Quotes of the Morning: The Great Estate

"Just 1% of estates paid any estate tax in 2003, according to the IRS. Three quarters of the money raised from the tax comes from estates of more than $5 million....
Of the more than 18,000 estates paying the tax last year, just 340 consist primarily of a single farm or small business....
The Senate measure, which is still being negotiated, would tax inherited wealth of millions of dollars at a lower rate than what a teacher pays on a $70,000 annual salary. It would also give inherited wealth a more privileged status than money made from hard work or putting capital at risk....
The measure would cost the treasury about $196 billion over the next decade. That would require other taxpayers to make up the difference or add yet more debt to be paid off by future generations."
-USA Today, July 26, 2005

"Ah yes.. The estate (aka 'death') tax. I remember that from somewhere.."
-Skippy

"You know what else I think? You know what else I think when they say, tax the rich? Most rich people are able to avoid taxes, and if you can't raise enough money from taxing the rich, guess who pays the taxes? Yes, you do."
-George 'Dubya' Bush, August 11, 2004

"I want you to know that the death tax takes up more than 300 pages of laws and regulations in the current tax code. By getting rid of the death tax forever, we have simplified the code by 300 pages."
-George 'Dubya' Bush, December 16, 2004

"If you're working all your life to build up your small business, and you want to leave it whoever you want to leave it to, they shouldn't -- that asset shouldn't be taxed twice, shouldn't tax your income when you're making money, and shouldn't tax it when you pass it on to your son, daughter, whoever you want to pass it on to, it doesn't make -- we're working with the Congress to get rid of it."
-George 'Dubya' Bush, October 3, 2003

"Is it just me, or did he call for the elimination of all taxation in the last quote? I'm guessing Fearless Leader is trying to make it easy on Jenna and not-Jenna (how's that job hunt going girls?) when he goes to that big oil rig in the sky, but I could be wrong."
-Skippy

"We got into deficit because the economy went into the recession -- is how we got into deficit."
-George 'Dubya' Bush, May 5, 2003