Maggie's Farm

The Death Tax

We are agin it. We like the idea of being able to hand stuff down to the kids, especially land that has been in the family for generations. As an attorney, it breaks my heart to see families forced to sell grandpa's farm, or country place, to developers to rape the land to cover his estate taxes. In my experience, the extremely wealthy never pay them anyway - it's more professionals like me, or small business owners and farmers, who end up paying them.

So, I ask myself, do we have this death tax as just one more source of $ for the govt, or as social engineering, ie to prevent prosperous, but not ultra-rich, families from accumulating capital, assets, independence and choice? If the latter is the goal, there's an easier way - a marginal income tax rate of 100% for everything over $150,000. Or make it 100,000 - what the heck. Don't screw the family and heirs - let's just screw the poor slob who is working and saving his whole life to build something, while he's still alive to feel the pain...and to vote.

Two good and convincing pieces on the subject; one from WSJ and one from The View from 1776.