Comparing Estate Tax Law to Hegel

Practical and Practice issues for Professionals who practice in the area of taxation. Moral, social and economic issues relating to taxes, including international issues, the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, state tax issues, etc. Not for "tax protestor" issues, which should be posted in the "tax protestor" forum above. The advice or opinion given herein should not be relied on for any purpose whatsoever. Also examines cookie-cutter deals that have no economic substance but exist only to generate losses, as marketed by everybody from solo practitioner tax lawyers to the major accounting firms.
Cpt Banjo
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Comparing Estate Tax Law to Hegel

Post by Cpt Banjo »

In the recent case of Estate of Jelke v. Commissioner, 507 F. 3d 1317 (11th Cir. 2007) (holding that the value of a decedent's minority interest in a closely-held investment holding company must be reduced by 100% of the corporation's built-in capital gains tax liability), Judge Edward Carnes begins his dissent with this marvelous opening line:
The tax code is nowhere near the center of my intellectual life, and
generally I find estate tax law about as exciting as Hegel’s metaphysical theory of
the identity of opposites.
Great stuff.
"Run get the pitcher, get the baby some beer." Rev. Gary Davis
jg
Fed Chairman of the Quatloosian Reserve
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Re: Comparing Estate Tax Law to Hegel

Post by jg »

From http://www.friesian.com/hegel.htm#dialectic
The ultimate product of the Dialectic, however, the end of Spirit, is the Absolute Idea, which would appear to be the synthesis of absolutely everything, giving its name to Hegel's system, "Absolute Idealism." Since Hegel was the first to understand this, and since individuals have significance only in so far as they exemplify or embody some Idea, this makes Hegel the supreme individual of all history.
“Where there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.” — Plato