Listen up friends, this one is important
In introducing the tax plan proposed by the
Republican led House of Representatives, which will add $1.5 Trillion, $1.5
trillion to the national debt over the
next 10 years, Speaker Paul Ryan gleefully boasted, “With this plan, the
typical family of four will save $1,182 a year on their taxes. For many families, having an additional
$1,182 more will make a real difference”.
Lost in the midst of the Republican speeches,
the celebration, the applause, the self-congratulatory back-slapping of the day
was the planned silence of, oh a rather small piece of the new proposed
Republican legislation, the elimination of the Federal Estate Tax.
It was a classic move of misdirection. Distract them with a little reward, over
here…and walk away with the big prize, over there. Classic.
And let me make this important point, House leaders are not discussing
simply changing the tax, they are not talking about lowering the rates. They are not talking about increasing the
taxation levels. They are talking about
ELIMINATING THE TAX,!COMPLETELY! Gonzo!
Poof!
When, in the history of taxation on Planet
Earth, has this ever happened?
Most Americans don’t know much about the estate tax, and that’s not a surprise. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, 99.8% of estates owe no federal estate tax at all, leaving only the estates of 0.2% of the wealthiest Americans to pay up. Let me say that again, .2%
How does the estate tax work? Well, today, the estate of a married couple with net worth of $11 million won’t owe a dime of estate taxes, but anyone with a larger estate would owe a tax of 40% on anything over this level,
Let’s use a simple example, so you all understand what’s at stake here. In May 2016, then presidential candidate Trump filed a personal financial disclosure form that detailed a net worth of more than $10 billion. That’s billion with a B.
Fox News Lovers, take note. This is not fake news. This figure is from Trump’s own certified statement. So, it would appear that under the current tax law, when Donny Sr. kicks the bucket, his estate will likely have to shell out oh, roughly 4 billion, that’s billion with a B, dollars, in federal estate taxes
But, if the current Republican tax reform passes and the estate tax is repealed, Donny Jr and his siblings will pocket their share of the $4 billion savings, and each of them will be able to go out and buy….their own personal skyscrapers!
So you see, if you are in the stratosphere of the ultra-wealthy, this change in the tax law is the whole ball of wax. It is the pot of gold at the end of rainbow. It is the Holy Grail.
In 1980, the top 1% of families owned 25% of the country's wealth. In 2012 that same 1% now owned 42% of the country's wealth. 42%, The ultra-rich have been accumulating wealth for the last four decades, how’s that worked out for you? Are you still waiting for your trickle down?
So I ask, at a time when the wealth accumulation of the ultra-rich is at an all-time high, and our annual deficits are already severe,, and we are faced with the greater risks from terrorism, war and climate change, and and and the dysfunctional Republican led government can't agree on a sane way to offer all Americans affordable health insurance, is the repeal of the estate tax really something that should even be on the table at this time?
In his introductory speech for the new tax
plan Speaker Paul Ryan actually said and I quote “we are getting rid of
loopholes for the special interests and yes we are leveling the playing
field” Leveling the playing field!! He actually used those words.
Let’s me close with quick review. What does all this mean?
Well, you get $1,182.
Donny Jr. and all the other little Trumps win
the lottery, collect the pot of gold, and in the process treat you like the
doormat they take you to be, and laugh at you, all the way to the bank
Is that what it means to level the playing
field?
Is that what it takes...to Make America Great
Again?
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