So now we see another lie of the ultra-rich exposed. That the inheritance tax is unfair because the money was taxed at the time it was made. Not remotely true.
What the fragment of Donald Trump’s 1995 return reminds us is simple and obvious. Losses on paper are taken when they are advantageous. Gains can be kept unrealized, and untaxed, until the day the billionaire dies. George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees for less than ten million. Worth more than a billion when he died, in a year of zero estate tax. And the rest of us got screwed.
Let me check my actuarial tables for Mr. Trump. Male, 70 years old, obese, steady diet of junk food. Aha! Another scheme to avoid paying yearly income or capital gains taxes.
And, of course, Mister I Will Make the Tax System Fair plans to eliminate the estate tax all together. And then go tax free up to the great Trump Tower in the Sky.