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Originally Posted by Doku  Estate tax: Personally, I think that there should be zero estate tax. Reason? I earned the money. I paid the taxes on it. Why should my child have to pay taxes on it as well? |
Correct me if I am wrong, but you didn't pay taxes on what would get taxed when you die. The estate tax is like capital gains, only instead of being taxed when you sell your property, you are taxed because you died and the property is changing hands.
Is this not an accurate view of the estate tax? Because it doesn't sound like being taxed just for being dead, as the label "death tax" implies. It sounds like being taxed for giving away your property, a gift tax, only it is involuntarily.
Also, are you a member of the top 2% of the country that actually has to worry about the estate tax? Or is this another part I don't understand, that the estate tax affects more than just property worth more than a few million dollars?
As for income taxation, a flat tax wouldn't be "fair" since a dollar is worth more to someone who has less. $100 in taxes is a huge hit to someone on minimum wage, but $1000 isn't nearly as painful to someone who has millions. Is it punishing the rich? You can see it that way, but is the alternative to punish the poor for being poor earners? It's hard enough to raise yourself by your bootstraps. You don't need to be told that you now need to pay more because the rich are complaining about the fairness of a graduated tax.
But then, I am probably middle class financially, and maybe I just don't see it objectively enough.