乔纳森·格鲁伯-财政学（第五版）gruber_5e_lecture_slides_ch23.pptxVIP

Copyright ? 2010 Worth Publishers 23Heather Luea and Dan SacksP R E P A R E D B Y23.1 Taxation and Risk Taking23.2 Capital Gains Taxation23.3 Transfer Taxation23.4 Property Taxation23.5 ConclusionTaxes on Risk Taking and Wealth 23Taxes on Risk Taking and WealthIn June 2006, Warren Buffett, the world’s second-richest man, made the shocking announcement that he was giving 85% of his shares in Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., to five foundations. The decision to donate the vast majority of his wealth to charity rather than bequeathing it to his own children was seen by many as a culmination of Buffett’s long-standing advocacy against the transfer of large estates from generation to generation. In keeping with this position, Buffett, along with other wealthy Americans such as William Gates, Sr., and George Soros, has long been an outspoken critic of moves to repeal the estate tax, a tax levied on large estates upon the death of their owners. 23Taxes on Risk Taking and WealthBuffett has argued that allowing children to inherit all of their parents’ riches causes them to be spoiled and sapped of all motivation, and keeping the tax in force helps to preserve America’s meritocracy. Many others have also defended the estate tax for its progressivity: they note that because of the high exemption levels, the tax affects only a very small portion of the wealthiest citizens upon death. Opponents of the estate tax argue it is double taxation which leads the wealthy to earn and save less. They also view it as a “death tax” that imposes a government penalty for the act of dying itself. 23Taxes on Risk Taking and WealthIn this chapter, we focus on two other aspects of taxation that might affect the savings decisions of taxpayers. The first is the taxation of risk taking. Individuals not only decide how much to save but also what form their savings will take. A particular tax policy that might affect risk taking is the taxation of capital gains, the earnings realized on the sale of capit