repealing the "death tax" has somehow become such an issue.

"God forbid that Annabel should ever be a Paris Hilton."

From what I've heard, Paris is earning herself a shitload of money, and without that, wouldn't be that rich for a rich kid.

I also think capital gains tax is wrong.

Why? Why should earned income be taxed more heavily or more consistently than other income?

If I've been paying taxes on my money all my life, and managed to invest what I could wisely, well goody for me. That stuff is mine. The money that bought it has already been taxed and I'm a damned broken record.

And you are not being taxed on it again. The recipients are being taxed on what is essentially new income to them. My employers were taxed on their income before they passed it along to me. I pay taxes on it. And if I had a housekeeper or nanny or other employee, they would be taxed on what I passed along to them.

There are provisions, such as the $1.5 mil threshold (which I agree should be a lot higher) that pay respect to the fact that passing your assets along to your kids is such a tradition, and so ingrained, and I don't have a problem with that. Same with the $250k/$500k exemption on gains from sale of your house. But at the end of the day, it's all income, and I think it should be taxed as such.

The real estate bubble that makes for $500K suburban homes at the moment is very receent indeed (curse it). The estate tax is clearly designed to hit the really wealthy; it's just that inflation has gotten ahead of the current limits.

(I believe my grandparents' estate invokes the estate tax, but if so, I am certain they would have liked it that way, because they were strong supporters of big government.)