The Most Immoral of All Taxes

The USG won’t let you rest in peace until you pay a toll to cross the River Styx. [The Rude Awakening] June 01, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( The Most Immoral of All Taxes - Inheritance tax should be immediately abolished worldwide. - The Death Tax doesn’t even let you rest in peace… - …unless you do some judicious tax planning. [Over 62 And Collect Social Security? Take Action Immediately!]( [Click here to learn more]( [If you’re over the age of 62 and currently collect Social Security, you need to prepare now](. Because Biden has given our country the worst inflation in decades – and many warn things will only get worse from here. Worse yet, the Social Security check you receive now may not keep pace with inflation… [Which is why, if you don’t act now, you could fall behind in the months ahead](. Is your retirement at immediate risk? [Click here now to get the simple, step-by-step actions to survive inflation](. [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning from an overcast Piedmont! I was scrolling through my Twitter feed, feeling like Michael Douglas wielding his machete in Romancing the Stone, when I happened upon this op-ed in The Daily Telegraph: [SJN] Beautiful. Just beautiful. Of course, the UK communist trolls - nearly 90% of the total population, by my estimate - castigated Mr. Zahawi for even suggesting the idea. You know, the people who always have their hands out. Before I get into why I loathe inheritance tax, let me issue a disclaimer. Never, ever do anything to piss off the taxman. There’s a line: don’t even approach it, let alone cross it. With most transactions conducted electronically these days, there’s no way you’d get away with any wrongdoing, no matter how morally empowered you may feel. And besides, there are many legal ways to reduce or avoid inheritance tax altogether. The other thing is this: make sure you pay an accountant or a lawyer for their professional advice and service and for their signature to appear on your paperwork. That alone will keep the IRS officer at bay. If you do this on your own, without professional advice, you put a target on your estate. Now, let’s get into it. What is Inheritance Tax? Inheritance tax, also known as estate tax or death tax, is a type of tax imposed on the assets or property passed down from a deceased person to their heirs or beneficiaries. It is a tax levied on the value of inherited assets, such as money, real estate, investments, or valuable possessions. When someone passes away, their estate (the total value of their assets and property) is assessed. An inheritance tax may be applied if your wealth exceeds the government's threshold. The tax rate and threshold vary by country or region. The State’s purpose for inheritance tax is to collect a portion of the transferred wealth to ensure that everyone contributes to public funds and to address potential wealth inequality. You give your money to strangers instead of your children or heirs. The tax is typically paid by the recipient of the inheritance, not the deceased person. This doesn’t make it any better. It just makes it seem like the person paying the tax is the person who didn’t earn the wealth. Why Inheritance Tax Is Immoral Let me list some of the reasons why inheritance tax (IHT) is indeed, as Mr. Zahawi says, “morally wrong.” - Property rights: Individuals can dispose of their property as they wish, including passing it on to their chosen heirs. Imposing a tax on inherited wealth is a flagrant violation of property rights, as it limits individuals' freedom to distribute their assets according to their wishes. - Double taxation: IHT is double taxation because the assets being transferred have already been subject to income tax or other forms of taxation during the deceased person's lifetime. Taxing those assets again when passed on to heirs is ridiculously unjust. - Generational fairness: IHT unfairly targets the wealth accumulated by one generation and transfers it to the government. That disrupts the intergenerational transfer of wealth and undermines the ability to provide for future generations. - Wealth preservation: IHT discourages wealth accumulation and capital investment. If individuals know that a significant portion of their wealth will be subject to taxation upon death, they’re less motivated to build and preserve wealth, stunting economic growth and investment. - Complexity and avoidance: IHT is complex, leading to loopholes and opportunities for wealthy individuals to use tax planning strategies to reduce or avoid the tax altogether. Indeed, this creates an unfair advantage for the rich. They can afford sophisticated legal and financial advice to minimize their tax liabilities. The argument begins and ends with property rights. You ought to be able to give what you want to whom you wish to upon your death without regard to the IRS. Interestingly, one of the reasons that gay marriage had to happen was that gay persons’ private property rights were perpetually violated. One partner couldn’t leave his assets to another tax-free. A way to solve this problem was via spousal rights. I’m not reducing gay marriage to a tax dodge. People will always want to get married simply because they love each other. But just think about this: if The State didn’t violate private property rights, would this have happened to the degree it did? I don’t know for sure. No one does. But it’s an interesting thought experiment. [[VIDEO] Nord Stream Attack a “Covert Act of War” By President Biden?]