The Estate Tax Turkey

In the spirit of the holiday, we'll put a sweet glaze on the current half-baked state of the federal estate tax law: It gives family members an opening to talk this Thanksgiving about what would happen if one of them were incapacitated or died.

Under the current law, the federal estate tax disappears in 2010, for just one year, and then reappears in 2011 in its 2001 incarnation. That's absurd and no one believes it will happen. Indeed, just last week the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing, with Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffet as the star witness, on what should be done about the estate tax.

The Estate Tax Turkey
Source: Forbes