by: rick telberg
july 26, 2000 (smartpros) ? like so much about the united states tax code, the estate tax may be beyond repair. but few except posturing politicians expect it to happen anytime soon.
“i’m adamant about repealing it,” said gary iskowitz, a los angeles cpa and former assistant chief of the examination division of the internal revenue service. “it’s beyond repair.”
but ever the realist, iskowitz added, “i think there’s going to be a compromise.”
under the tax, the first $675,000 of an estate is exempt, rising to $1 million by 2006. the rate schedule begins at 18 percent, but taxable estates are subject to marginal rates of up to 55 percent.
the tax was created for peculiarly american reasons — to thwart the growth of a monied aristocracy. like other taxes, it was written to engineer social change and manage the economy, not just to raise government receipts.
“the american people feared the rich people would be running the country,” iskowitz noted, with the trace of a politically savvy snicker.
to an accountant like iskowitz — and there are many — the horror of the estate tax is the way it warps economic decisions, deprives investors and entrepreneurs of hard-earned savings, and needlessly enriches estate lawyers and life insurance agents.
take one of iskowitz’s recent cases for example. an estate with 50 units in a limited partnership spent $500,000 to have the whole partnership appraised, and then another $100,000 to have just the 50 units valued. and then the irs challenged the discounts. “these cases all end up in tax court and going to the appellate division,” iskowitz said. “and the partnership units aren’t liquid, so you can’t even sell the assets to pay the tax.”
iskowitz expects some minor changes in the levy. for instance, the exemption could be raised to $2 million, rates could be lowered to 44 percent from 55 percent, and the final solution might retain the stepped-up basis provision. maybe small business might even win an exemption.
of course, all bets are off next year if bush wins the election. he’s vowed to kill the estate tax.
iskowitz makes a lot of money on tax consulting, but he doesn’t like the work any more. he’s moving into business consulting, like helping a client set up a factory in mexico. “i’ve seen the future,” he said.
and it’s not the death tax.