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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank Griffin who wrote (36984)	9/14/2000 11:52:07 PM
From: TigerPaw	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

20% of the people pay 80% of the tax. Guess who that 20% is. It isn't you or me. It may not be you, but it is definitely me. As Andrew Carnegie once said (approximately) "It's no sin to be rich, but it's a sin to die rich". I'm not fool enough to think that I could have gotten ahead without an environment that enables and provides ways to get ahead. That is a great strength in a country that allows a combination of luck and talent and initiative to succeed. That environment is not only one of opportunity, but also one of restrictions. Life should not be guarenteed for some and difficult for others if you really want the talented to rise. A meritocracy serves even those at the bottom better than a gentry. TP

To: Frank Griffin who wrote (36984)	9/15/2000 12:38:49 AM
From: Gordon A. Langston	Respond to of 769670

This paper documents the extensive costs associated with the federal estate tax. Specifically, the report finds: The existence of the estate tax this century has reduced the stock of capital in the economy by approximately $497 billion, or 3.2 percent. The distortionary incentives in the estate tax result in the inefficient allocation of resources, discouraging saving and investment and lowering the after-tax return on investments. The estate tax is extremely punitive, with marginal tax rates ranging from 37 percent to nearly 80 percent in some instances. The estate tax is a leading cause of dissolution for thousands of family-run businesses. Estate tax planning further diverts resources available for investment and employment. The estate tax obstructs environmental conservation. The need to pay large estate tax bills often forces families to develop environmentally sensitive land. The estate tax violates the basic principles of a good tax system: it is complicated, unfair and inefficient. In addition, a review of the arguments in favor of the estate tax suggests that the tax produces no benefits that would justify the large social and economic costs. The estate tax is a "virtue tax" in the sense that it penalizes work, saving and thrift in favor of large-scale consumption. Empirical and theoretical research indicates that the estate tax is ineffective at reducing inequality, and may actually increase inequality of consumption. The enormous compliance costs associated with the estate tax are of the same general magnitude as the tax's revenue yield, or about $23 billion in 1998. The deduction for charitable bequests stimulates little or no additional giving. The estate tax raises very little, if any, net revenue for the federal government. The distortionary effects of the estate tax result in losses under the income tax that are roughly the same size as estate tax revenue. house.gov The JEC seems to think little of the Estate Tax in the broad view.