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 [...]
Tags: Court Cases · Estate Tax · IRS procedure
Joe Kristan chimes in on the issue of whether the estate tax makes any sense: David Logan puts it starkly: Simply put, the federal estate tax does nobody any good. Why? Estate taxes are generally levied for two reasons: To break up concentrations of dynastic wealth and to raise significant tax revenues. The seminal 1987 [...]
Tags: Estate Tax · Politics of Taxes
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 [...]
Tags: 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 [...]
Tags: Estate Tax · Legislative Watch
Higher taxes on the rich result in an increase in the size of government at the expense of private charity. Docuticker reports that Bank of America has published its High Net Worth Philanthropic Study which finds that charitable giving by high net worth households to nonprofit organizations accounts for about two-thirds of all individual giving and about half of [...]
Tags: Estate Tax · Politics of Taxes · Tax Policy
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 [...]
Tags: Estate Tax
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 [...]
Tags: Estate Tax
