ken_stern Loc: Yorba Linda, Ca

Your the 2nd fellow that mentioned the "evils of the Death Tax" -- Being totally ignorant on the subject & curious I went ahead & googled it --- There were a series of blogs on this subject all saying in various ways just about the same thing -- It would appear to me that "if" your really serious & personally concerned about this subject -- Then your one very fortunate & very-very rich man -- Dude: My hats off to you -- Whoever dies with the most "Stuff" is the winner !!!!
Copied the following from the Government Hub under the title "Estate Tax: Unraveling The Myth

The Federal Estate Tax or FET, for short, has been around for literally 100 years. Misinformation has spread rampantly about this tax, mostly by those who call for its repeal; the owners of large estates, you know, the wealthy. They give it the name "Death Tax" and the plebeians begin singing of its horrors in the streets. It isn't the green eyed monster men in the coffee shops talk about in hushed tones, not at all.

One of the reasons why policy makers created the estate tax in 1916 was because the largest estates consist mostly of "unrealized" capital gains that have never been taxed in the first place. This way, the estate tax serves as a sort of backstop to the income tax, taxing the income of the wealthy that would have gone untaxed otherwise. Simply, it's there to tax large inheritances by a small group of wealthy heirs, which is why it is ridiculous to call it "Death Tax." Columnist E. J. Dionne was quoted to have said that an estate tax repeal could then be called, the "Paris Hilton tax cut."

To put it into proper perspective, let's consider the numbers, shall we? Two out of every one thousand estates face the FET. According a CBPP article, the Joint Committee on Taxation stated that 99.8 percent of estates didn't owe an estate tax last year. Only the estates of the .2 percent of Americans owed an estate tax.

If you are wondering how the estate tax is applied, then here is a breakdown of how it works.

First of all, there are many exemptions to consider, depending on what kind of estate someone has, such as a farm or a large complex, but every estate enjoys one particular perk: Unlimited Marital Deduction. It's dead simple (no pun intended). A person can t***sfer an unlimited amount of money to their spouse. For example, if the husband dies, leaving all assets to his wife, there is no estate tax.

In 2016, someone can t***sfer up to $5,450,000 to anyone who is not their spouse, such as heirs, and not receive an estate tax. If an estate is appraised at $500,000, and it is the principle asset in the estate, then it will not receive an estate tax.

In January of 2011, another very important change came to the estate tax, and that is Portable Exemption. By law, a person's exemption of $5,450,000 can be t***sferred to their husband or wife, bringing the total exemption to $10,900,000. In order for the exemption to be t***sferred, a 706 form must be filled out at death in order to quantify the amount of the exemption that will pass on to the spouse. Otherwise, it does not automatically t***sfer to the spouse. That means, that the parents can t***sfer up to $10,900,000 to their heirs.

So let's simplify it into two different situations. We'll call one estate the "poor planning" estate and the other the "good planning" estate.

The Poor Planning Estate:

Estate worth: $15,000,000

Liquid Assets:$1,000,000

The husband dies, leaving the entire estate to his wife under the Unlimited Marital Deduction, resulting in no estate tax. However, she did not file a 706 form, resulting in no portability of his exemption. Some years later, she dies, leaving the estate to her children. Since there wasn't portability of their fathers exemption, the children can only receive $5,450,000 from their mother, making it a taxable estate of $9,550,000. Currently,the estate tax's percentage rate is 40%.

$9,550,000 x 40% = $3,820,000 FET

If the children are able to scrape together their $1 million in assets, that still puts them at $2,820,000 in estate tax.

The Good Planning Estate:

Estate worth: $15,000,000

Liquid Assets:$1,000,000

It is the same situation, but the wife filed a 706 form at the time of her husband's death. She dies, leaving the children the estate with her exemption of $10,900,000, which brings the taxable estate to $4,100,000.

$4,100,000 x 40% = $1,640,000 FET

That's $2,180,000 saved by the Portable Exemption, resulting in the heirs owing $640,000 after liquid assets are applied.

So what do we take away from this? For one, it doesn't apply to the vast majority of Americans as some would want us to think. Two, it's a simple machine on the outside, but once you open it up, it can get pretty greasy.