( [Click here to learn more]( Shocking new details have come to light that all but PROVE Biden had something to do with the attack on Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline… And the ramifications are going to be felt by you and EVERY American citizen… Including crippling fuel shortages… widespread “Biden blackouts”… and energy bills rocketing to $1000! This is NOT a drill. [Click here to reveal the shocking truth – and learn how to protect yourself NOW]( [Click Here To Learn More]( US Inheritance Tax If you’re a US citizen, the threshold is very high. Thankfully. But it still shouldn’t exist at all. According to [CNBC]( starting in 2023, individuals can transfer up to $12.92 million to heirs, during life or at death, without triggering a federal estate-tax bill, up from $12.06 million this year. There’s also a higher annual limit on tax-free gifts in 2023, rising to $17,000 from $16,00, which doesn’t reduce the threshold. But that’s just the federal bit. But what about states? [SJN] Credit: [nerdwallet]( By the way, there’s a distinction between estate and inheritance taxes. (I usually lump them together, but they are different.) Inheritance tax is what the beneficiary — the person who inherited the wealth — must pay when they receive it. The estate tax is the amount taken out of someone’s estate upon their death based on the estate's value. If you live in any of the above states, be sure of your situation. UK Inheritance Tax The UK’s inheritance tax is asinine. It gets so many into trouble and is the reason for the above Telegraph article. From [gov.uk]( Inheritance Tax rates The standard Inheritance Tax rate is 40%. It’s only charged on the part of your estate that’s above the threshold. Example Your estate is worth £500,000, and your tax-free threshold is £325,000. The Inheritance Tax charged will be 40% of £175,000 (£500,000 minus £325,000). The estate can pay Inheritance Tax at a reduced rate of 36% on some assets if you leave 10% or more of the ‘net value’ to charity in your will. (The net value is the estate’s total value minus any debts.) If you’re a Brit and don’t see a lawyer or accountant about this, see a psychiatrist. As a British citizen, I will do everything I can to avoid this tax. Italian Inheritance Tax Italy’s is more convoluted but much lower than the UK’s. This is just if you’re leaving your money to your children. It gets more complicated otherwise. Relationship to the deceased: Child or spouse Estate inheritance tax: 4% of the amount exceeding €1 million for each heir Estate filing tax: 2% of real property value or €200 if the property will be the principal home Property inheritance tax: 1% of real property value or €200 if the property will be the principal home In short, in Italy, you can’t lose your house via IHT. But in the UK, it’s a routine thing. Possible Solutions to This Problem Again, if you face IHT issues, you must take professional advice from a lawyer or an accountant. I don’t know your personal situation, so please take this only as educational material: - Tax-free allowances and exemptions: Many jurisdictions provide tax-free allowances or exemptions for specific amounts of inherited wealth. You can minimize or eliminate inheritance tax by structuring your estate and distributing assets within these limits. - Lifetime gifts: Making gifts during your lifetime can help reduce the value of your estate subject to inheritance tax. Some jurisdictions have specific rules and exemptions regarding gifts. - Trusts: Setting up trusts can effectively manage and distribute your assets while potentially reducing inheritance tax liabilities. Trusts can provide control over the assets, allowing you to specify how and when they are distributed to beneficiaries. - Charitable donations: Making philanthropic donations in your will or during your lifetime can have dual benefits. Not only does it support causes you care about, but in many jurisdictions, charitable contributions are tax-deductible or will reduce the taxable value of your estate. - Life insurance policies: Life insurance proceeds are often paid directly to the beneficiaries and may not be subject to inheritance tax. By designating beneficiaries and structuring life insurance policies appropriately, you can provide liquidity for paying inheritance tax liabilities. - Business and agricultural relief: Some jurisdictions provide reliefs or exemptions for certain business assets or agricultural property, allowing for reduced or zero inheritance tax liabilities. These reliefs typically support continuity in family businesses or agricultural operations. If you have seven-figure wealth, definitely find out more about trusts. Wrap Up Sorry, that was a longer one than usual! But nothing gets my goat more than unjust taxes. And mirror, mirror on the wall, this is the unfairest of them all! Have a lovely day! