经济学人:世袭精英的自保机制(1)

 However, in 2017, it is not clear exactly how decisive a role inheritance plays in the entrenchment¹ of the hereditary² elite³. 不过，在2017年，遗产税在世袭精英堡垒中扮演的是一个具有多大决定性的角色是不清楚的。

Data from Britain suggest that people tend not to lose their parents before they reach the age of 50. 来自英国的数据显示，50岁之前，人们往往不会失去父母。

In rich countries the advantages that wealthy parents pass to their offspring begin with the sorting mechanism⁴ of marriage, in which elites⁵ increasingly pair up with elites. 在富裕国家中，有钱的父母传递给后代的优势，始于婚姻的门当户对机制。

They continue with the benefits of education, social capital and lavish⁶ gifts, not in the deeds to the ancestral pile. 在这种机制中，精英越来越多地与精英结成夫妻。接下来是教育、社会资本和丰厚礼物的种种好处，它们都不在不在先辈遗嘱之列。

Even if the link between inheritance-tax rates and inequality were clear, wealth can pay for a good tax lawyer. 纵然继承税税率与不平等之间的这种关系是清晰的，富人却能够给好的税务律师出得起钱。

In the century since Roosevelt, Sweden and other high-taxers discovered that if governments impose a steep enough duty, the rich will find ways to avoid it. 自罗斯福以来的这个世纪中，瑞典以及其他高税收国家发现，如果政府强制推行足够陡峭的税，富人会想法设法来回避。

The trusts they create as a result can last even longer than the three generations it takes for family fortunes to go from clogs⁷ to clogs. 他们由此而创立的各种信托可能持续得甚至比家族财富世代相传所用的三代人时间还要长。

Armed with such arguments, some leap to the other extreme, proposing, as the American tax reform does, that there should be no inheritance tax at all. 由于有了这类论据的武装，有些人跳跃到另一个极端，建议像美国税改那样，压根就不应该有继承税。

Not only is it right to let people hand their private property to their children, they say, but also bequests⁸ are often the fruits of labour that has already been taxed. 他们声称，不仅让人们将自己的私有财产传给子孙后代是正确的，而且遗赠物也经常是已被征过税的劳动果实。

And a large inheritance-tax bill is destructive, because it can cause the dismemberment of family firms and farms, and force the sale of ancestral homes. 同时，巨大的遗产税账单是毁灭性的，因为它可能造成家族公司和家族农场的土崩瓦解，并且可能促使祖宅的出售。

Yet every tax is an intrusion by the state. 然而，每一种税都是一种来自政府的入侵。

If avoiding double taxation⁹ were a requirement of good policy, then governments would need to abolish sales taxes, which are paid out of taxed income. 如果说避免双重税收是善政的一个必要条件，那么，政府就必需废除销售税，这种税是从已经被征过税的收入中付出的。

The risks that heirs will be forced to sell homes and firms can be mitigated¹⁰ by allowing them to pay the duties gradually, from cash-flow rather than by fire-sales. 子孙后代将被迫出售房产和公司的风险可能因为允许他们从现金流中而不是通过折价甩卖逐渐地纳税而得到缓解。

 

1 entrenchment   

n.壕沟，防御设施

参考例句：

• Right below the entrenchment, you will find another underground bunker. 在堑壕的下方，你能找到另一个地下碉堡。 来自互联网
• There has been a shift in opinion on the issue after a decade of entrenchment. 在那议题上十年的固守之后，有了转变的看法。 来自互联网

2 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

3 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

4 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

5 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

6 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

7 clogs   

木屐； 木底鞋，木屐( clog的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Clogs are part of the Netherlands national costume. 木屐是荷兰民族服装的一部分。
• Clogs are part of the Dutch traditional costume. 木屐是荷兰传统装束的一部分。

8 bequests   

n.遗赠( bequest的名词复数 )；遗产，遗赠物

参考例句：

• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He left bequests of money to all his friends. 他留下一些钱遗赠给他所有的朋友。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

10 mitigated   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cost of getting there is mitigated by Sydney's offer of a subsidy. 由于悉尼提供补助金，所以到那里的花费就减少了。 来自辞典例句
• The living conditions were slightly mitigated. 居住条件稍有缓解。 来自辞典例句