Secretariat and the Death Tax

"Render to all what is due to them: tax to whom tax is due .........."-Romans 13:7

Muriel and I went to see "Secretariat" this past Friday night.  Christian writer, director, and producer Randall Wallace has made an excellent film appropriate for all ages.  "Secretariat" is a feel good movie and because the overall framework of the story is based on history, the outcome is predictable.  None of this diminishes its enjoyment.

Wallace says that one of the themes is that there is joy in becoming what you were made to be, an echo of the reformation theology of vocation, but, maybe due to the political season, I picked up on another theme that made me angry.

In one of the sub-plots, Penny Chenery takes over her father's horse farm when he passes away.   Her most immediate obstacle is finding a way to pay the $6 million estate tax without selling the farm.  Imagine.  Her father had worked all of his life to build up a successful business and upon his death, the government steps in and takes so much that the family has to scramble to find a way to hang onto their inheritance.   This is nothing more than outright thievery.

The reason that it made me so angry is that this year the estate tax is at the level that it should be--zero.  On January 1st, 2011, it is going to rise to 55% unless Congress acts to extend what is known as "The Bush Tax Cuts".  So far they have refused to act before the elections and if the Dems lose the House and Senate, may refuse to act out of spite.   The American Revolution was brought on by taxation policies less confiscatory than this.

Secretariat's story took place in 1973, but Dell Tackett tells a modern version of the same taxation story at  http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid599539952001?bctid=629270648001 .   Dr. Tackett tells the story of 80 year old Eugene Sukup of Sheffield, Iowa,  who has built up a successful business and what the family faces upon his death in light of taxes policies that are soon to be put in place.  If this doesn't light your fire, your wood is wet.

The "Rich" and Taxes

Below is a link to a good article on how the rich view taxes.   The Dems have really fouled things up by not extending the Bush tax cuts.  And Obama wonders why the economy is not improving.  Go figure.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/business/economy/10view.html