Last week Bernie Sanders released his tax increase plan for paying for his $1.4 trillion annual single payer health care plan. Among other hefty increases, his plan would increase the estate tax on the “wealthiest .3% of Americans who inherit more than $3.5 million” to raise an additional $21 billion annually.
She Doesn’t Get It – Redux
- Monday, 21 September 2015 20:49
A young writer recently wrote a web piece titled “If You Have Savings in Your 20’s, You’re Doing Something Wrong.” The article contained the following gems:
- People who are saving in their 20s are people who don’t set their sights high. They’ve already dropped out of the game and settled for the minor leagues.
- Your 20s are not the time to save; they’re the time to gamble. $200 a month isn’t going to make the dent that a $60,000 pay raise will after spending all those nights out networking.
- We don’t have kids. We’ll be renting for the foreseeable future, and we have no problem eating McDonald’s when we’re skint.
Several quick points:
1. If this advice was from a 40 year old looking back on life, it would be less laugh
able that it is coming from a 20 something trying to justify her lifestyle.
2. I am not sure I know anyone who received a $60K annual raise but she seems to think they are plentiful.
3. The value of the monthly $200 expenditure she mocks is $1 million after 45 years.
4. If she continues to spend what she makes, she will rent forever, not just the foreseeable future.
5. The writer and the 2 million plus people who liked her article on Facebook are likely constituents of Bernie Sanders because they are counting on others to provide for their retirement.
Pistons, Lightning, Shock, and Fury
- Sunday, 12 July 2015 21:19
William Davidson was the owner of the Detroit Pistons, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Detroit Shock (WNBA). When he died in 2009, he was listed as the 62nd richest man in the U.S. His estate recently settled litigation with the IRS over the amount of estate taxes owed. The IRS claimed that the estate owed an additional $2.8 billion (yes, with a B) in estate taxes. The dispute involved the value of closely held stock transferred to various trusts. The estate settled for $388 million.
Points, if I must:
1. I would call this a victory for the estate given that the IRS was seeking 7X more than the settlement amount.
2. Of course, it is never a victory for the family when they had already presumably paid more than $1 billion in estate taxes and were fighting over the incremental taxes.
3. All of this begs the question about how much estate tax is enough from one individual. If Democratic candidate nee Socialist Bernie Sanders were president, Davidson’s tax bill would have been $1 billion more.
4. Last, if one owns a professional sports team, or three, good estate planning advice is essential.
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