What is a political issue that you want to understand the opposite viewpoint more?

[Final-Fan]

Aeolus451 said:

Final-Fan said:

Let me restate the contradiction I believe Bandorr sees in your position more briefly: 
"If a person earned their wealth wanted to pass it on to someone else, they should be able to without being taxed by half or even some it."
This implies a condition to your opposition to an estate tax:  it should not be taxed on the condition that the wealth was "earned" by the person who died. 

"It doesn't matter if you or anyone else doesn't think the person who inherited the money has earned it or not because the person who gave the money as inheritance wanted their wealth passed on."
This implies that wealth should not be taxed on death regardless of whether they "earned" it, which appears to directly contradict your earlier statement.  Can you explain this discrepancy? 

Originally I was going to ask you how you defined "earned", but since you use the same term in both statements this isn't necessary for the question I just asked. 

P.S.  Aside from the above, my own question to you is:  why is an estate tax taken after a person is dead more onerous than an income, sales, or property tax taken while the person is still alive? 

It doesn't contradict my earlier statement at all. They shouldn't tax an inheritance at all. That's my position on this. 

Edit. 

To answer your question. Because it's the passing of their wealth from a dying family member to another or to a heir. It's not normal income so it shouldn't be taxed to the extent it is or at all. It's just my opinion. I consider it the same as thievery in a sense because it's not the community's money or the government's. 

On Bandorr's question:  Let me try again.  I think I see the disconnect. 
What do you define as "earning"?  Is it "receiving in any way, for any reason whatsoever"?  If a child inherits money from a dead parent, did the child earn it?  If not, does that affect whether it should be tax-free in your view if that child does nothing with the money and then dies, leaving it to their own children? 

On my question:  You completely failed to answer the question I posed.  Let me rephrase it.  Why do you think a tax collected after you DIE is more harmful than one collected in your own lifetime?  If taxes are to be collected at all, why isn't one that literally does not affect you in your entire lifetime the least harmful possible tax? 

Would you be in favor of abolishing the estate tax in a revenue neutral way—in other words, by raising taxes on other things to the same extent that the estate tax is eliminated?