The saying goes that there are only two certainties in life, death and taxes. Well, leave it to the United States government to find a way to combine the two. On and off since 1797 the federal government has seen fit to tax your family AFTER you die. The first three times the tax was enacted for the purpose of raising revenue for international conflicts and were repealed within years. The fourth time it was enacted to fight the first World War and was repealed only after 90 years passed under President Bush and was quickly reinstated after only three years in 2013 under President Obama.
The death tax applies to the transfer of a person's assets at death. It's a tax on your right to transfer property at your death at the rate of 55% with a $1 million exemption because apparently the property and assets are not yours, but the governments. Everything a person has of any value counts towards the death tax exemption, car, home, stocks, bonds, bank accounts, etc. Families have had to sell assets such as farms in order to settle the tax and businesses have had to close or reduce the workforce to pay it off. Hardly an economic stimulant.
In most polls 75% of Americans oppose the death tax. But it isn't just the tax they oppose, it is the principal behind it. The thought that even in death the federal government sees fit to tax a citizen's assets for the purpose of revenue. But also the fact that the assets in question are being taxed twice, not once! Your savings, your automobile, your stocks and bonds, etc., are already taxed on an annual basis or at sale. This is double dipping at its most vicious and at a time when a family is most vulnerable emotionally.
Several other nations have abolished such taxes like Austria, Canada, Israel, and Russia to name a few. Let's add the United States to the list. Contact Senator Lautenberg and Senator Menendez and ask them to repeal the death tax.
http://lautenberg.senate.gov/contact/
http://www.menendez.senate.gov/contact/
