As published in the Winter Park/Maitland Observer, Thursday Jan. 3, 2012 Edition Offers... Read More »
Articles in category 'Estate Tax'
But We Need More Auditors
Joe Kristan tells of the case of Estate of Louise Paxton Gallagher, T.C. Memo. 2011-148 where the Tax Court made a valuation ruling more favorable to the taxpayer than what it had originally claimed on its tax return: The executor files an estate tax return valuing a 15% interest in an LLC at $34,936,000. The IRS audits the…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Court Cases, Estate Tax, IRS ProcedureMegan McArdle Proposes 100% Estate Tax
I usually agree with Megan McArdle, but this time she’s drifted so far to the left she’s treading water off the coast of Malibu: I don’t see by what right people should be allowed to order living people how to dispose of their stuff after they’re beyond caring. I think people should be allowed to…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Estate TaxLife Insurance Companies Bribe Politicians to Stop Repeal of Estate Tax
This is what’s wrong with our political system. Jonathan Strong of the Daily Caller reports that the driving force in opposition to the repeal of the estate tax is the life insurance industry: A new report from a trade association representing family-owned businesses fighting against the estate tax says a giant life insurance lobby is…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Estate Tax, Legislative WatchSteinbrenner Dies and Saves Family a Half Billion Dollars
The Associated Press reports that former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner picked a good time to die: Born on the Fourth of July, George Steinbrenner left the world stage with a great sense of timing too. By dying in 2010, the billionaire and long-time New York Yankees owner’s wealth avoids the federal estate tax, likely saving…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Estate TaxEstate Tax Planning: The Suicide Incentive?
Who would have ever predicted that Dr. Kevorkian (pictured) would become an estate tax planner? Everyone knows that no estate tax will be levied on the estates of people who die in 2010, but unless Congress acts this year, the estate tax will return with a vengeance on January 1, 2011. This has created an ugly planning scenario for…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Estate TaxHouse Votes for Permanent Extension of 45% Estate Tax
From The Washington Post: The House voted Thursday to permanently extend a 45% inheritance tax on estates larger than $3.5 million, canceling a one-year repeal of the tax set to begin next month. A similar effort is afoot in the Senate, but the health care debate there could preclude action on the estate tax before…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Estate TaxEstate Tax Planning: To Pull the Plug or Not to Pull the Plug, That is the Question
Howard Gleckman of TaxVox wrote a blog post last week titled Throw Momma from the Train and said this: There may be no provision in tax law more bizarre than the estate tax. In just a year and a few days, on Jan. 1, 2010, the levy will expire and estates of any size will be…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Estate Tax, Tax Humor, Tax PolicyIs the Estate Tax Necessary to a Fair Tax System or Merely Grave-Robbing?
Jim Abrams of The Washington Post reports that the tax policy advocacy group, Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), oppose President-elect Obama’s plan to cut (but not eliminate) the estate tax: President-elect Barack Obama has proposed a change that would prevent the estate tax from disappearing in 2010, but which would also unnecessarily cut the estate tax…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Estate Tax, Opinion, Tax Policy