I have to disagree. Although I think the present tax system is far too complex, a gift tax is no more absurd than a wage tax or a sales tax. All three tax the transfer of financial wealth from one individual to another. At least with the wage and sales tax it is actually an even swap (work or goods for money) whereas the gift tax there is no quid pro quo. Since gifts, excluding charitable gifts, (theoretically) have little if any benefit to society compared to employment or the exchange of goods, wouldn’t it actually make sense to tax gifts even more than the other two.
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