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The biggest lobbies for increased estate taxes are life insurance companies: http://blogs.forbes.com/hanisarji/2010/12/01/life-insurance-industry-is-spending-m

The biggest lobbies for increased estate taxes are life insurance companies: http://blogs.forbes.com/hanisarji/2010/12/01/life-insurance-industry-is-spending-millions-lobbying-for-the-estate-tax-afbfs-latest-issue-brief/ http://blogs.forbes.com/hanisarji/2010/12/01/life-insurance-... “The estate tax is a cash cow for the life insurance industry – and the industry’s lobbyists guard it zealously...[o]nly three industries – pharmaceuticals, electric utilities, and oil and gas – spent more over the same period.”

waterlesscloud 16y ago
Of which Buffet owns several. Which may or may not play a role in his support.
- jakarta 16y ago
  I don't think it does. The life insurance contribution to Berkshire Hathaway results is quite small. The bulk of the income is from reinsurance and P/C activities.
- jbooth 16y ago
  How many billions has this guy given away again? I'd wager that he doesn't really care about an extra few million in insurance company profits.
DevX101 16y ago
For more details on WHY the life insurance lobbies aggressively to support the estate tax, see this link from ramanujan's article: http://www.nodeathtax.org/uploads/view/2313/life_insurance_brief.pdf http://www.nodeathtax.org/uploads/view/2313/life_insurance_b... Excerpt: "Life insurance is the most basic tool for estate planning. Put simply, inheritance is subject to the estate tax, while life insurance benefits are untaxed. This drives up the demand for life insurance, thus driving up the price. The disparate tax treatment distorts the market so much that a wealthy person could buy a policy knowing he will pay more in premiums than the value of the benefit – and it would still make sense financially. For example, if someone bought a $20 million whole life policy at age 60, and paid $25 million over the years in premiums, he would still be giving more to heirs (an untaxed $20 million) than if he just bequeathed that $25 million to his children – because after the estate tax, that could be worth less than $20 million." --This discussion has been really informative. Thanks to all.
- russell_h 16y ago
  Is there anything to stop a person from investing their estate in a company whose sole purpose is to insure their life?
  - jacques_chester 16y ago
    If it hasn't already been tried, the IRS would tie it up in litigation for so long that the principal would be consumed by legal fees.

waterlesscloud 16y ago

Of which Buffet owns several. Which may or may not play a role in his support.

jakarta 16y ago
I don't think it does. The life insurance contribution to Berkshire Hathaway results is quite small. The bulk of the income is from reinsurance and P/C activities.
jbooth 16y ago
How many billions has this guy given away again? I'd wager that he doesn't really care about an extra few million in insurance company profits.

DevX101 16y ago

For more details on WHY the life insurance lobbies aggressively to support the estate tax, see this link from ramanujan's article: http://www.nodeathtax.org/uploads/view/2313/life_insurance_brief.pdf http://www.nodeathtax.org/uploads/view/2313/life_insurance_b... Excerpt: "Life insurance is the most basic tool for estate planning. Put simply, inheritance is subject to the estate tax, while life insurance benefits are untaxed. This drives up the demand for life insurance, thus driving up the price. The disparate tax treatment distorts the market so much that a wealthy person could buy a policy knowing he will pay more in premiums than the value of the benefit – and it would still make sense financially. For example, if someone bought a $20 million whole life policy at age 60, and paid $25 million over the years in premiums, he would still be giving more to heirs (an untaxed $20 million) than if he just bequeathed that $25 million to his children – because after the estate tax, that could be worth less than $20 million." --This discussion has been really informative. Thanks to all.

russell_h 16y ago
Is there anything to stop a person from investing their estate in a company whose sole purpose is to insure their life?
- jacques_chester 16y ago
  If it hasn't already been tried, the IRS would tie it up in litigation for so long that the principal would be consumed by legal fees.