A RealTalker writes:

>>
If you find a way to take it with you, be sure to let us know how.
Meanwhile, is the government entitled to a portion of your income?
<<

Not from the government's perspective.

The government thinks it is entitled to ALL of your income.

The government believes it is being gracious if it lets you keep some of the government's income...it is not your income. Whatever gave you that idea? It is the government's income. Your deductions are considered expenditures to the tax code creators and writers...expenditures.

The purpose of the tax code is not only to facilitate the collection of
revenue to run the government, the purpose of the tax code is also social and economic engineering. This is not a judgment...it just is.

Estate Tax percentages amount to nothing more than confiscation. You would think that the greater the portion of one's estate allowed to pass to one's heirs, the more encouraged some people would be to work harder and more efficiently for the benefit of their heirs. Confiscatory estate tax rates can be counter productive and a disincentive.

Now, if you want to leave your entire estate to Uncle Sugar, you should have every right to do so and I would support you in having the option to do so.

Having said the above, most of us pretty much agree that the government(s) should be allowed to confiscate some of our hard earned income for the "common good." The question and the disagreement arises over how much, when and for what "common good" should the confiscation be allowed.

The unfairness of taxing income twice has been mentioned...taxed first as income and then as an estate. It may be unfair, but tax law is not fair, and it is not simple, no matter what the politicians try to tell us.

And, it never will be fair and simple. Tweaks and small changes result in huge revenue increases for the government, and usually with little outcry because the tax law is so complex, most people don't want to think about it.

In 1984 most deductions were taken from taxpayers and the marginal rates were reduced to 15% and 28%. A few years later, with our deductions gone, the government began to raise marginal rates again. You try to tax plan and then the next year congress changes the rules.

We say it is a "voluntary system." But the most powerful enforcement agency of the US government is the Internal Revenue Service.

Having read this, you might have the idea that I am against taxes. That, in fact, is not the case. And I see no solution that would not incur a stream of unintended consequences. I do know this...by paying attention to taxes and tax laws, you can make sure you pay no more than that which the law requires you pay. You'd be surprised how many people pay more than they are obligated to pay because they lack understanding of the tax law.

"Anyone may so arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible. He is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one's taxes."

Justice Learned Hand

Saul

Saul Klein
President, InternetCrusade