I'm confused. Wouldn't a repeal of the "Death Tax" help everyone?

Question

Why are some folks in Congress arguing that it only helps the mega-rich?

Answer 1

Because it only kicks in on estates worth > $2 million. A repeal would mean losing incredible amounts of tax revenue at a time when we are already in a huge budget deficit.

Answer 2

Because the only estates that are ever taxed are those worth more than a million-and-a-half dollars, and millionaires are generally considered rich. In history, the very wealthy have always been able to amass larger and larger fortunes with each passing generation, until the wealthy elite become a separate class within the society. Egalitarian societies, like America's used to be, tend to lose their democratic nature as they come to be dominated by that small, wealthy over-class. Estate taxes provide a brake on that system, although we obviously still saw people able to pass along fortunes to their children even before the GOP started all of this "death tax" nonsense. You are being suckered into feeling sorry for people who have way more than they need, and the consequence is a lack of government revenues needed to help people who don't have enough to get by. Any millionaire who resents paying taxes to the society that made his success possible is a lousy American and a pretty rotten, selfish person. Think carefully about which part of America really needs your concern and sympathy the most.

Answer 3

Yes it would. The sad thing is that many democrats want you to believe that it's a way to "soak" the "rich" so they "pay their fair share". What they don't tell you is that the rich don't pay taxes to the extent that you think they do. They bury their wealth in tax shelters and they use loop holes and various business enterprises to filter it and parlay it in order to avoid taxes. The truth is that repealing the death tax would end this necessity and free up a tremendous amount of wealth that would get pumped into the economy and cause economic growth in the form of jobs, goods and services etc. So yeah, it would benifit everyone on some level.

Answer 4

Because some folks in congress always say "the mega-rich" get this or that. It is patently false and plays on our class envy.

The so-called death tax should be abolished...haven't we paid enough taxes in our lifetime that when the time comes to kick the bucket and we want to leave our family some money, we can do so without getting it taxed one last time?

Answer 5

Given that everyone dies at some point, a repeal clearly would not harm anyone. However, your estate doesn't get taxed unless you make a certain amount of money. I believe for 2006, the combined amount exempt from gift and estate tax is $2 million (up to $1.5 million of gifts from the taxpayer to others are exempt from gift tax; any of that exemption not used up at the time of death carries over and can be applied toward the $2 million estate tax limits). So yeah, unless you're loaded, you aren't going to owe estate tax.

Answer 6

The unified tax credit eliminates all fed tax on estates valued at or below 1.5 million dollars. I wouldn't say that having more than 1.5m makes someone mega rich, but most people don't have that much. So no - unless you are going to inherit over 1.5m repealing the death tax would not benefit you as much as someone who is going to inherit more than 1.5m!

Answer 7

Yes it would. The 'mega rich' don't own anything in their own names when the die anyway. Those most hurt by the death tax (officially called the 'estate tax') are individual farmers and small business owners whose families end up selling the farm/business to pay the taxes.

Answer 8

No! Because most of us are not from families with enough wealth to be significantly hurt by the death tax. The poorer among us do not pay any death tax. It is really another tax break for the wealthy, as they often pay significant death tax, aka inheritance tax.

Answer 9

yes... like everyone else has said.. it would only affect people that have estates valued over $2 mill.. .which is a very small minority of Americans...

If they cut this tax... they will have to make up that revenue somewhere... do you want to pay more taxes? Or can the people worth over $2 mill afford to pay it more?

Answer 10

The first million is exempt from the tax. So unless you have more than a million in your estate, repealing the tax won't help you any.