Estate Tax Dormant, Billionaire’s Bequest Is Tax-Free - NYTimes.com y DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI
Published: June 8, 2010
A Texas pipeline tycoon who died two months ago may become the first American billionaire allowed to pass his fortune to his children and grandchildren tax-free.
Dan L. Duncan, a soft-spoken farm boy who started with $10,000 and two propane trucks, and built a network of natural gas processing plants and pipelines that made him the richest person in Houston, died in late March of a brain hemorrhage at 77.
Had his life ended three months earlier, Mr. Duncan?s riches ? Forbes magazine estimated his worth at $9 billion, ranking him as the 74th wealthiest in the world ? would have been subject to a federal tax of at least 45 percent. If he had lived past Jan. 1, 2011, the rate would be even higher ? 55 percent.
Instead, because Congress allowed the tax to lapse for one year and gave all estates a free pass in 2010, Mr. Duncan?s four children and four grandchildren stand to collect billions that in any other year would have gone to the Treasury.
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SoWal Insider
Yes, Buz, that's why I said, "marginal." For IRS and accounting purposes, you quote 'marginal' as the 'last tax' paid. And, there is a lot of data to suggest that 23% is enough because of all the new system captures. Anyway, I am a novice with the Libertarian's proposal, but I like everything I have read so far.
Beach Fanatic
My point precisely. 25% marginal is not 25% effective tax rate. We are on the same page I think.
Where we differ is on the other. I do not like the current tax code but this will be worse.
FactCheck.org: Unspinning the FairTax
We wrote that the bipartisan Advisory Panel on Tax Reform had ?calculated that a sales tax would have to be set at 34 percent of retail sales prices to bring in the same revenue as the taxes it would replace, meaning that an automobile with a retail price of $10,000 would cost $13,400 including the new sales tax.? A number of readers pointed out that H.R. 25, the specific bill mentioned by Gov. Huckabee, calls for a 23 percent retail sales tax and not the 34 percent used by the Advisory Panel on Tax Reform. That 23 percent number, however, is misleading and based on some extremely optimistic assumptions. We found that while there are several good economic arguments for the FairTax, unless you earn more than $200,000 per year, fairness is not one of them.
Where we differ is on the other. I do not like the current tax code but this will be worse.
FactCheck.org: Unspinning the FairTax
We wrote that the bipartisan Advisory Panel on Tax Reform had ?calculated that a sales tax would have to be set at 34 percent of retail sales prices to bring in the same revenue as the taxes it would replace, meaning that an automobile with a retail price of $10,000 would cost $13,400 including the new sales tax.? A number of readers pointed out that H.R. 25, the specific bill mentioned by Gov. Huckabee, calls for a 23 percent retail sales tax and not the 34 percent used by the Advisory Panel on Tax Reform. That 23 percent number, however, is misleading and based on some extremely optimistic assumptions. We found that while there are several good economic arguments for the FairTax, unless you earn more than $200,000 per year, fairness is not one of them.
Beach Fanatic
Where we differ is on the other. I do not like the current tax code but this will be worse.
The biggest problem with the current tax code is that if you are at either end of the income spectrum you ride on the backs of others. The donors ( investors) who have controlling interest in the Congress and the Administration(s) have seen to that.
If you have enough income you can afford to invest in exotic and expensive tax shelters. Likewise if you are at the very low end of the spectrum. the earned income credit is actually designed to incent you to earn, but to earn as little as possible.
The tax burden then falls on the people in between and this will be amplified even more since the Administration's promise not to raise taxes on people making less than $250k/yr has fallen by the wayside.
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