George W. Bush once spotted a 45 percent estate tax during his presidency. The wealthy will likely find a larger one in 2011. (Photo: Klearchos Guide to the Galaxy)

At the end of 2009, Congress allowed former President George W. Bush’s estate tax to expire. At the time, the Senate literally encouraged rich people near the end of their lives to postpone their terminal engagement with the choir invisible and stay alive until New Year’s Day, 2010. That way, their families would avoid having to pay a 45 percent estate tax (or death tax, if you prefer). But the estate tax appears to be on its way back in 2011, unless Congress goes against the consensus of experts and actually changes the law.

Estate tax at 55 percent, much smaller exemption

The Wall Street Journal reports that the top estate tax rate will rise to 55 percent, while the previous exemption of $3.5 million per individual taxpayer will fall dramatically to $1 million. That will rope as many as eight times more taxpayers into the estate tax arena, possibly putting some in a position where they may even have to borrow money. The example the Journal gives to illustrate the change is how the new estate tax would affect a $5 million estate. If the wealthy individual dies one minute after midnight on January 1, 2011 rather than just two minutes earlier, the added estate tax cost would be over $2 million. For a $15 million estate, the new cost would be approximately $8 million. This is prompting some heirs to wail, “I want my cash now!”

‘The largest increase in a major tax that we’ve ever seen’

Few average Americans will weep for the wealthy being separated from more of their money, of course. But this sudden turn of the taxation screw is dramatic. Joseph Thorndike of the nonprofit organization Tax Analysts told the Journal “a jump from zero to 55 percent would be the largest increase in a major tax that we’ve ever seen” and a huge pay day for the government and Internal Revenue Service. Elderly estate-holders and their heirs have come to ponder the rather perverse death incentive the looming estate tax provides. Congress has had numerous opportunities to soften the upcoming blow, but no action has been taken as yet, with fall elections on the line. Many unanswered questions – such as whether retroactive extension to the current zero-level estate tax will be approved – weigh heavily on the minds of estate holders and their kin.

Doctors do not recommend estate tax suicide

Money is never worth more than human life. This is something any doctor will tell you – it ties into their Hippocratic Oath – but not all patients are listening, including those sweating out the estate tax problem. They partake of such morbid ventures as suicide tourism, where the estate holder near the end of life travels to a nation with aid-in-dying laws. According to the Wall Street Journal, Switzerland and the Netherlands allow physicians to help people die, but only Switzerland allows its doctors to extend death “benefits” to foreign visitors.

Sources:

Wall Street Journal

Oh yeah? Well, Bill Gates’ dad likes it!

Not pictured: Orange County Assemblyman Michael Duvall. (Photo: flickr.com)

Like most unscrupulous politicians, California Assemblyman Michael Duvall could have simply told Sacramento-based lobbyist Heidi Dejong Barsuglia, “Give me my cash now!” However, what was common knowledge in the California state legislature is now common knowledge to the public. Michael Duvall was having an affair with Heidi Dejong Barsuglia (as well as at least one other woman besides his wife). The “family values” politician (is that now C Street Band code for “have sex with anything that moves?”) was apparently very open about his exploits, too. So much so that he was caught describing them by a live microphone in a Sacramento assembly chamber.

Lurid and lewd stories

The Orange County News blog reports that Michael Duvall was letting the images fly during a break in a public meeting. It was vivid, it was lewd and Duvall had no shame. This is a man who had just been named to the Rules Committee that monitors ethics. Having an affair is one thing, but for a politician to have an affair with a lobbyist presents an ethical quagmire. If you’re interested, an edited version of his comments is included in the video below. I half expected him to punctuate his story with random “giggidys,” in deference to another Quagmire.

Giggidy

In referring to Heidi Dejong Barsuglia, a married 36-year-old lobbyist who works for an energy company, Michael Duvall, 55, made explicit comments about undergarments, playful discipline and various fluids. Apparently Duvall’s family values platform has room for multiple women, but no contraception. At least he had the indecency to drop clues as to who received his family emissions.

Duvall, who is vice chairman of the assembly’s Committee on Utilities & Commerce, was widely known to socialize with Heidi Dejong Barsuglia. Anonymous sources indicate Michael Duvall’s wife Susan remained in Orange County during the week while Michael was in Sacramento. Barsuglia would make public appearances with Duvall, and they would inevitably be “arm-in-arm.” It was, according to Sacramento media, “the worst-kept secret in Sacramento.”

Heidi Dejong Barsuglia is accomplished

Her background is impressive. Sempra Energy hired her as a lobbyist. She had a law degree and once worked as a speechwriter for former California Governor Pete Wilson. She also held an important post with the California Retailers Association. Her contact with Michael Duvall began when Sempra gave the assemblyman $1,500 in campaign contributions as a way of gaining favor for their desire to be able to procure electrical power from “environmentally sensitive sources,” writes the OC News. Makes you wonder what Sempra means by their Code of Business Conduct, which states, “We’ve built [the company's] rich tradition because of the emphasis we place on ethical business conduct and compliance with the laws and regulations that govern
our business. We don’t compromise on either for the sake of success.”

Once news of the affair broke on local Sacramento news, Duvall was barraged by interview requests. He’s ducked all of them so far, as has Heidi Dejong Barsuglia.

Michael Duvall, “consistent trooper for conservative values”

Giggidy! (Photo: winmatrix.com)

Assemblyman Duvall does like to put on a show. If theatricality translated into paycheck dollars for California assemblymen, then Michael Duvall would certainly be in the proper position to exclaim, “Give me my cash now!” He drives a Harley and drives his “family values” stance home in issues surrounding gay marriage, anti-war protests and more. Despite that busy schedule, he finds time to approve of bills to aid big insurance and government contractors.

The California Republican Assembly and Capitol Resource Institute (CRI) gave him a perfect 100 percent score for his “fierce” guardianship of “traditional family values,” whatever those are. When he accepted the award from CRI, Michael Duvall proclaimed that he would continue to “work to protect California families from constant assault in Sacramento.”

If you support family values

[apply_button float="right"]

And I say this with a straight face… then you know that sometimes it’s difficult to handle those little financial emergencies that come along. Rather than pretend that you’re committed to family values and ethics as Michael Duvall and Heidi Dejong Barsuglia have, why not make a choice that can actually HELP your family. Click the button and apply for a payday loan. You just might be saying, “Give me my cash now!”

Related Video: