Buy a plane (or boat) and get a tax break? (and then fire a teacher!)

[Sancho]

Are you pissed off at CEO bonuses? Look what Florida does with it's stimulus money! Looks like somebody got a campaign contribution from a millionaire who needs a new boat and plane!

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article992301.ece

TALLAHASSEE — At the same time lawmakers are slashing the state budget, considering laying off dozens of government workers and increasing fees and taxes, they are also pushing a break for the richest Floridians.

A bill moving through the Legislature would cap the sales tax on boats and planes at $25,000. It's being called the Aviation and Maritime Full Employment Act.

"The bill does exactly what the name suggests: It is designed to create jobs and spur economic growth," Rep. Tom Grady said before a House panel voted Tuesday to advance the proposal.

-snip-

"Someone might want to beat up the rich. I don't," Grady added after the committee meeting. "Anybody with capital to invest in the state of Florida, where jobs can be created, I want them here. I want their money here. I want their planes here. I want their boats here."

State economists estimate the cap will cost state coffers $8.1 million annually and local government $1.1 million.

[HillbillyBob]

1. I used to live in Fla working for a design firm

We put silk plants and trees in well off folks homes and yachts and stuff.
I always got the impression they felt like ' well I m rich you should kiss my ass and give me what I want for free' looks like I was correct in that impresssion.
Yes the yacht builders do employ a lot of people, but it seems sinful to cut teaching jobs to give millionaires f g tax breaks,

[Sancho]

2. The rich here are going to buy the boat they want anyway...

if Florida had a state "death tax", we'd have a surplus that could not be counted. I simply don't understand why it's cool to die with millions in the bank.

[demodonkey]

3. The death tax seems "cool" unless you are the next generation of a family farm or business...

Next generation-ers often put decades of sweat equity into their family farm or family business, only to find out when the first generation dies that estate planning has not been done (or can't be done due to state laws.)

The farm or business that the next generation worked hard for ends up being sold to pay the death tax, ripping away their job and maybe their home, leaving them to start over at an age when they will never make up the loss.

That's not quite the same as "dying with millions in the bank."

On edit: this is a reason (not the only reason, but one of them) that a good number of larger family farms end up getting converted to corporate-owed factory farms. And/or get bought up by interests from outside the USA.

[Sancho]

4. I'd settle for inheritance tax on the second or third yacht, Bentley, or mansion.

Believe me, I originated on the rural family farm!

[demodonkey]

5. If you are "farm-raised" you should realize that most family farmers do not own...

yachts or Bentleys, nor are their farm homes mansions. Most farm families live very modest lives and work hard for the income (usually not THAT much) they make. But with the current cost of land and farm equipment their estates can easily trigger the inheritance tax to the extent that their children who have put sweat equity in to the farm for decades may end up having to sell out to pay taxes.

This is NOT JUST OR FAIR, IMO. If you support an inheritance taxe, at least recognize that some exemption needs to be made for the above family farm scenario, or for family businesses where several generations may contribute, because as it is it is difficult to transfer all or even part of an estate to the younger generation when the time comes.

Look into Medicaid rules for qualifying for long term care, there is ANOTHER thing that makes it harder to transfer family farms and businesses, even when the persons receiving the transfer worked hard for what they are getting. Medicaid wants everything to transferred be done for so-called "fair value" and it does not recognize unpaid help from family members as having any value. Family is supposed to do these things out of love and affection and then when the time comes, family is also expected to have saved up enough to pay the nursing home bill or the death tax. Or the older generation is expected hire the younger as caregivers and workers on a contract like anyone else off the street, so that the younger generation can pay income tax on everything they earn on that contract, then buy the farm or business for fair value, and THEN use that (family) money to pay the nursing home or pay death tax on anything that's left.

This is not the same as Paris Hilton inheriting a yacht, and it is NOT right.

[Sancho]

7. we agree...i'd exempt farms...here in Florida (God's waiting room), it is a different story

when multi-millionaires buy boats and cars and jewelry as sales tax exempt and hide many millions in weird securities. Essentially, they don't pay taxes on it as income or sales or after they die.

I know someone here who inherited enough to pay for a 4500 sq ft house cash, bought a second vacation home, put the son into medical school in a new condo. When grandmom needed care, they were smart (had a good lawyer), exhausted her money by buying an expensive car (auto's are allowed by medicare) even though they already owned two Lincoln's, and medicare paid for most of her nursing care.

If you can manipulate the system, the wealthy get the breaks.

The laws are written so the rich get richer.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Family farms and businesses have special exemptions. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Prove it. That's a direct quote from Sen. John Ensign (R-NV).

The 2008 TPC report estimated that in 2008, only a small number of farms and small businesses are subject to the estate tax and that the vast majority would owe less than $500,000:

A key issue in the policy debate is the effect of the estate tax on estates containing small businesses and family-owned farms. Some critics of the estate tax claim that heirs of such estates must sell the business or farm in order to pay the tax. But relatively few such estates owe any estate tax. If we define those estates as ones in which farm and business assets total less than $5 million and make up at least half of gross estate, only 2,000 will have to file estate tax returns in 2008 and nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of those will have no estate tax liability. About 550 small farm and business estates will owe any estate tax liability and more than three-quarters of those will owe less than $500,000.

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/411777_back_grave.pdf#page=16

[HillbillyBob]

10. The so called death tax does not kick in untill the 2 million mark

most family farms are not that kind of income generators.
And there is such a thing as pre death probate just for that reason to protect family business. The people that bitch the most about the 'death tax' will never ever be worth enough in assests to worry about it. It really does apply to big money corpse and families who it really will not hurt, only their greed.
The idea of the Estate tax is to keep the money families from warping our society and economy, like the Morgans, Vanderbilts, Rothchilds, Rockefellers etc.
It does not affect people like you and me..you have been fooled into believing the lie fed us by those aforementioned families.

[Vidar]

9. Land of the rich, by the rich and for the rich.