WASHINGTON POST COLUMN: latest evidence is House approval of legislation abolishing the estate tax, sometimes called the “death tax.” The chances of this soon becoming law are slim, because even if it passes the Senate, congressional Republicans probably won’t be able to override President Obama’s promised veto. Meanwhile, they’ve handed Democrats a priceless campaign gift: a made-for-TV (and Internet) video depicting Republicans as lackeys of the rich.
It’s not as if Republicans aren’t used to being stigmatized as shills for the wealthy. But why (one might ask) would they go out of their way to confirm the stereotype? With economic inequality a major issue, why strive to be portrayed as stooges for hedge-fund operators, well-paid executives, affluent celebrities and wealthy families? All would benefit if the estate tax were repealed.
With the country’s many problems, eliminating the tax hardly seems a top priority. It affects almost no one. In 2013, 2,596,993 Americans died, but there were only 4,687 taxable estate returns filed, reports the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.
That’s 0.18 percent of deaths. The number is so low because much wealth is exempted from the tax. In 2015, the exemption is $5.43 million for individuals and $10.86 million for married couples. Above those amounts, the top tax rate is 40 percent… (more)
EDITOR: The best part of the estate tax is that it will serve to reduce billions of dollars being passed in whole from one generation to another, with dangerous potential repercussions.
Also it encourages the super rich to create charitable foundations.
