With the fate of the bill against the estate tax yet to be determined by the Senate and President, let’s reflect on the top ten reasons the death tax deserves to die.
With the U.S. House of Representatives recently voting to repeal the estate tax, the issue now will go before the Senate for approval. If it passes there, then President Obama will need to decide whether to veto the legislation or not.
Forbes recently published a list of reasons why the estate tax should be repealed in an article aptly titled "Top Ten Reasons The U.S. House Will Kill the Death Tax."
The Forbes list includes:
- The estate tax is unfair to people who have paid taxes on the assets as income.
- The estate tax is not popular with Americans.
- The tax generates relatively little income for the government.
- The revenue from the tax is decreasing.
- The estate tax affects family businesses, not just the extremely wealthy.
- Most states do not have an estate tax.
- The U.S. has one of the highest estate tax rates in the world.
- The tax harms the job market.
- The tax decreases economic growth.
- The estate tax harms the environment by forcing landowners to subdivide tracts.
Keep a close eye on these developments and stay in touch with your estate planning attorney whichever direction the political winds may blow.
Reference: Forbes (April 14, 2015) "Top Ten Reasons The U.S. House Will Kill the Death Tax."