The Estate Tax Essay - 1270 Words

The Estate Tax Have you heard the phrase No taxation without representation? It was the common cry of the colonists before the revolutionary war. The colonists did not want to be taxed by England if they were not allowed to vote in the English elections. England’s refusal to allow them to vote was a major reason the colonists decided to create their own government. When this new government was first created it did not tax those people that were not allowed to vote. Then things changed; in 1916 the estate tax was created. (The estate tax is a levy that taxes deceased people’s estates if it is worth more than $675,00.) If one is to remain true to the American ideal of no taxation without representation, the estate tax should be†¦show more content†¦The reason for this is, much of the essential farm equipment used to compete in today’s cutthroat agriculture industry is extremely expensive. Many of the combines and tractors cost millions of dollars to purchase. When a farm er dies this leaves him wealthy but all of the wealth is tied up in land and farm equipment . The equipment plus the land automatically place a farmer well past the $675,000 estate tax-exemption limit. The heirs do not inherit enough liquidity to pay the tax which could be as high as 55% of the total estate. This forces many farmers to sell some or all of their land to bigger corporations in order to raise the necessary cash to pay the estate tax owed by the estate. This makes it difficult for the next generation to continue to farm. Especially with today’s commodities prices which require a farmer to own a lot of land to turn a profit. Those who support the estate tax based on the chance that some wealth has been garnered tax-free and the estate tax is a sure-fire way to make certain that all the wealth of the estate gets taxed at least once, may not have considered the fact that all of the remaining money is taxed more the once. Taxing money more than once is not the answer to a leaking tax code. It is also true the estate tax raises revenue. However, the estate tax and gift tax combined only brings in roughly 1% of the total Federal revenue. (NoDeathTax.org) What is more is, the estate tax is the mostShow MoreRelatedThe Estate Tax Should Be Controlled3062 Words   |  13 Pagesright to have our accumulated wealth, also called Gross Estate, transfer over to our designated beneficiaries. However, before we die there are some considerations that must be made. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has stated that the filing of an estate tax return is necessary for amounts over certain thresholds. These federal thresholds have exempted many Americans from having to worry about filing for estate tax. 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