When an individual dies, financial benefits (stocks, cash, bonds, property, insurance policy payouts, etc) transfer to the family and friends of the deceased. The federal government taxes these transfers using the federal estate tax. Years ago, the estate tax was much higher than it is today. In the 1990's it was above 50%. [For example, if you inherited a million dollars from your father's estate in 1998, you would have paid more than half of that (55% in fact) in taxes to the federal government.] On January 1, 2013, theAmerican Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012was passed and established an exemption of $5 million per person with a maximum tax rate of 40%. Congress recently (December 2017) passed legislationto significantly raise the exemption to more than $11 million for individuals and $22 million for couples.

This week's discussion board is based on this topic. Do you agree with a recent Congressional action?