From South Dakota’s Congresswoman Kristi Noem comes a guest editorial at foxnews.com, noting how Hillary Clinton’s tax plan unfairly targets small business and farmers:
You don’t forget moments like this – the ones that come so unexpectedly, shoving a pit into your stomach. I was 21-years-old and nearing the due date for my husband Bryon
and my first baby. That’s when the phone call came: “Kristi, your dad is stuck in a grain bin.” I knew instantly what it meant.
and…
To keep our family’s American Dream going, we were fortunate enough to get a loan, albeit one so large that it impacted nearly every decision we made for a decade.
I have never understood why the federal government thought it was appropriate to go after families with this double tax – especially in a time of crisis. My family had already paid taxes on the equipment, the land, and any other assets. Now, we had to pay taxes on it again because my dad had died. It’s not right.
This month, Hillary Clinton proposed a dramatic 65 percent increase to the death tax, pushing it to the highest point since 1981. She justifies this as a tax on the 1 percent, but all too often it is small businesses and family farms that are put into jeopardy for a few days’ worth of government spending.
and..
No family should have to go through what ours did. Clinton’s proposal is a tax on the American Dream during a time of tragedy. Hardworking Americans deserve better.
It’s bad enough that death is a taxable event at all. But a 65 percent increase to the death tax as Hillary Clinton is proposing should offend everyone who believes they are going to be dying in the future. (Yes, that would be ALL of us.)
Because truly – what are those of us in small business working for if not to build the foundation of something we can hand down to our children someday? A 65% tax is nothing more than government confiscation of assets because they can.
And Congresswoman Noem is right – No family should have to go through what her’s did.
Donald Trump is worth ten thousand million dollars and apparently pays little or no income taxes. And Kristi wants to eliminate the tax on his estate too. So…his kids and grandkids can fly in private jets with golden toilets without ever paying those income taxes either.
I may not earn enough to buy that special potty chair but I am paying plenty in income taxes. When my parents are gone, I will still be paying because an inheritance isn’t in the works. I will have to keep toiling and paying those taxes in my hour of mourning. I can only look to the sky and watch as the “smart” people do their golden fly-over free of that burden.
And yes, an inheritance is “income” for the recipient. It sure as hell isn’t an expense. It should be taxed.
If it belongs to someone else, it is theirs to give away to whom they wish. Should the government tax Christmas presents to, JJ? Why don’t you move to a country that is more in line with your centralized government mindset, such as France? The money was the property of the deceased person’s, not the almighty government’s, and the decedent should be able to give that property to whom they wish without the government taking it. People of your ilk are just jealous because they apparently haven’t accomplished anything with their lives and wish they had the money and property others have. Instead of trying to make something of themselves, they just whine and complain about others.
I am jealous? That’s rich. You think I should pay income taxes while billionaires like Trump don’t.
Go ahead, take that position. Just know that anyone with an IQ above 80 isn’t going to buy it.
JJ, you do not know whether he paid any income tax or not. I am guessing you are making reference to that story in the NYT that talks about Trump losing a bunch of money and being able to have that go against his future income.
Now, JJ, I am wondering if you actually pay more in taxes than you are required. I do not know of many people who do. If you do, why? If not, why not? If you don’t then why should Trump? BTW, the NYT did NOT pay taxes in 2014. Also, if you do believe you are not taxed enough, there is no law that says you cannot pay extra.
Get a better tax advisor, JJ. Taking away from people who want to leave what THEY have earned to give it to the government is surely a communist idea, but I guess that is an attractive ideology to some people who apparently are dissatisfied with what they have done with their own lives.
If Trump used the tax code in place when Slick Willy was in office cheating on his wife, who are you to say he should pay more than the laws required?
I like Kristi. This article though once again highlights why I don’t think she will run for governor. What exactly would she be running on? It’s impossible to have any accomplishments out there.
Kristi calls the estate tax “double taxation” and says it hurts small businesses and farmers.
Wrong…and wrong. The tax impacts the recipient of the inheritance, not the original income earner. That recipient can be their child or ANYONE designated by the estate but it cannot be double taxation.
And the current laws do not impact small businesses and small farms. The $5,000,000+ exemption ensures that.
Lets be honest for a change.
Jimmy do you or have you ever run a business or a farm?
The reason I ask is that $5,000,000 may seem like a lot to you but it is easy to get to that amount. Even in SD. Much easier to get to that amount in say Minnesota, Colorado and other states where the cost of living is much higher.
I grew up on a farm and helped operate a business as well as years of management experience.
It is you who do not get it, unfortunately. To the average person paying income taxes on their $50,000 income, that five million dollar exemption sounds like a lot. It is a lot! Also…. this is only the point when they START paying the tax.
In fact, part of the reason the vast majority of folks will never get that amount set aside is because they are paying income taxes on meager wages. While Donald Trump is not. Think about that. Donald Trump??
