Estate Tax: A Penalty For Success?

It doesn’t take long before you recognize the fact that it takes financial resources to get by in this world. Most people go through school with the understanding that the ultimate destination is going to be the workplace. Since you are going to have to embark on a career path in order to pay your way you may as well do what you can to spend this time as constructively as possible.

So, you don’t have to be overly money motivated to decide that it is wise to do everything possible to maximize your earning potential. You may just want to get the most out of the time that you spend at work.  And if you are someone who is extraordinarily motivated by money, there is certainly nothing wrong with this.

Essentially, working hard and making smart investments in an effort to build wealth and achieve some modicum of financial security is something called the American Dream. We are all encouraged to live this dream, and this makes the existence of the estate tax in its present form hard for some people to understand.

There are those who suggest that the estate tax is a penalty for success, and although on the surface it can seem as though no one would want to penalize the successful this allegation is supportable. The families of people who die with resources that exceed the estate tax exclusion that is in place at the time of their death are required to pay the tax; others are not. At this time the exclusion is $5 million, but it is scheduled to be reduced to just $1 million in 2013.

People who see the estate tax as being strangely punitive would argue that the tax must not be necessary for the government to operate because the vast majority of people are not asked to pay it. Why should only those who have achieved a certain level of success have to pay it?

This is a good question, but there’s nothing that the individual can do to change the laws. However, what you can do is implement a strategy that provides estate tax efficiency, and this is best achieved with the assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney.

• About
• Latest Posts

Alan Augulis, Estate Planning Attorney

Mr. Augulis founded his Warren, New Jersey law firm so that he could focus his practice in the areas of advanced estate planning and tax law. Mr. Augulis has invested considerable time and energy helping to educate others on the topic of estate planning and has become a sought-after speaker in the tax and estate planning arena because of his informative and entertaining seminars.

Latest posts by Alan Augulis, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)

• Trust Administration 101 for the First-Time Trustee - August 23, 2018
• Do I Need a Medicaid Planning Attorney? - June 11, 2018
• Can an Incapacity Planning Attorney Help Me Plan for the Possibility of Alzheimer’s? - May 1, 2018