Mike Fos Loc: Powhatan Virginia

The guy on the tanning bed is the best president that I can remember. I remember back to Truman.

Tex-s

"Simply, it's there to tax large inheritances by a small group of wealthy heirs, which is why it is ridiculous to call it "Death Tax."

All historically 'true' except that inheritance is not income. When my child reached the age of maturity and we included her as an authorized user on or debit cards and checking account, do we suddenly need to pay taxes on the money we already had? No.... Removing a name from the list (death) suddenly makes it income? No..... This tax is exactly as I described. Theft.

ken_stern Loc: Yorba Linda, Ca

Well now ---
We all have our individual troubles in this life -
But apparently ---
"Making ends meet" is the least of your worries

Tex-s

Cumulative income from both my wife and I working as educators is far below 100 000 yearly. We are NOT wealthy. I drive a 2007 Saturn Ion we got for $11,500. It has WAY over 150k miles on it. So, my objection to theft is not personal, it's based in principle.

Similarly, my objection to a great number of liberal/l*****t policies and talking points is not based on these having affected ME in some undue fashion, but on principle. As an example, oil producers are continually vilified as 'greedy' and yet the government, on average, collects about 8-10 times as much in taxation per gallon of gas as the companies earn in profits.... profits that get taxed again, by the way.

ken_stern Loc: Yorba Linda, Ca

So like me your not a member of the super wealthy & like me the "Death Tax' has not in any way acted as an impediment to you in passing on to your kids what little you & I have accumulated during our lifetimes. Apparently you think it's just unfair! If she is still alive I'm sure Paris Hilton thanks you!! The super wealthy recently did get a real nice tax brake! As for the oil companies who I personally have no issues with other than I wish they were moving toward producing Hydrogen (we have a few shares of Exxon) -- The Gov. Taxes collected "should" be going into the building & maintaining roads -- Which may or may not be all falling apart!! That's not a reason to stop collecting the taxes but could be a damn good reason to put a few folks in jail.

hopthecop Loc: salisbury md

20 bucks apiece here in maryland,and i found you need about 12 of em'......and no photocopies, must be original....with the notarary seal....

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

I hear some people really putting down Trump. You know; maybe it was about time to get a businessman in office. What has he done that angers some people? Economy is up, stock market is up, gdp is up; other countries respect for us is up; unemployment is down. BTW, I am not a straight ticket v**er; I v**e for who I think will do the best job for the people.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

I thought the people of the UK v**ed to exit the EU several years ago? Why is the debate still going one? Just do it and get it over with!!

bwa

BamaTexan Loc: Deep in the heart of Texas

The gentleman you are sparring with obviously has a bad case of wealth envy.

walkurie Loc: East Stroudsburg, PA

More of a Cheeto orange.
God Save the Queen!

David Taylor

Nope, that price for certificates applies in England, not the UK.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Yes the scare mongers v**ed to take us out of the EU - the Government has had two years to do the paperwork....Very few of the 'easy' regulations have been rewritten (Stamped with UK and errased EU)

According to Greece who have been there - The EU has a set program for those who leave which makes it plain what the EU requires. Our Government has been arguing for what they want...(The v**ers and half the government don't actually know what the Conservatives want but it also appears most don't want what their prime minister is demanding) But the EU has kept on saying "This is not a negotiation".

The stalemate is that MOST of the political parties and her own party do not want what Mrs May is trying to get. The EU is not giving way to Mrs May. Lots of minions keep suggesting that 'They think the EU will do.....add your own thing' which makes lots of media play but does absolutely nothing as regards letting the public know anything.

As there has been little decided 'Government' cannot process any legislation to move us forward after the March deadline.

The money is flooding out of the UK....Businesses have already made alternative arrangements and where there is 'generally' a feasible alternative to one Prime Minister's stance like a re-e******n...'She is not going to stand down' and no-one, it seems, can make her.

The Country has no idea what they are getting. Politicians have little option than to either accept the deal from the EU or 'have a no deal' exit'....and the leaving date is fixed.

Thankfully this farce has only a few weeks to run.............!

I am surprised no-one has suggested we all have 'Street Parties' to celebrate !

Morry Loc: Palm Springs, CA

As always people believe what they want to believe!