House votes to extend inheritance tax on wealthy estates, canceling one-year repeal in 2010

[babsbunny]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-us-estate-tax,0,3704653.story


STEPHEN OHLEMACHER Associated Press Writer

3:31 p.m. CST, December 3, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted Thursday to indefinitely extend a 45 percent inheritance tax on estates larger than $3.5 million, canceling a one-year repeal of the tax set to begin next month.

A similar effort is afoot in the Senate, but the health care debate there could preclude action on the estate tax before Congress breaks later this month for holidays. There are also disagreements among senators over the tax rate and the size of estates that should be exempt, further clouding the bill's prospects.

Lawmakers, however, don't want to delay action until next year because they are wary of enacting retroactive tax changes.

Under the House bill, estates smaller than $3.5 million would continue to be exempt from the tax. Married couples, with a little estate planning, could exempt a total of $7 million. That leaves less than 1 percent of all estates subject to the tax.

[Romulox]

1. Can anybody say "Stealth tax cut for the uber wealthy"?

I know I can! :hi:

[Warpy]

6. Actually, it's not much of a cut

The exemption is 3.5 million bucks, probably where it should be indexed to inflation since the 70s. The tax went from 55% to 45%, but it's still enough of a hefty bite to discourage plutocracy and to encourage end of life gift giving.

The dodge of having the boodle go to a foundation whose primary purpose is supporting one's children with fat executive salaries remains intact, though, and one hopes the foundations are the next thing on the list to be tightened up, forcing them to live up to their stated purpose and decreasing the windfall to the children of extreme wealth.

[Romulox]

8. It's a rather large tax cut. $1 M is the baseline exemption

which is being raised to $3.5 M at the same time the actual rate of taxation on the excess is being cut.

This benefits nobody but the extremely wealthy.

[Warpy]

10. The exemption has been going up for 8 years

The current exemption, where it being frozen, is at $3.5 million.

That exemption will cover the entire middle class. Plutocrats will have to pay.

[Romulox]

12. Nope. It set to reset to $1 million if no other action is taken. This is a large tax cut.

It's a tax cut you support, but it's still a tax cut. :hi:

[Warpy]

14. Not from today it's not

and it needed to be raised.

Again, this exempts the middle class, or what's left of it. It still hits plutocrats hard.

[slipslidingaway]

2. Thread from the other day with some additional links, also roll call link...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7125280&mesg_id=7125280

[Warpy]

3. Old folks all over the country are breathing a sigh of relief

because I always imagined the streets from Bel Aire to Palm Beach running red with their blood as their heirs realized next year would be their only chance to inherit the whole estate intact.

Freezing it at the present level is a great idea.

[leftstreet]

4. Well this is just shocking

NOT

[QC]

5. They can move pretty fast when it benefits rich folks, can't they? n/t

[Xenotime]

7. 45% isn't enough.

[Romulox]

9. A huge cut to the inheritance tax: because who cares about class mobility, anyhow?

Thank you, House Dems! :puke:

[Uben]

11. This just makes it a little more difficultIf

If one wants to shelter inheritance from the estate tax, it can still be done. There are dozens of instruments available, but one would have to hire a tax consulting firm, most likely. Don't think the rich aren't aware of it, either. They know, and the lion's share of them use these instruments to avoid taxes on inheritances. One does have to persue it, so there are surely lots of wealthy people who will wind up paying the taxes, but you can bet those with the huge estates will find a way to avoid them

[old mark]

13. Anyone with that kind of money will have enough lawyers/accountants/etc

so that they won't ever have to pay.

The tax payers are those of us who draw pay checks, where the tax is antoatically deducted before we ever see it. Sort of like slavery, but you have to buy your own food.


mark