Bloomberg; House Tax Bill Is Littered With Loopholes for Wall Streets Wealthiest
Estate Tax
Another quirk in the House bill is so glaring that Richard Levine, a special counsel at Withers Bergman LLP in New Haven, Connecticut, says he can’t believe it was accidental. This one involves the estate tax, a 40 percent levy that applies to the estates of a few thousand of the richest Americans each year.
The House bill would limit the tax to even fewer estates right away, and then eliminate it entirely in 2025. But it leaves in place a related measure that allows heirs to sell assets without having to pay income tax on the appreciation that took place before they inherited them.
Taken together, that means that a family whose fortune derives from a long-held asset -- think Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., or the Walton family’s Wal-Mart Stores Inc. -- might never have to pay tax on the bulk of that wealth at all. The founding generation could borrow against the stock to meet expenses, and the next generation could sell it income tax-free.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-21/tax-loopholes-for-wall-street-s-wealthiest-loom-in-house-bill
This is a eye opening informed article with a second article attached on; Senate Suspends Bill Votes to Friday Morning: Tax Debate Update
