Upon dying, a person's wealth should NOT be taken by the government.

I noticed that you and I have a different opinion regarding estate taxes as displayed in your profile. I stand in affirmation of the resolution; I was hoping that as my opponent you could shed some light on your opposing perspective. ---------------------------------------- First: What is included in the estate? "The Gross Estate of the decedent consists of an accounting of everything you own or have certain interests in at the date of death. The fair market value of these items is used, not necessarily what you paid for them or what their values were when you acquired them. The total of all of these items is your Gross Estate. The includible property may consist of cash and securities, real estate, insurance, trusts, annuities, business interests and other assets. Keep in mind that the Gross Estate will likely include non-probate as well as probate property" (Source: http://www.irs.gov...). ---------------------------------------- I believe that an individual has the right to do as they please with their own money, whether it's spending it on frivolous material goods, investing in lucrative projects, or giving it to a homeless person on the street. It is their money - they've either earned it or inherited it - and nobody should be allowed to take what is rightfully theirs and disperse it as they please. If I pass away and wish to leave all or most of my money/estate to my children, grand children or other person(s), what right does the government have to tell me that I can't? Similarly, if I wish to give my money away after passing and donate it to charity, that should be my right -- it is, again, MY money. I can invest it any way that I choose while living, and thanks to the legal documentation known as wills, I can even invest that money any way that I choose after my death! Barron Hilton (Paris Hilton's grandfather) intends to donate 97% of his estimated 2.3 billion dollar estate to charity when he dies. The foundation supports projects that provide clean water in Africa, education for blind children, and housing for the mentally ill. Its aims, based on founder Conrad Hilton's will, are "to relieve the suffering, the distressed and the destitute." Conrad Hilton himself left virtually all of his fortune to the charity when he died, a charity that he founded to do great things... yet my opponent's position of being In Favor of the Estate Tax would mean that all or most of one's estate be mandated to go directly to the government upon one's passing. An estate tax is a bad idea for several reasons. First, it is more wise for an individual to invest in a trustworthy organization that they believe in than to invest in the government. Say I died and $1B of mine went to the White House. Certainly George Bush would be using that money to continue to wage war on Islamic nations - a war that I do not agree with. Therefore my money is being used to support policies that I do not. Similarly, a Conservative may not want their hard-earned money to go to programs such as Welfare or Medicaid. If I had donated my estate to a charity that collects money for breast cancer research, I would be content to know that my contribution helped to save lives, not take them. And since it is my money, I should be able to support whatever programs I choose - not leave it up to the government to decide how my money gets dispersed. Afterall, what if they agree upon a huge Dick Cheney pay increase or something just as upsetting? Another reason why an estate tax is wrong is because it can hurt the family of the individual whose estate is being taken away. For example, many people place significant value on family heirlooms, which are defined as a valued possessions that are passed down in a family through succeeding generations; articles of personal property included in an inherited estate (dictionary.com). If an estate tax were implemented, heirlooms would no longer take precedent over the government, and memories or other valuables would be lost. Rather than supporting an estate tax, I believe that an individual should be held responsible for that year's annual income taxes due in full by the following April 15th after their death just as they would if they were still alive. Aside from that, I feel that a person's will (if they have one) shall determine where the rest of their estate goes once they die. If they do not have a will, whatever the current procedure is in determining dispersement shall continue, but an estate tax shall NOT. ---------------------------------------- Thank you in advance for accepting this debate. I look forward to your rebuttal.