Posted on 03/31/2015 8:31:37 AM PDT by Kaslin
For the first time in a decade, the U.S. House of Representatives may soon vote to kill the death tax.
The death tax in the United States was born in the North and South as a way to pay for the Civil War. When the war ended, the tax lingered until 1870. It sprang back to life to fund World War I. The war ended and the tax shrank. It then grew to full fury during World War II.
The tax has been cut back, then expanded. It even disappeared for one full year in 2010 before returning. But even after being cropped back in 2012 it stands ready to grow again to threatens millions more Americans. America's death tax rate at 40 percent is the fourth highest in the world.
Congressman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) has led the charge in the House of Representatives to finally end the death tax once and for all. Last week his bill, H.R. 1105 — The Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015 — was passed through the House Ways & Means Committee on a party line vote 22-10. All Republicans voted for and all Democrats voted against.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has an identical bill in the Senate, co-sponsored by 26 Republicans including Sens. Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and Marco Rubio.
There are five reasons to hold a vote now to end the death tax:
One, polling over the years shows that 70 percent of Americans wish to end the death tax. This is a wonderful sign of a healthy society. The death tax does not hit everyone. But the siren song of envy is refused by most Americans. That is not true in countries that envy rather than encourage success. Americans know that hating those who work hard and are financially successful is to one day hate your siblings, children, and neighbors.
Two, the death tax is a tax on lifetime savings. It destroys jobs by reducing the amount of savings available to invest in today and tomorrow's businesses. The Tax Foundation calculates that ending the death tax would create 150,000 jobs and strengthen the economy to the point that having no death tax would raise $8 billion more in taxes than having the death tax. It is a tax that loses money for the government.
Three, even politicians have figured out that the death tax is a political loser. Thirty-three states have abolished their death tax. They learned that their own citizens move to other states without a death tax.
Four, abolishing the death tax is the first step to all forms of tax reform. Some Americans like the FAIR Tax: a national sales tax to replace the income tax. Step one on that path is to end the death tax. Some prefer a flat tax that taxes consumed income one time at one rate. That also requires an end to the death tax. While we debate what form of tax reform we want we can all agree to, first, kill the death tax. This is why House Ways & Means Chairman Paul Ryan who is designing the GOP’s next steps towards strong reform scheduled a vote now to pass Kevin Brady's legislation to end the death tax. It is everyone's consensus first step.
Five, burying the death tax will set an important precedent. Taxes are best eliminated rather than pruned back. The death tax rates have gone up and down, the exemption has gone up and down but such changes always ended up allowing the tax to live and grow again. Only abolition works.
It has been ten years since we have had a vote on ending the death tax. A majority of Congressmen and Senators have never cast a vote to save or end the death tax. It is time for voters to find out just where their elected officials stand.
Wow, do you think it will get through the Senate and Obama will sign it into law? That will be so cool!
The Dems will use this as class warfare ammo, and Obama will veto it.
Just amend the bill as follows:
Federal Estate Tax is hereby immediately repealed EXCEPT for anyone named Koch, in which case the tax rate is 100% on any estate over $1.00
Teddy “The Swimmer” Kennedy got around paying the Death Tax by making his entire estate a Trust.
I’d like to see Soros and Bloomberg and AlGore pay this tax...and the sooner the better.
Will never happen! The government has already spent the “Death Tax” revenue from wealthy Americans that have not even been born yet!
I doubt it too
Does this death tax apply to estates that are valued at less than$5.4M? I thought that was the cutoff for the estate to be taxed.
And put a wooden stake through it.
The Dems will use this as class warfare ammo, and Obama will veto it.
Going to a flat tax for 4-5 years while we prepare at the end of 4-5 years to phase out the income tax in favor of something like FairTax (H.R. 25/S. 155) would be the best thing to happen to the USA since the American Revolution itself.
This is a tax increase!!!!!!!!!
Sounds good until you think about it. At death, assets get a stepped up basis and when the heirs sell it, no taxes are due.
With this, the basis will stay the same as the parents had AND WHEN YOU SELL IT, YOU WILL PAY MUCH TAXES.
The death tax is tantamount to financial rape.
Eliminate the “CONFISCATION” tax!!
Two different issues One has nothing to do with the other
Eliminating the IRS and having a single flat tax will be much better without all the stupid side roads.
Cutting taxes is easy. Cutting spending to make up for the lost revenue is hard. And I’m betting that they’ll let the deficit take the hit for this and increase.
No.
Trusts aren't exempt from estate (or any other kind of) taxes. Trusts make things easier by allowing the heirs avoid probate, but the IRS still get's its share.
Anyway, Obama would never sign a bill repealing (or even reducing) estate taxes. In fact, like many leftists, he would probably prefer to increase death taxes.
That said, I would be willing to bet that many liberals today would like to repeal the death tax. There are many liberals still living with mom and dad, and their only hope for getting ahead in this world (thanks to the Obama economy) is to patiently wait to inherit mom and dad's home and remaining assets when they pass. So... perhaps now is the time to try and get them aboard such an idea!
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