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I would love an inheritance tax. Even a 100% inheritance tax, on anything more than zero dollars. Of course I don't really stand to inherit anything significa
by semiotagonal 7y ago
I would love an inheritance tax. Even a 100% inheritance tax, on anything more than zero dollars.
Of course I don't really stand to inherit anything significant, so it's super easy for me to support.
Inheritance is one of those areas where people's values and what they'd support in practice tend to diverge, according to their incentives. (Same goes for California Proposition 13, incidentally).
- mrfusion 7y agoI guess the fact that you can just call it a “death tax” can easily rally popular opposition even if people would otherwise support it. It’s my theory that the less words you can use to make an argument, the more powerful it is.
- MiroF 7y agoWhat would really rally popular opposition is the massive massive amounts of spending on propaganda (advertising, etc whatever you want to call it) to galvanize the American public to oppose something like this. We live in a democracy, but elites still have enough say that something like an 100% inheritance tax is effectively off the table.
- RhysU 7y agoA 100% inheritance tax would be a nightmare in practice. Grandma died? Cool, go sell her house now.
- MiroF 7y agoSelling the house of a deceased relative seems to be a common existing ritual, no? This objection might be stronger if it were more fleshed out.
- harimau777 7y agoI think the problem could arise in the case of things like heirlooms or homes that have been in the family for years. I think you might also need to write the law so that people could choose to inherit debt on the same terms as their parents. Otherwise, couldn't the bank demand a higher interest rate as a way to force someone off of their property? How does this sort of thing work currently?
- MiroF 7y agoRealistically, a law like this (though it would never happen) would be something along the lines of 100% tax on inheritances over 10 million dollars. > I think you might also need to write the law so that people could choose to inherit debt on the same terms as their parents. I assumed that this was already the case. quick e: Yeah, seems like this is already law "Under federal law, lenders must allow family members to take over a mortgage when they inherit residential property" [0] https://www.thebalance.com/what-happens-to-your-mortgage-when-you-die-4158246 https://www.thebalance.com/what-happens-to-your-mortgage-whe...
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- rstupek 7y agoOr go sell the family farm, or family business, etc.
- Nursie 7y agoIt seems a very anti-human thing to say that what you have worked for your whole life, that you've already paid tax on all along the way, cannot be given to your own offspring. It strikes at the heart of what it is to be alive, and the relationship of the individual and the state.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- chongli 7y agoWhat we need is an inheritance tax on all of the wealth that people didn’t work for. Unearned wealth in the form of real estate and capital appreciation. It’s fine for the hard-working middle class person to pass on their hard-earned home to their child. It’s not so fine if the house has gone up in value 10000% since the time they purchased it.
- travisoneill1 7y agoThis would classify the work of all company founders as "unearned"
- chongli 7y agoThere's a big difference between putting your money on the line with a startup you founded and just having the house you live in appreciate over several decades.
- imtringued 7y agoI don't get it. If you problem is too low capital gains taxes then just say that outright instead of hiding behind an inheritance tax that doesn't even achieve your goals.
- sjy 7y agoAs a human, this doesn’t resonate with me at all. I know that many people disagree with inheritance taxes, but I would prefer if my views weren’t characterised as inhuman, since they are motivated by a desire to help people who inherit nothing.