Estate tax rates are one of those seemingly whimsical forms of taxation levied against people who rightfully earned their wealth. Also known as inheritance tax, it is often cited by critics as an example of burdensome case of wealth redistribution, Streamyx Combo of double taxation. If in the course of our lives we worked hard enough to amass money that we can pass on to our heirs and loved ones so they can live their lives in comfort; we naturally would like to make sure that our descendants get all that we labored so hard for. Normally, we resent any share sliced from our wealth by people and the governments who were not even instrumental and who have only looked at us during those times when we were so painfully crawling the ladder of success. And now that success is here at last, everyone seems to find all sorts of justifications to obtain a piece of the pie. But knowing the weight of legal arguments that could be hurled at us if we insist on passing on our wealth to our heirs free of estate taxes, we yield. Our only hope then rests on a wish that inheritance tax wouldn't be so high.
The Present Estate Tax Rates
So what are the prevalent estate tax rates in the U.S. today? Before President Streamyx Promotion W. Bush, inheritance tax stood at 37 percent, but it once stood as high as 55 percent. These inheritance tax rates are usually applied only to assets that exceed $1 million. However, President Bush proposed tax cuts which caused estate taxes to be phased out for a few years following.
Beginning in 2005, the taxable asset was raised to $1,500,000 with the rate of inheritance tax at 47 percent. From 2006 to 2008, the taxable asset level is raised again to $2,000,000 with the rate set at 46 percent. Again in 2009, the taxable asset level was raised to $3,500,000 with inheritance tax at 45 percent. However, such measure is only up to 2010.
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We've been eagerly awaiting the public beta launch of Fotonauts' encyclopedia for photos, Fotopedia. TechCrunch Editor Erick Schonfeld reviewed the preview of Fotopedia that was released a few weeks ago. A startup that debuted at TechCrunch50 last year, Fotonauts turns your photo albums into collaborative Web pages about different topics and subjects. Fotonauts, which was in private beta and will officially be known now as Fotopedia, is a desktop photo client which helps you tag, organize, and share your photos in a live feed. The brainchild of Jean-Marie Hullot, former CTO of NeXT Software and Apples Application Division, Fotopedia was born when Hullot was helping his children with reports for school. He was using Wikipedia for background information but couldn't find a comprehensive site that provided relevant photos to Wikipedia entries. Thus the idea for Fotonauts was born and entered private beta last year. But Hullot and his business partner, Gilles Samoun, wanted to create a web-facing product, which will serve as a complete photo encyclopedia, alongside the desktop client that focused more on the encyclopedia part of the concept.