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As far as I understand it, the estate tax is meant as a counter to the idle rich. It's also only applied to very large amounts of money and, perhaps more releva

As far as I understand it, the estate tax is meant as a counter to the idle rich. It's also only applied to very large amounts of money and, perhaps more relevantly, to the transfer of that wealth. I remember reading an article on the Economist a while ago about this issue and they noted that people who inherited large amounts of money entered the labor market less often. Edit: I can give you the link, but I can't get you behind the paywall, unfortunately. http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10024733 http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1...

anamax 17y ago
> As far as I understand it, the estate tax is meant as a counter to the idle rich. It's also only applied to very large amounts of money and, perhaps more relevantly, to the transfer of that wealth. Since it doesn't do that, why would you think that it is intended to do so? Yes, I know how it's promoted, but look at the reality. The truely big estates aren't subject to estate tax and never will be. As a general rule, when someone says "this will affect the wealthy in a bad way", they're either lying to you or completely clueless.
- Locke1689 17y ago
  I'm confused to your point, besides a general helplessness.
  - anamax 17y ago
    > I'm confused to your point, besides a general helplessness. It's not helplessness. It's an awareness of how the world works. (Related example, regulatory capture is as solid a law as gravity. It is foolish to act as if it doesn't exist, even if your scheme won't do what you want if it does.) There aren't that many "really rich" people, but they can apply tremendous pressure, have a lot of resources, and are highly motivated. The folks down a rung or two don't have those advantages. As a result, they're the ones who get hit, mostly because they're hittable but also because their collective wealth is much larger than that of the "really big money" folks.
- ShabbyDoo 17y ago
  >The truely big estates aren't subject to estate tax and never will be. Huh? Do you mean that very wealthy people are able to pay for tax shelter strategies but those with, say, only a few million will end up getting taxed?
  - anamax 17y ago
    > Do you mean that very wealthy people are able to pay for tax shelter strategies but those with, say, only a few million will end up getting taxed? That's one way. Another way is that such estates can be structured so they aren't owned by someone who dies. Or, they're owned in a friendly jurisdiction. And so on.

anamax 17y ago

> As far as I understand it, the estate tax is meant as a counter to the idle rich. It's also only applied to very large amounts of money and, perhaps more relevantly, to the transfer of that wealth. Since it doesn't do that, why would you think that it is intended to do so? Yes, I know how it's promoted, but look at the reality. The truely big estates aren't subject to estate tax and never will be. As a general rule, when someone says "this will affect the wealthy in a bad way", they're either lying to you or completely clueless.

Locke1689 17y ago
I'm confused to your point, besides a general helplessness.
- anamax 17y ago
  > I'm confused to your point, besides a general helplessness. It's not helplessness. It's an awareness of how the world works. (Related example, regulatory capture is as solid a law as gravity. It is foolish to act as if it doesn't exist, even if your scheme won't do what you want if it does.) There aren't that many "really rich" people, but they can apply tremendous pressure, have a lot of resources, and are highly motivated. The folks down a rung or two don't have those advantages. As a result, they're the ones who get hit, mostly because they're hittable but also because their collective wealth is much larger than that of the "really big money" folks.
ShabbyDoo 17y ago
>The truely big estates aren't subject to estate tax and never will be. Huh? Do you mean that very wealthy people are able to pay for tax shelter strategies but those with, say, only a few million will end up getting taxed?
- anamax 17y ago
  > Do you mean that very wealthy people are able to pay for tax shelter strategies but those with, say, only a few million will end up getting taxed? That's one way. Another way is that such estates can be structured so they aren't owned by someone who dies. Or, they're owned in a friendly jurisdiction. And so on.