Death and Taxes

You can't escape death and taxes. That's not entirely true, the super wealthy do a pretty good job of beating the tax man. Nothing illegal mind you, I would never suggest such a thing. Our tax code is so bloated and complicated it's as though it were specifically written to aid powerful forces at the top, nah.

The House of Representatives passed it's bill to eliminate the so called death tax. It's actually the estate tax but years ago it was dubbed death, it sounds much more sinister and who would support taxing a dead person, creepy.

It's fascinating how Republicans despise modern Europe but they sure love old Europe. A place where vast wealth was passed from generation to generation guaranteeing a small ruling class.

Here in the U.S. of today there is no estate tax for individuals with under 5.4 million dollars in assets and for couples it's around 10.9 million. Are you leaving behind anywhere near that? No, didn't think so. The elimination of the estate tax is strictly for the benefit of a fraction of the one percent of our society that already controls most of the wealth. The tax is designed to take a tiny bite out of dynastic tendencies and I do  mean tiny.

For most people estate planning means making sure there's a will and funeral directions. For the rich it goes far beyond that. It's about using that complex tax code to protect their assets and pass them on barely scathed. So don't weep for the heirs of great fortunes, they'll muddle through somehow.

Also 11 dumbass Democratic Representatives joined all the Republicans in voting yes. Twisted values know no labels.

One last thing, it has always been the mantra throughout the years that this needs to be done to protect the family farm. Most farms do not exceed the exemptions. For the ones that do there are many legal structures that can be put in place to assure a smooth transition to the next generation. However many children of farmers don't want to follow in the family tradition and that is another story.

Now on to the Senate.