It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday!
Over at Only3Years, Iz contemplated the question of where she might be a year from now. The more I thought about this, the more I thought that it would make a superb Fix the Tax Code Friday…
I’m constantly asked what I think will happen with respect to a number of tax items such as the AMT, the federal estate tax, and most recently, tax rates for those making more than $250,000. These are great topics to speculate on – especially with a significant election year looming.
So this week’s Fix the Tax Code Friday question is:
What changes – if any – do you expect to see made to the Tax Code by this time next August? Federal estate tax repeal? Health reform surtax? VAT or national sales tax? Tax cuts or tax increases?
I promise no “I told you sos” come next year. (Umm, well depending on who you are… I reserve the right to beat up on my fellow tax pros. It’s like our own Fantasy League.)
But I’m dying to know what you think… Go ahead, chime in!
I don’t expect to see either a VAT or flat tax anytime soon. Good thing, too, because I detest both.
Estate and gift taxes will hang around indefinitely. I never liked the idea of eliminating estate taxes anyway.
More taxes on “high-income” people? Maybe, especially if the health care bill passes.
The AMT will be around indefinitely and Congress will keep passing annual stopgaps instead of revamping it back to its original purpose which was to impose some level of taxation on the very high-income earners who might otherwise escape tax via loopholes.
What I’d like to see (and probably won’t):
Long-term capital gain should be at least 5 years, not 12 months .
Compensation “loopholes” (stock options, etc) should be taxable when receiced and/or marked to market every year. Compensation in the millions (CEO’s, traders, etc) should have very high tax rates and no loopholes.
Capital loss limnitation of $3000 is ridiculous; should be $100K or more, or even eliminated entirely.