美国国家公共电台 NPR As GOP Lawmakers Eye Cutting Estate Tax, Will They Increase Income Inequality?

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Republicans in Congress are on the verge¹ of fulfilling a long-held dream. The House and Senate have passed bills that would eliminate or reduce the tax that people pay when they inherit large estates - larger than $5.5 million. It's part of the massive tax overhaul² legislation that is in its final stages in Congress right now. And even though Republicans have tried for years to scale back this tax, NPR's Jim Zarroli says this effort goes further.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE³: The last time the estate tax was repealed⁵, the move was temporary. During the George W. Bush administration, Congress gradually reduced the tax and then ended it altogether in 2010. But the tax came back the next year and remains⁶ in place today. Now Republicans are pushing a permanent repeal⁴. Here was House Speaker Paul Ryan on Fox News recently.

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PAUL RYAN: We just think it's unfair. Death should not be a taxable event, and we should not be stopping people from being able to pass their life's work onto their kids.

ZARROLI: This time, Republicans could get their way. The bill approved by the Senate would double the estate tax exemption⁷, which means many fewer people would have to pay it. The House version would reduce the tax and then scrap⁸ it in 2023. And these bills would be more generous to heirs than previous repeal attempts because of a provision in the tax code. That provision means, if you have an asset that's climbed a lot in value over the years, like your Apple stock or a Warhol print, you can leave it to your heirs, and they don't have to pay taxes on the appreciation⁹. New York University law professor Lily Batchelder says this goes beyond previous repeal bills.

LILY BATCHELDER: It would really mean that these giant estates - a lot of them would have never been taxed under the income tax, and then there no longer would be an estate tax.

ZARROLI: Critics of the estate tax, like Scott Hodge of the Tax Foundation, point out that it only raises about $19 billion for the Treasury¹⁰ each year, but it hurts the economy.

SCOTT HODGE: Its effect on the economy is outsized, in terms of what it does to change people's decision-making, in terms of the kind of investments they make, how they set up their affairs and other things. And so it can have a pretty serious consequence on economic growth.

ZARROLI: Hodge says the estate tax encourages people to spend money on tax lawyers and tax shelters. He says it can be really burdensome for people who inherit assets that are worth a lot but are cash poor, like certain kinds of businesses, so people who inherit them may be forced to break them up or sell them off. But people who want to keep the estate tax point out that such cases are really rare. NYU's Lily Batchelder says the estate tax has an important function.

BATCHELDER: The estate tax is basically a way of partially¹¹ leveling the playing field so that these heirs of massive estates don't have quite as gigantic a leg up in life.

ZARROLI: That's important, she says, at a time of growing inequality. But if the repeal effort fails, it could be less about the wealth gap than the budget deficit¹². Numerous analysts¹³ say the tax overhaul will increase government debt. That means Republicans could once again be forced to reduce the estate tax but not eliminate it altogether. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

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1 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

2 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

5 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

8 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

9 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

10 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

11 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

12 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。