Beyond ridiculous.
The Republican Party can start caring about regular folks like Jimmy James or it can keep going down this path of kissing up to the Ivanka’s, Donald’s, and Eric’s of this country.
I won’t hold my breath. Maybe I would stand a chance if I had a more opulent name like Tiffany or Barron?
What about the thousands of dollars in time and money that are put into making sure that the taxes do not take your farm/ranch/business away from your spouse/family members/whomever?
Farms and businesses should be able to be passed down to immediate family, especially if that family continues to run it. There is no excuse for a 60% tax, it is sick. I have nothing to gain either way, not planning on anything passing down to me, but I can still see it is wrong.
I would include ANY property in the category of that which should be able to be passed on to heirs or whomever the decedent wished. Obama didn’t build that! Jimmy James didn’t build that! I wish the liberals would stop trying to bring us into a centralized system where the individual has no freedom or rights.
There is “no excuse” for the government taxing me while Donald and his heirs live the penthouse, private jet, golf course and 5 star restaurant life of billionaires while paying nothing. Nothing.
Worse yet, our Republican candidates want to further reduce the income tax burden as well as corporate taxes and estate taxes on these same wealthy people.
You may have their vote but, for the first time in my life, you are not getting mine.
Source that he paid nothing?
“Source that he paid nothing”? Well Duggers, he doesn’t deny it. Also, there is that little thing called releasing your taxes that he should have done already. Like any responsible presidential candidate would do.
The only reason we don’t know for sure is that Trump won’t let us know.
You still have no source and Trump is under no obligation to let us see his tax returns. He has said he will release them when the government is done auditing him, again. He has also said he will release them when Hillary releases her 30,000 e-mails. Your rants are all about jealousy and envy. Have you ever paid more than you owed? Personally, I do not care what he paid. My vote will have more to do with the security of this country and the hope the economy will improve under the leadership of the person I choose to vote for.
BTW, we are supposed to be talking about inheritance tax, not income.
He has said “he would release them when the audit is done”?
You can believe that if you wish.
I take him at his word, although I don’t really care.http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/07/politics/donald-trump-tax-audit-tax-returns/
I really cannot believe you are THAT concerned.
duggersd, I have really enjoyed reading your posts and agreed with you on many, but when you said,”I take him at his word” and the him is Trump you have been discredited as far as i’m concerned. Take Trump at his word? You have to be kidding me.
So his corporations don’t pay any taxes before income flows to Donald Trump personally? Boy, that would be news, wouldn’t it. The United States has one of the highest corporate income tax rates in the developed world, but I guess that’s not 100%, so it’s not enough for you, JJ.
Again, why should the government get to take what someone has earned and built up in their life and then give it to people who didn’t earn it and aren’t related to the person who did earn it? Talk about Communist! Don’t you believe in private property rights or are you into that communal thing?
Hillary just said that Trump didn’t contribute anything to the country due to his failure-on one return-to show taxes paid. She’s as ignorant as you are about how these things work. How many people did Hillary employ during the time when Billy was diddling the interns? Probably not as many as Trump did. Did those folks make a living? Did they pay taxes? Did the work they did for Trump’s businesses contribute to the economy? Yes, yes, and yes.
A reduction of the corporation income tax rate would stimulate the repatriation of a lot of off-shore money and help stimulate the economy.
Like Donald, the government produces jobs without paying taxes too. I have the feeling you aren’t as fond of them.
Mr. James, you can believe that government produces jobs, but as I tell my liberal employees, the government would not have jobs if the private sector did not exist. The private sector would have a more difficult time producing jobs if the government exists. The government needs the private sector more than the private sector needs the government.
In my over thirty five years of business I have met one government employee, that was not military or law enforcement, that I would hire. I tried to hire him but he decided to go work for a relative. Most of those government employees are not smart enough to work in my companies and have little or no drive to succeed. Also they usually have an attitude of high and mighty.
The IRS has a bunch of these people. Closely followed by the Education Department and Social Security/Workman’s compensation.
Neiloh says: “In my over thirty five years of business I have met one government employee, that was not military or law enforcement, that I would hire.”
Really? I have relatives and friends who work as teachers for government entities. They are hard workers who care about their students and anyone would be lucky to have them as employees.
You exhibit a complete lack of objectivity. With judgement like yours, I wouldn’t hire you.
I also know several folks who work/worked for the Post Office. Great people. One of which trudged through the snow daily to deliver my mail even while she was dying from cancer.
I won’t fault Trump for taking advantage of the laws. The laws and tax codes do need to change to stop that kind of abuse. Thing is, that is not what we are talking about here. I think the tax code can be fixed without punishing families when someone dies.
