Political: USA Today Gives Bush First Term Report Card

[richiebaseball]

Originally posted by peachgirl
I don't know where your story came from, but if they only paid them 1 million for 40 acres, yet their estate tax was over 1/2 million...someone took them to the cleaners and it wasn't the estate tax.

I apologize for not providing a link. This was an obituary from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. I found an online link to part of it but you have to pay to see all of it. I still actually get some of my news the old fashioned way, in print.

And they were took to the cleaners alright. And if that ain't a death tax, I don't know what one is.

Richard

Edited to add the link I forgot! Doh!
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we...=title&p_bool_label-1=AND&s_dispstring=byline(derrick%20henry)%20AND%20date(03/05/2004%20to%2003/07/2004)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=03/05/2004%20to%2003/07/2004&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date&xcal_useweights=no

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by JoeThaNo1Stunna
Unemployment rates are higher now than they were when Bush took office. DUH. He inherited the early end of a recession. An economy built on .com stocks that were not worth the paper they were printed on. In his first year in office America was the dealt the largest terrorist attack in our nation's history, during a recession, and destroyed was the WORLD TRADE CENTER (think about those words). But my boy G-DUB got things turned around and jobs are being created and you cannot argue that the economy is turning around.

1.4 million new poor people last year....over 5 million since "your boy" took office.

Yeah....You're right...No argument to be made there

 

[richiebaseball]

Originally posted by peachgirl
Well, unless that rural Georgia property is worth more than 1.5 million dollars, they don't have a thing to worry about. That is, if the owner dies this year. Even then, there are regulations and deferrments available to them for the next 14 years.

What does it matter what it's worth? Nobody is selling it. Unless they're forced to just to pay the death tax.

Richard

 

[peachgirl]

What does it matter what it's worth? Nobody is selling it. Unless they're forced to just to pay the death tax.

Of course it matters what it's worth. If it wasn't worth at least 1.5 million, there would be NO estate taxes to be paid.

Did you even read the facts regarding the estate tax?

The estate tax does not apply to the vast majority of family owned businesses and farms...about 3%

In those few cases where they are subject to estate taxes (about 17% btw), they are eligible fors special valuation rules and tax payment deferral for up to 14 years.

On April 8, 2001, the New York Times reported that the pro-repeal American Farm Bureau Foundation could not cite a single case of a family farm lost due to the estate tax. There are special estate tax breaks for farms, including the ability to value farmland at less than market value.

It was not neccessary to do away with the estate tax entirely to remedy the very, very few cases where someone would literally have to "sell the farm" to pay the taxes.
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[richiebaseball]

Originally posted by peachgirl
Of course it matters what it's worth. If it wasn't worth at least 1.5 million, there would be NO estate taxes to be paid.

The only reason to value property because of death is to sell it or tax it. It shouldn't be taxed unless it is sold.

Originally posted by peachgirl
It was not neccessary to do away with the estate tax entirely to remedy the very, very few cases where someone would literally have to "sell the farm" to pay the taxes.

Why in the world should it be taxed anyway? Regardless of how much?

I think that's just going to have to be a fundamental difference between us that can't be bridged. I can't accept the fact that the government can tax land just because it passes to an heir. And apparently you believe that if it's worth enough, they can and should.

Richard

 

[peachgirl]

Originally posted by richiebaseball
I think that's just going to have to be a fundamental difference between us that can't be bridged. I can't accept the fact that the government can tax land just because it passes to an heir. And apparently you believe that if it's worth enough, they can and should.

Richard

At least partly, your argument was based on the notion that there were poor families sitting on millions of dollars worth of property that the government was forcing them to sell just to pay the estate taxes.

That's just not true.

I agree that it is a fundamental disagreement on whether property should be taxed after the owner dies, but the reasoning that it's because people are being forced off their land doesn't stand up to the actual facts.

 

[richiebaseball]

Originally posted by peachgirl
Did you even read the facts regarding the estate tax?

You mean did I read the site you linked? Yes I did. If those are facts, they're a little light. Try these:

http://www.house.gov/jec/fiscal/tx-grwth/estattax/estattax.htm

http://www.house.gov/jec/tax/06-18-03.pdf

Richard