Benjamin Franklin had it right when he said, "But in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." But liberal politicians want to ensure that upon your death, they get your farm, land, or business too. If you are a small farm, land, or business owner, or simply have not heard of the "Death Tax" and its dangers, then you need to pull your head out of your backside and wake-up, because while death and taxes are certain, taxes should never follow death!

So what is the death tax? Death taxes are commonly referred to as “estate”, “inheritance” or “wealth” taxes. However, since the tax occurs after ones death, it is rightfully referred to as a “death tax” by many opponents. Historically our forefathers established similar taxes when the government needed revenue for things such as building a Navy etc., but the trick was they stopped the tax once the revenue was no longer needed. The current “death tax” is a federal tax that is forced on inherited small farms, lands, and businesses upon the death of the owner. During 2006 through 2008 the exclusion is $2,000,000.00, and in 2009 the amount increases to $3,500,000.00. While this figure may seem like a lot, it is expected to go away in 2010 as the tax is repealed, but will automatically begin again in 2011 and the exclusion amount will drop to a dangerously low amount of $1,000,000.00 if not permanently repealed. What does this mean to small farms, land owners, and businesses? Well, many small farms, land owners, and businesses may be worth more than $1,000,000.00 in assets, but don't actually have much in terms of liquid assets. Having high worth in assets is not hard to do if a farm or business has been in existence for a generation. However, that doesn't matter as the tax is assessed based on the total worth including all associated equipment etc. So, how will the death tax of 2011 actually hurt these small farms, land owners, and businesses?

As I stated above, many people who inherit these assets don't actually have any liquid assets that they can use in which to pay the death tax. The Livestock Weekly points out, “a 500-head cattle ranch easily reaches a value of about $1.8 million when cattle, land and equipment are factored in. But that same estate generates a net income of only about $50,000. Still, the ranch would be subject to about a $450,000 tax burden." So how does the tax get paid? It gets paid by those who inherited the assets being forced to sell portions of the land, or business, to pay the tax. Many small businesses stand to loose 50% of all assets, which they can’t afford, so they are forced to sell-out and fire employees. The result is most small businesses don’t make it past the first generation. Additionally, small farms and land owners are also forced to sell their lands, and in many cases the only people who can afford these properties are private land developers. So, what we end up with is land and businesses that were once privately owned by individual “A”, are now privately owned by individual “B”, who will more then likely clear the undeveloped land to cram as many homes into this small area as possible. Private owner “B” will now make a fortune at the expense of private owner “A”. This in turn will raise the remaining property value of land owner “A”, thus raising the death tax amount on future generations. Can you guess how future generations of owner “A” will pay the death tax upon their inheritance? Can you guess who will again make a fortune at the expense of owner “A”?

Liberals would have us believe that they want to keep the death tax to raise needed revenue. However, this tax only raised 1% of revenue for the Government in 1998. Additionally, the U.S. Government currently spends $0.65 to process every $1.00 of death tax collected. So, why would liberals want a tax that only raises 1% of revenue? Why even bother with this kind of a tax? Simple, liberals are banking that many Americans won’t even notice or care. You see, liberals (socialists) want the redistribution of wealth. They want to take your 600 acres, or force you to sell it a piece at a time, so developers can build homes etc. on it, and then sell those homes to the public. Wow, it’s magic! Now, 100 people own 1 acre of the original 100 acres you were forced to sell in order to pay the death tax. This is the true goal of this tax, as liberals know that many of these farmers, land owners, and businesses don’t have the liquidity needed to pay these taxes.

Now, I know some of you are thinking, "But I don't have any land worth that kind of money, so why do I care if someone who is “better off” than me loses their land or business? Besides, rich people benefit from this tax being repealed too, so again, why do I care?” Well, don't you want a farm, land, or business worth that kind of money? Do you hunt? Would you like to hunt on land worth that kind of money? Do you own a small business that you would like to grow and pass on to your family to ensure their financial well-being? You see, the ramifications of allowing this type of tax to exists may not be hurting you directly now, but it will if you inherit, or want to buy these lands, or own these businesses. Look, it's no secret that over 75% of our wildlife exists on privately owned lands. Not just farm lands, but any land that is privately owned and not developed, to include many small businesses lands. These lands provide not only food for human consumption through farming, but also for the wildlife we hunt. So are they not worth fighting for? Would you not fight to repeal this tax simply because the rich will also benefit?

We are slowly losing our small farms, hunting lands, and businesses to the liberal “social progressives”, and in 2011 the United States will have the highest rate of death tax in the world at a rate of 55%. Does this tax encourage land or business ownership? Should the Government take away the fruits of a generation’s labors? It should if you are a liberal who believes in socialism and the redistribution of wealth.

http://www.deathtax.com/deathtax/action.htm