151–160 of 176 posts
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This is one of the silliest comments I’ve read on HN: it’s not fair to have successful parents that love you, therefore the government must step in and fix that.
They aren’t taxing love they’re taxing money. We always tax money when it transfers from one person or entity to another.
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There a meritocracy argument in favor of inheritance tax. Those inheriting did not earn that wealth, therefore they should not receive it. Maybe instead there could be a lottery. Any wealth over some threshold (say $10M) is divided into $100k prizes and awarded to random citizens like a lottery.
This angle makes me think that we're going about the whole inheritance tax thing the wrong way. It's not the parent's estate that should be taxed. They have indeed earned all the money fair and square, and should be able to pass it on as they see fit. Instead, let's think about a tax on receiving inheritances. Limiting the money hose where the inequality actually happens, at the person that hasn't worked for the mone…
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Getting a leg up in life because your parents left you a big inheritance, is unfair to those who don't. There are many different types of fairness, not just one.
It's not "fair" that I'm only slightly above average height and will therefor never be an NBA star. It's not "fair" that I'm a competent musician at best -- far, far below professional level. Are you arguing that no one should be allowed to be a pro basketball player or musician? You should go read a story called Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut.
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It's not "fair" that I'm only slightly above average height and will therefor never be an NBA star. It's not "fair" that I'm a competent musician at best -- far, far below professional level. Are you arguing that no one should be allowed to be a pro basketball player or musician? You should go read a story called Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut.
Yes, it isn't fair that some people are taller than others, or more talented. The way we account for that is is not by outlawing behaviors. Rather, we levy progressive income taxes so that people who are lucky can help people who are less lucky. The most talented basketball players pay a large income tax that helps provide services to those who were not born lucky. I don't see why estate taxes are any different. It i…
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What’s the argument FOR an inheritance tax, when it comes to fairness? The person who’s passsing the money down already paid tax on the money, whether income tax or capital gains tax. The government already got a hefty chunk of that earned money. Why should it be taxed again? Especially when we see how inefficient the government is at spending money for the public good.
The money is gained on the backs of so many other people who helped make the infrastructure that made wealth accumulation possible. Taxes ideally pay for things that benefit enough of us, like roads, education, housing, and health care and sure, defense, since we're still combative and territorial humans.
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The inheritors didn't earn it.
Neither did the government. Why shouldn’t the person who did earn it get to decide what happens to it? After all, they could choose to donate some to the government. No one does though, voluntarily, because we all know that money would get wasted.
Did you know that only the rich benefited in the pandemics with the amount of Rich being almost double worldwide? In troubled times the people with the most money benefit the most, that's why the state has to (or try to) level the playing field.
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The inheritors didn't earn it.
Neither did the government. Why shouldn’t the person who did earn it get to decide what happens to it? After all, they could choose to donate some to the government. No one does though, voluntarily, because we all know that money would get wasted.
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What’s the argument FOR an inheritance tax, when it comes to fairness? The person who’s passsing the money down already paid tax on the money, whether income tax or capital gains tax. The government already got a hefty chunk of that earned money. Why should it be taxed again? Especially when we see how inefficient the government is at spending money for the public good.
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