On November 20, 2010, the Wall Street Journal published How to Beat the Tax That Won't Die, by Laura Saunders. This article discusses how the “tax code is giving taxpayers an incentive not to live but to die.” It also provides a few estate planning strategies. The following insight about the state of estate tax reform is informative:
Resolution is nowhere in sight, although Congress is expected to raise the 2011 exemption at some point. The Bush tax-cut extension has lawmakers so tied up that they have pushed the estate tax to a back burner. According to BNA's Daily Tax Report, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) said on Nov. 16, "We're barely talking about it, let alone ready to make a decision."
Because the government in Washington is ineffectual, even pernicious, there will be no resolution of the estate tax issue before the end of this year. Pre-2001 rates will return. Shame on our elected officials, who seem to be unable and unwilling to act positively. They wish to serve not the people, but the people who support them with cash. One would think that the so-called ruling class would press harder to resolve the estate tax issue in their favor. The working class is not represented at all, despite lots of hot air from Washington blowing messages to the contrary. Congressmen and Senators on both sides of the aisle want nothing that might give the other side political capital. Instead, they pretend to dig in their heels as if taking a stand just to give the appearance of having convictions. None serve the people. All serve the ruling class. They prefer not to face this emotionally-charged matter, hoping to avoid controversy. We elected them. The electorate prizes ignorance and lack of experience. We deserve what we've gotten. Current estate tax laws will expire at the end of this year, having drowned in a sea of legislative incompetence.
Posted by: Pythagoras | 11/30/2010 at 05:52 PM