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( In Case You Missed It… The Line in America’s Sand [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning from gorgeous Asti! It’s been a while, and I’ve missed you. First, a quick catch-up. Micah, Pam, and I visited Annecy (appropriately pronounced [ON-sea]) in France. It’s a fantastic city on a lake that doesn’t get as much press as many other French destinations. I’ll quickly walk you through it before I get to today’s piece. First, we walked through its old city, which still has its buildings from the Middle Ages. [SJN] Then, we walked through the porticos, which were works of art themselves. [SJN] Next, we traveled to the island in the middle of the river. [SJN] Then we walked through the island. [SJN] That’s the French version of Diagon Ally (for you Harry Potter fans out there). Then we headed toward the lake via the river. [SJN] Then we were on Lac Annecy: [SJN] It’s a sensationally beautiful city. And it’s only about 45 minutes south of Geneva. For us, it was a 3.5-hour drive from Asti. [SJN] So that’s what I’ve been up to. Of course, while I was gone, Speaker McCarthy allegedly struck a “deal” (his word, not mine) with Barely There Biden on the debt ceiling. But it’s more of the same as far as I’m concerned. McCarthy’s Twitter followers crushed him in the comments of his announcement tweet; I’m not sure why he was so smug when he went on the Sunday morning talk shows. But I’ll withhold my final judgment until the legislation finally passes. Today, I’d like to talk about a simple geographical fact affecting everything about America. Rainfall. Surprised? Let me show you. [Biden Orders Americans to Turn In Their Dollars?]( [Click here to learn more]( A former advisor to the CIA and Pentagon predicts President Biden plans to retire the US dollar we know – and replace it with a digital “spyware” currency. Your US dollars could be confiscated – or made worthless. It is underway now. On March 9, Biden signed Executive Order 14067, which could pave the way for the new US currency. AOC tweeted her support. Dems could use this to hold onto power indefinitely. [Please view this warning now](. [Click Here To Learn More]( Washington, D.C., Late 1990s I was walking around Georgetown in the late 90s with my buddy Doc, who lived across the Potomac in Arlington, VA. We went into a bookshop, where I zeroed in on a book with a map on the cover. (You know how I love maps.) The book was The Wealth and Poverty of Nations by David Landes. I only knew that Landes was a Harvard professor because it said so on the book's inside cover. I didn’t know it was the textbook he taught his classes with. I bought the book, and much to my surprise, I devoured it in a couple of days. One of the main ideas of this book is that geography has a massive impact on countries. Now that’s a commonplace idea. Then, not so much. That message always stayed with me wherever I went. And it helped me understand my new homes like London, Singapore, Barcelona, Hong Kong, the Phils, and Italy. US Geography I was on our editorial Slack channel with Rude contributor Byron King and Daily Reckoning Editor Brian Maher the other day when this very subject came up. The UK Daily Telegraph’s Allister Heath had written an article in which he mentioned this: America’s population will continue to grow, hitting 394 million by the end of the century. To which Byron replied: Such a depressing thought. Our half of the North American continent is full. Most people live where people can live, the usual places like coasts, big cities (big for a reason), and areas where they don't bake or freeze to death (except Minnesota). The rest of the USA is pretty much uninhabitable by large numbers of people. And we have maxed out everything... energy is a stretch, water/sewer systems are in crisis mode, the USA net-imports food, the medical system is overstretched, the US education system has broken down for large numbers, universities are Woke & broken, and what jobs? Our Savior Tech is laying off. Finance? (What is there to finance?) Services? (Ditto.) Manufacturing is strangled in the crib by enviro issues, NIMBY, etc. I could go on, but you get the point. I immediately put on my geography hat. Of course, and as usual, Byron was right. It’s not just the area you have to worry about. It’s the resources you need to sustain the population. The 100th Meridian Look at this map: [SJN] West of the 100th meridian, there simply isn’t enough rainfall to sustain a growing population. And this isn’t a recent discovery. From [Earth Magazine]( In 1878, without the benefit of the Landsat program, GPS, or Google, and just a decade after the creation of