Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Ultra Rich Gamble on Idea that We are all Stupid and Laugh all the Way to the Bank.
Today, the House is expected to vote to permanently repeal the estate tax. The full repeal of the estate tax would cost $290 billion through 2015, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
from Washington Post via Atrios Blog
A little-known Southern California estate planner named Patricia Soldano
launched her repeal effort with the backing of about 50 wealthy clients, with
the Gallo and Mars families leading the way. Other contributors included the
heirs of the Campbell soup and Krystal hamburger fortunes. Frank Blethen, whose
family controls the Seattle Times Co., was also pivotal.
The effort caught fire when small-business groups such as the National
Federation of Independent Business and agriculture groups led by the National
Cattlemen's Beef Association joined in.
By then, Soldano's Policy and Taxation Group was spending more than
$250,000 a year on lobbying. A parade of small-business owners and family
farmers appealed to their congressmen, worried that they could not pass on their
enterprises to their children, even though most of them would not be affected by
the tax.
from Washington Post via Atrios Blog
