Mitt Romney and the Estate Tax.

The estate tax is an interesting issue for Mitt Romney. Romney was a CEO that saved Bain Capital, and the 2002 Winter Olympics, but his father was credited for saving American Motor Company from bankruptcy (until he left). Anyways his dad had a lot of money but didn't give him any. I guess Romney had stocks his dad had given him, that he sold to help pay for his education, and then his dad gave some money to Mitt's kids, but Romney didn't get any of it.

When asked by Brian Lamb, "By the way, why did your father not give you any of his inheritance?" Romney said; "Well, he didn’t have as much as I think some people anticipated. And I did get a check from my dad when he passed away. I shouldn’t say a check, but I did inherit some funds from my dad. But I turned and gave that away to charity. In this case I gave it to a school which Brigham Young University established in his honor, the George W. Romney School of Public Management. And as an institute of public management, it helps young people learn about government and about serving in public service. And that’s where his inheritance ended up."

So I'm kind of confused. I guess Mitt didn't get much money from his dad while George was alive, and I guess Mitt gave his portion of the money, when George died, to BYU. I don't know if Mitt's brothers and sisters got some money or not.

I guess Brian Lamb was still kind of confused and asked, "Did he have a philosophy that he didn’t want to pass on a lot of money to his kids?" To which Mitt said, "Well, I don’t think he had as much as some people might have imagined. And he spent his money on things he cared about (he didn't care about his kids?) . He was a real champion of volunteerism (George Romney started the organization that latter become the points of light foundation). So he funded volunteer efforts and worked to support the things he cared about. My kids got some money from my mom and dad. They are happy that they were able to receive some funds. That helped them in their education and getting started in life. But in my case, I figured we had enough of our own."

Mitt never really answered why his dad hadn't given more money to him why he was alive, and I don't feel like I fully understood the contents of George Romney's will.

But still their is enough information to be very interesting. Mitt Romney is a self made billionaire. He never worked for his father's company, and his father was retired from business, and serving his country by the time Mitt even started college. Mitt worked his way up the strategic business consulting ladder, from the as far down the bottom of a ladder as someone a Cume Laude graduates from Harvard business and Law School can start. Now he is a billionaire after making a very good salary as a CEO and investing very well. What is he going to do with his money, when he dies?

Here is a hint:

• Apr 19, 2007; Policy Briefing: Abolishing The Death Tax

Questions for Romney

1. Why did your father not give you any of his inheritance?
2. Did he have a philosophy that he didn’t want to pass on a lot of money to his kids?

The estate tax is good.

Background

The federal estate-tax rate is 45% on every dollar above a $1.5 million exemption. In many states the combined federal/state tax on dying rises above 50%. This means that the government can take a larger share of the business, home and savings that a citizen builds up over a lifetime than would go to his heirs.

People who don't like the estate tax call it the death tax, because it sounds kind of morbid taking money from a dead guy/girl.

People who like the estate tax, call it the estate tax, because none of us like the rich.

Reasons to agree

1. The estate tax is a great way to ensure that those in the aristocracy, and that end up ruling over us, deserve to rule over us. There is always going to be an aristocracy, but I want it to be those who really are better than us, not those who’s parents were better than our parents.
2. Thomas Paine supported the estate tax.
3. Andrew Carnegie supported the estate tax.
4. Theodore Roosevelt supported the estate tax.
5. Warren Buffett supports the estate tax.
6. The fact that Paris Hilton is a billionaire, proves that our society is unfair.
7. It is not healthy for a country to have a group of people that never have to work a day in their lives.
8. Most people would rather get taxed after they are dead.
9. Even with the estate tax parents can pass billions of dollars onto their children.
10. Even with the estate tax parents can pass the first 1.5 million dollars onto their kids tax free.
11. Parents can still help their children without having to let parents hand billions to their kids tax free.
12. Work is good.
13. If it was bad for welfare-moms to be idle, then it is bad for estate-kids to be idle.
14. Too many Americans live with a sense of entitlement because of their wealth.

Reasons to disagree

1. The estate tax breaks the bonds between generations.
2. It is wrong to tax money twice.
3. The money the government would take when collecting the estate taxed was already taxed when the parents earned the money.
4. Maybe the kids don't deserve the money, but governments don't have the right to just step in and take it.
5. Spreading the money equally between citizens is called socialism.
6. Russia eliminated its inheritance tax in 2005.
7. Sweden, the birthplace of the modern-day welfare state, eliminated its estate tax in 2005.
8. The estate tax tax is unjust.
9. The estate tax is economically counterproductive.
10. Argentina does not have an estate tax.
11. Australia does not have an estate tax.
12. Canada does not have an estate tax.
13. Mexico does not have an estate tax.
14. Switzerland does not have an estate tax.
15. India does not have an estate tax.
16. The US has the largest death tax in the industrialized world.
17. The third policy plank of Marx’s Communist Manifesto is taxation of all inheritance.
18. The more power you give the government, the more power it will take.
19. the Death Tax unfairly impacts families, farmers, ranchers and small businesses.