Tax Guru-Ker$tetter Letter

Tuesday, May 21, 2002

Put A Stake Through Its Heart

I don't intend to back off from my crusade to have the estate (aka death or inheritance) tax repealed forever. Too many people are still under the false impression that it is phasing out and will be just a bad memory after the year 2010. The truth is that in last year's "humongous" (according to the Dim's) tax cut bill, our esteemed rulers set in motion a gradual phase out of the estate tax over several years, with the tax disappearing completely for one year only, 2010.

Like a monster in a movie, it will come back to life in 2011. When it does return, the exemption from the tax will be back to the same level as it is right now, $1,000,000. While that may seem like plenty for 2002, factor in nine years of inflation and many more people will be facing that obscene and immoral confiscation of up to 60% of everything they have accumulated during their lifetimes.

This is an election year and should make our rulers in DC more receptive to our concerns than they normally are. Here is another good summary of the issue by someone with similar initials to mine, Karen Kerrigan of the Small Business Survival Committee.

KMK
- posted by Kerry M. Kerstetter, MBA~CPA~ATP~ATA @ 5/21/2002 10:00:00 PM Send this post: