nytimes.com
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Some Experts Questioning Bush Plan on Estate Taxes
By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON
[..]
Consider, for one, the case of an individual with stock that has grown in value by $100 million.
Currently, if the stockholder sold, she would owe $20 million in capital gains taxes. If she gave the stock to a relative, she would have to pay $55 million in gift taxes, and if the relative sold the stock, he would owe $9 million in capital gains taxes.
But if the gift and estate taxes were repealed without conditions, a family maneuver could permit the stock to be sold and the full $100 million in profit realized without payment of any capital gains tax. Here is how: The owner would give the stock to an older relative — say, an uncle — who is expected to live at least a year. The uncle would leave the stock to his niece, the original owner, in his will. When the uncle died, the stock would be returned to the niece at its new value, tax free.
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fascinating.. |
