Windsor vs. U.S. a great decision; Death Tax a travesty

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Windsor v. United States   was a great decision for many reasons.  Among those reasons, it brought justice to a lady who would otherwise have been unjustly forced to pay a tremendous sum in estate taxes she shouldn't have had to pay.   The reality is, the so-called "Estate Tax" is really a Death Tax that cheats small businesses and farmers out of their respective businesses and land so that rich, faceless, arrogant corporations can snap up the businesses and land at fire sale prices.  The little guy/gal ---who has worked his/her whole life to build a business and make it a success --- dies one day.  That day, his/her heirs find out they owe a fortune to the federal government in Estate Taxes.  The heirs have no money; the money is tied up in fixed assets, i.e., the farm land or the business itself.  In order to pay the huge estate tax, the heirs are forced to sell the business.  Who buys it?  

The large corporations, of course.   The corporations pay no Estate Tax or Death Tax because a corporation never dies.  Only human beings die.  And because the heirs are forced, at a moment's notice, to pay the tax, the heirs have no negotiating power.  The tax must be paid immediately and the heirs had not expected the family member to die when and how s/he did.  So the corporations snap up the family farm land at fire sale prices.  Or the corporations put out of business the small, family owned business thereby eliminating competition.  

The Estate Tax is designed to help corporations put small businesses out of business.  That is its only real purpose.  

The Estate Tax generates very little revenue and affect only a limited number of people.  But just because only a few people are treated unjustly by the Estate Tax does not mean it is a just tax.  Even if the Estate Tax only hurts a minority, that minority is being unjustly treated and unjustly hurt.  An injustice is an injustice regardless if it affects a minority of folks or if it affects everybody.  

The only purpose of the Death Tax is to help corporations takeover small businesses.

Check out this site:

http://www.policymic.com/articles/57775/gay-or-straight-we-re-all-getting-screwed-by-the-estate-tax

Estate Tax wipes out small businesses so rich corporations can buy them up at fire-sale prices

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The estate tax is unfair. It is designed to wipe out small business owners so that large corporations can buy their businesses or property at cheap prices. 

 1.) The so-called "rich" are really small business owners or long time, multi-generational property owners who have seen the overall value of their business or property go way up over the decades. They die and the heirs cannot pay the estate tax so the business or property must be sold immediately to pay the estate tax. Corporations know that they can then snap up the property at fire-sale prices. 

 2.) The so-called "rich" have already paid income tax throughout their lifetimes. The estate tax is just another, extra tax levied on those who happened to have worked hard and been, yes, a little lucky. These folks want to pass the home or the business to their children but cannot because the estate tax must be paid. Hence, the home gets sold or the business must be given up. 

3.) I reject the whole crazy argument that "only a few people pay the estate tax" so therefore there is nothing wrong with it. That's like saying, hypothetically, there's a new rule that says someone will be randomly executed by the government but don't worry because very, very few people will actually be randomly executed. "What's the harm? Very few are affected." It's not very fair to the person who is randomly chosen to be executed, however. So, just because a few people are treated unjustly doesn't justify the tax. 

4.) the estate tax is a windfall to the insurance companies because to have the money on hand when you die to pay the tax you must buy expensive life insurance premiums so that your heirs will have the life insurance proceeds to pay the tax when you die. Insurance companies love the estate tax because they get these high premiums.