re: political philosophy - inheritance tax

["Tim Aker" <ahyxtma@nottingham.ac.uk>]

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oh dear Alice, forever the voice of socialist arbitrariness, you never cease to amaze.

Firstly, lets look at the dead and their relations to tax.  If we pay tax into a pot, that funds services etc that we all hope to use - then why does that mean the dead should pay tax on their death?  They cease to use any government service, and hence have no reason to pay as their use of all government services is nil.  You say the dead have no interests, therefore why would the deceased's interest be served by yielding his money to the treasury if they haven't expressed a will to?  You contradict yourself there.  The dead have no interests in themselves after death, and hence recall all their other, extra-personal interests in a will.  Therefore, if the deceased does not put "give the government x amount of my wealth" in the will, it is not in his interest to do so and the government have no right to take his justly acquired wealth (see Robert Nozick's wonderful destruction of socialism in 'anarchy, state and utopia'.) because they have no reason to assume it was in his interest.

Also, i contest your term that the purpose of the tax is to build an 'equal society'.  Using death as a means to create equality has often been a socialist tool, to which some of the more well known socialist tyrants have used to brutal effect.  You jump to the strange conclusion that it is every man's interest, above all, to create a more equal society.  How so and on what terms?

How does the government taking 100% of inheritance lead to more equal opportunity.  Again, you allude to the old mantra of the 'race to the bottom' that socialism is all about 'equality of misery' (ah, good ol Churchill), if we all have nothing, we are therefore equal?  

And finally, a gem of a quote "we must limit the influence that factors beyond the individual's control", so why must a government, comprised of individuals utilising a certain amount of control due to the powers of government, do it?  What qualifies government to be a better distributor of our wealth than those that own it?  Are all government officialls free of arbitrary action and their own personal interests?

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