Federal Estate Tax

As I understand it..the elimination of the Fed. Est. Tax might not be such a good thing, because along with that, goes the stepped up valuation of Real Estate, causing a huge income tax due, in most cases. For instance, if Grandma paid 20,000 for her house in 1950 and it's worth 100,000 now, and you inherited it and sold it next year for 110,000..there would only be tax on 10,000, not 90,000. They want to eliminate that feature, too. Any thoughts on this?

Societal Value to Estate Tax

The elimination or reduction of the estate tax might well eliminate or reduce the automatic step up in basis at death, depending on what's in the Bill.

Beyond that, for the reasons that Bill Gates Sr, Warren Buffet, some Rockefellers and a beevy of other billionaires and centa- and deca- millionaiares is now publicizing, elimination of the estate tax for the very rich may be one of the worst things this nation can do.

The dangers of great inherited wealth to a democratic (small D) society and our fundemental concept of equality -- which Presidnets such as Jefferson and Lincoln have championed for 2 centuries can be enormous.

The loss of the incentives to leave assets to charity (tax free) at death will over time decimate universities, museums, and other charities.

Personally, while I think the estate tax as it now is on the books starts at too low a level ($675,000, and now scheduled to go up to $1 million in 2006) I think the alternative of doing away with it altogether is one of the WORST POLITICAL ideas of imaginable!

You should write you Congress person and Senators before it is too late. All they've gotten is the pressue from their wealthy contributors who want to pass on unlimited wealth and privilege to their heirs.