From: "Gary Britt" 

$10,000,000 IS a *SMALL* small business.  Medium size starts around $500
Million.

You have no clue.


"James Adams"  wrote in message
news:3FE72F32.EB2FE73C{at}compuserve.com...
> > Most small business owners don't have unrealized capital gains of any
> > substantial amount, save and except for the value of the family business
> > that is intended to be passed on to the kids not sold.
>
> Why does this always get back to the small business owner?  The
> exemption for the estate tax is presently $1,000,000, rising to
> $10,000,000.  That's one hell of a small business.
>
> > Stealing the money from the widow
>
> Any amount can be passed to a spouse without falling under the estate
> tax.  The widow don't lose a cent.

Only if you want to LEAVE everything to the Widow.  In which case the
immoral act of confiscation is merely deferred till the Widow dies.

>
> > Whether capital gains should be taxed at all is another question.  One
that
> > isn't properly answered as long as the tax rate on capital gains is
above
> > 0%
>
> You missed the point here.  If I buy a stock that appreciates and I do
> not sell it I don't pay any capital gains.  If I die and it passes on to
> my heirs without an estate tax, no taxes are ever paid on those gains as
> they inherit at the present evaluation.  Let's make it simple.  I buy
> the stock at $1.00.  When I die it is at $1.50.  My heirs later sell it
> for $2.00.  They only pay taxes on the $.50 it has appreciated since
> they have owned it.  And at a lower rate than if it were income.

Your example is mathematically correct, but it is such an insignificant
factor in the overall death tax that it is irrelevant, because as I said
most of the time all the unrealized appreciated capital gains are in the
value of the family business.

>
> > The entire basis of the tax is the greed and avarice of the taxers.
>
> That could be said regarding most taxes.

Not as strongly as it can about the death tax, because even the taxers and
even you have argued in this thread that the PURPOSE of the tax is to
CONFISCATE the property to keep wealth from passing to subsequent
generations.  If that isn't a tax based on the politics of class warfare,
greed, avarice, and jealous, then NOTHING is so based.

>
> > In the case of
> > the DEATH tax, the amount of revenue collected in total on this tax is
not
> > enough to even be a drop in the proverbial bucket of federal
expenditures,
> > it therefore has no meaningful affect on any part of society, but has a
> > tremendous almost catastrophic affect upon the VICTIMS of this type of
> > immoral taking.
>
> Can you cite an example of a victim?  Just one small, family owned
> business that had to sold solely because of the estate tax.  Not sold
> because the business owed back withholding tax, tax liens, debts to
> creditors, etc., but solely because of the inheritance tax.

You've got to be kidding.  Its clear you not only don't own a successful
small business, you've never known anyone who has, and then passed away.
There are no databases of victims of the death tax.  Its affects however
and the specific effect written about in the paragraph above, are legion. 
You I'm sure could find numerous references to this problem in any data
bank of estate planning news pieces, estate planning articles, and
discussions among members of congress as various tax bills are discussed
and enacted.  The congress recognizing the problem has made some very
pitiful attempts at offering some token relief in the tax code.  Do your
own research, its not my job.  I don't give a damn if you believe the
obvious or not.

>
> On another thought, you rant against the government as if it's some sort
> of occupying power.  Although it does an imperfect job it does represent
> the people.

I rant against the government exceeding the scope of the limited powers
granted to it by the constitution, and I rant against the government doing
immoral acts against its citizens such as the immoral levels of income
taxation and the immoral levels of DEATH tax in this country.

I am a conservative not a libertarian.  I do not believe there is no place
at all for government.  I just believe it has overstepped its place in many
ways.

Cheers,

Gary

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