Posted on 03/31/2009 4:32:15 AM PDT by xcamel
Lawrence Summers, President Obama's chief economic adviser, declared recently that "Let's be very clear: There are no, no tax increases this year. There are no, no tax increases next year." Oh yes, yes, there are. The President's budget calls for the largest increase in the death tax in U.S. history in 2010.
The announcement of this tax increase is buried in footnote 1 on page 127 of the President's budget. That note reads: "The estate tax is maintained at its 2009 parameters." This means the death tax won't fall to zero next year as scheduled under current law, but estates will be taxed instead at up to 45%, with an exemption level of $3.5 million (or $7 million for a couple). Better not plan on dying next year after all.
This controversy dates back to George W. Bush's first tax cut in 2001 that phased down the estate tax from 55% to 45% this year and then to zero next year. Although that 10-year tax law was to expire in 2011, meaning that the death tax rate would go all the way back to 55%, the political expectation was that once the estate tax was gone for even one year, it would never return.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Our leaders, elected and appointed, lie and cheat on their own taxes.
Every one of them.
My mother is the executrix for my Grandfather’s estate and we are getting ready to pay this EVIL tax. When I crunched the numbers and determined how much it is going to be....I vomited. He died last year, so it’s being taxed at 45% of the amount over 2 million.
I could live very comfortably for the rest of my life on what we are going to have to pay the government. It is sickening.
VirginiaMom
What about all the carbon taxes???
By the time Obama is through, no one will die with $3.5 million dollars anyway.
Not within the reach of American officials.
The money will move out.
Good point. Obama is eliminating the death tax by taking all our wealth while we’re alive!
Who says Dems don’t cut taxes.
That’s sad, I wish there were some way you could avoid or even evade those taxes and not get caught.
I don’t normally think breaking the law is ok but the death tax is down right immoral.
Anyone surprised?
Leni
The parents of friends of ours are simply giving away as much as possible each year to all family members and even close friends, keeping the gifts below the gift tax thresholds. I believe a lot of these gifts are stocks and land.
The best estate plan is when the check to the undertaker bounces.
Exactly.....but large estates are not necessarily reduced with annual $12,000 gifts to children and grandchildren. We will still get nicked and drilled.....the bleeding never stops. One never actually owns deposited funds.
In 2011, won’t the exemption amount also go back down to $675,000 or will it stay at the $3.5 million. Prior to the Bush tax cut the exemption amount was only $675,000.
Yep.......and after that 55%.
Keep in mind, with this administration...all tax law is a moving target....I excect confiscation of savings over a certain amount plus making personal ownership of gold illegal......don't laugh....
It’s downright criminal. ...and as un-American as it gets.
Words cannot adequately describe how much I despise that traitorous commie rat bastard islamophile son of a whore. ....and every last one of his marxist cohorts.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.