What Price Love? Try $1.75 Million

December 9, 2010

Think you can’t put a price on love? President Obama and congressional Republicans got together this week and came up with $1.75 million. Granted, they were not thinking in those terms. They were thinking of the federal estate tax. Last year, the tax was 45 percent on estates greater than $3.5 million. In 2010, there is no estate tax. But in the absence of new legislation, the tax is set …

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The Estate Tax Disappears, For Now

December 17, 2009

A lot of tax professionals are going to be surprised to learn, when they read this morning’s newspaper, that the estate tax really is going on hiatus effective New Year’s Day. I am not. Events have played out pretty much as I anticipated in the commentary that appeared in this space on Aug. 20. Last night, Senate Democrats abandoned their attempts to extend the tax before Congress adjourns for the …

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Something Better Than ‘Cash For Caulkers’

December 10, 2009

As we struggle to emerge from the Great Recession, the United States is relying on its charismatic president to boldly lead us back to prosperity. Would somebody please tell Barack Obama that we can’t weatherize our way to full employment? President Obama this week announced a new package of proposals to stimulate hiring. He wants yet more road- and rail-improvement spending, which will stack up in the pipeline behind the …

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For Same-Sex Couples, Love Ain’t Cheap

October 15, 2009

They say the best things in life are free. Being with a partner you love is certainly one of the best things in life, but, if you happen to be gay, it’s far from free. Two New York Times writers, Tara Siegel Bernard and Ron Lieber, recently attempted to calculate the price of being gay in America. While they acknowledge that the emotional costs of fighting prejudice are incalculable, they …

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Will Estate Taxes Really Disappear?

August 20, 2009

Congress will have a lot on its plate when lawmakers reconvene in September. Besides health care, which has dominated the headlines this summer, the administration wants action on climate change and financial regulation. Notice that I did not mention taxes. Apart from the question of how to pay for expanded health coverage, tax legislation has been out of the news for months. This is very odd, because, unless Congress acts …

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