the National Weather Service, John Wesley Powell first advanced the idea that the climatic boundary between the United States' humid East and arid West lay along a line “about midway in the Great Plains” — almost exactly 100 degrees longitude west of the prime meridian in Greenwich, England. This line, the 100th meridian, runs from pole to pole and cuts through six U.S. states, forming a partial boundary between Oklahoma and Texas. The 100th meridian also corresponds roughly to the 600-meter elevation contour as the land rises from the Great Plains toward the Rockies. In his 1878 “Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States,” Powell identified the “arid region” as the land west of the 51-centimeter-per-year rainfall line, which closely tracked the 100th meridian. This amount of rainfall per year is about the minimum that permits farming without irrigation, and it also greatly influences the types of crops that can be grown. The line Powell noted as dividing the arid and humid sections of the continent has become known as the “effective” 100th meridian. Here’s Wesley’s original map: [SJN] Credit: [U.S. Geological Survey, via Earth Magazine]( The 100th meridian is significant because it marks a distinct geographic boundary, commonly known as the "Great Plains Divide." It has critical implications for agriculture and settlement patterns in North America. The primary significance of the 100th meridian lies in the division between the arid western regions and the more humid eastern regions of the United States. East of the 100th meridian, there is generally enough rainfall to support extensive agriculture without the need for irrigation. However, west of the meridian, precipitation decreases significantly, making it more challenging for agriculture to thrive without additional water sources. This climatic difference has profoundly impacted the development of the United States. It influenced settlement patterns, with the meridian serving as a rough dividing line between the areas suitable for large-scale agriculture and those more suitable for ranching or other land use. Furthermore, the 100th meridian has also played a crucial role in shaping water management policies and practices. The western side of the meridian relies heavily on irrigation to support agriculture, necessitating the construction of extensive irrigation systems and reservoirs to store and distribute water. This has led to complex water rights issues and challenges related to the sustainability of water resources. California Dreaming Not only does the idea of unlimited immigration seem stupid, but the electoral college looks even more brilliant an idea than before. Without a massive population, electoral votes are the only fair way to maintain the union. But California takes the cake. It releases freshwater into the Pacific. On the surface of it, that seems dumb. Concerning Western water rights, it seems madness. Why does California do this? - Flood Control: California experiences periods of heavy rainfall, particularly during the winter months. When precipitation exceeds the capacity of reservoirs and other water storage systems, excess water must be released to prevent flooding. Controlled water releases into rivers and eventually into the Pacific Ocean help manage water levels and reduce the risk of catastrophic flooding in populated areas. - Water Management: California has an extensive water management system that captures, stores, and distributes water throughout the state. Reservoirs and other storage facilities collect water during periods of ample rainfall or snowmelt, and this stored water is crucial for supplying urban areas, agriculture, and other water-dependent sectors during drier periods, such as the hot summer months. Controlled water releases into the ocean may be necessary to ensure a balanced and regulated water supply throughout the year. - Environmental Considerations: Releasing water into the Pacific Ocean can benefit California's diverse ecosystems, including salmon. California has numerous rivers and streams supporting diverse ecosystems. By releasing water into the ocean, California can maintain environmental flows and preserve habitats for aquatic species. These are the official reasons, anyway. But there must be a way to get the water further inland instead of returning it to the ocean. Wrap Up Mass, unlimited immigration simply can’t be done without acquiring, inventing, or securing the resources needed to maintain the population increase. I’m sure there’s a technology that can currently fix this or hasn’t been invented yet. But continuing to leave the border wide open to migrants and other visitors - and there are lots of them - is irresponsible to the point of insanity. Have a great day! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@rudeawakening.info. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, [contact us here]( or call (844)-731-0984. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. 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