So I should be “punished” with income taxes when my parents die but Ivanka should pay nothing on her 3 billion dollar inheritance when Donald is gone? I won’t get that tax-free mega-inheritance but you are content to let me be punished?
Of course. It’s now the Republican way.
Again, we are talking about estate and inheritance tax here, not income tax. If you think the government should take everybody’s money and divvy it up as they see fit, why do you see it as a punishment to pay your income taxes?
The death of your parents will not move your income tax burden on iota, so I’m not sure how you equate things. Try to focus.
And what does your parent’s income have to do with yours? Or your uncle’s. Or your friends?
Why should someone gifting you money, perhaps billions, be non-taxable while my hard-earned dollars are taxed?
In congress there are three paths that can be taken as a member.
1: They can be bipartisan and build a coalition among legislators who want to move legislation. Be your own voice.
2: They can be in with the establishment/leadership and go along with their agenda and maybe get some of yours in there also.
Kristi has chosen number 2. I believe she would be more effective by being number 1.
I like her. There isn’t a better option in SD that democrats are pushing. But I wonder what the results would be if she separated herself from Paul Ryan. I don’t like his policies. He’s a drag on Republicans.
Noem needs to show that she can accomplish something in DC if she wants to be governor.
I am and have been on the record supporting an inheritance tax as a component of tax reform under the premise it is better for the economy that the person effectively deploying capital should be punitively taxed as they are now. Essentially, I support inheritance taxes as a tax deferral, not a tax increase.
That said, HRC’s plan is nothing short of confiscatory. I very seldom refer to a policy as socialistic to preserve its use for the most egregious examples. This is beyond European Socialism and essentially pure ideological Marxism.
Why should something being passed on to heirs be taxed if the income earned to make up the inheritance has already been taxed? Why is death a taxable event?
I still think that the corporate rate should be lowered-steady, JJ-so that corporations can pay more dividends and invest more capital in expansion and employee compensation.
Did Trump pay those income taxes already? How about Waren Buffet or the Walmart Waltons?
No.
They do not pay until they sell their property or shares. And they won’t.
With Kristi’s plan, eliminating the estate tax, they NEVER pay. Neither do their kids, grandkids, or great-grand-children. Woohoo!
But I pay taxes. Pardon me if I don’t share your enthusiasm for reducing taxes even further on the wealthy.
“Should NOT be”. Oops.
Being a member of congress is like being on an editorial board. You have an opinion you write that opinion and that’s pretty much the extent.
Only in Congress staff writes the editorial.
All opinions and zero accomplishments.
Anonymous 1:17,
Good question on why death should be a taxable event?
Why is the sale of a business or real estate? A person paid taxes all the while they built the business.
The rationale is the same to me. And, if you gave me a chance to pay lower income taxes during my life and a proportionate catch up at death, I’d take it.
I don’t like Noem
I remember back in the day listening to Stephanie Herseth at the Sioux Empire Fair debating this very issue. She supported an inheritance tax because the “government needed the money” and we should willingly turn it over. (Not the exact last words but it’s what she meant, but I never forgot the words in quotes.) I couldn’t believe anyone would actually say it in actual words, even though a good Dem surely believes it! If I work hard, earn some money, pay taxes on it as I earn it, IMO it’s mine, NOT the government’s, and I can do what I want with it without the government getting another red cent of that money!!
Perhaps Donald is within the law when he doesn’t pay income tax. It’s not his fault that such an outrageous tax loophole exists. Right?
But, the problem is, he doesn’t propose a fix. He wants to make it even more inequitable.
Eliminate the estate tax. Reduce the corporate tax and even lower his ridiculously low income taxes.
Meanwhile… I pay taxes. You may pay. But not Donald. No, that just wouldn’t be the Republican thing to do these days.
JJ, here is Donald Trump’s tax plan: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/tax-plan/?/positions/tax-reform
It is hard to understand where you are coming from in all of your jealous ranting, but I am guessing the “loophole” you are talking about is the law in which he is able to charge back the loss he had against future income. I don’t see this as unreasonable. Many people have done the same thing, including the person who you will be helping to elect with all of your ranting, Hillary Clinton. In fact, I find it interesting that she is criticizing Trump for using the same law she did.
You mention a corporate tax. Who pays corporate taxes?
But we are talking about inheritance tax. Personally, I believe it is money that has already been taxed or in the case of a business, any tax should be deferred until the business is sold.
So Donald Trump can amass a ten billion dollar fortune and pass it along to his kids, and then again to the grand-children, without paying income taxes or estate taxes and that is fine with you? Good for you, Dugger.
I just don’t want you taxing me on my modest income while you let him get away with it. And if you are not going to tax people like me, how are we going to run little things like the defense department?
I am a happy guy and have a good life but if that common sense tax position makes me “jealous”, then I am envy green.
How about getting rid of the farm subsidies.If you can’t make a living at it do something else.