The Treasury issued OTA Paper 100 on November 1, 2007. The paper, authored by David Joulfaian, claims to "shed light on the inner workings of the gift tax," by detailing its history, structure, and revenue effects. The Paper also points out that the divergence between the tax treatments of lifetime gifts and bequests provides taxpayers with varying behavioral incentives. It concludes that the gift tax is not effictively coordinated with the income tax or the estate tax and that its features should be re-examined. U.S. Treasury, Office of Tax Analysis Paper 100, "The Federal Gift Tax: History, Law and Economics," David Joulfaian (Nov. 2007).
Now, if only the Treasury would issue a similarly clear paper to shed light on the inner workings of the GST...
Posted by Kiersten Jensen, Estate and Gift Tax Developments Columnist, Wealth Strategies Journal.
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