Senator Grassley explains why the estate tax break is necessary. Seems that they just can’t poor and non-ultra wealthy people to spend it “correctly.”
Right, Because most people are not rich because they squandered $5million on booze, women and movies
What a clueless out of touch idiot (not you @romanigypsyeyes )
Now I’m not spending every darn penny I have, but I sure spend plenty on booze (good red wine), women (myself, my female dogs) and movies…is that a sin? 
Nobody with an estate of >$5mil drinks booze. Now I see where I went wrong (takes another sip of margarita)
I’m surprised I’m not dead after drinking $5mil worth of margaritas (cries into margarita)
@swimcatsmom - yes - a full mortgage pymt that includes interest. I am going to make my January mortgage pymt on 12/27 so that the interest portion is included for 2017 when I still itemize.
Holy cow romani, doesn’t senator Grassley understand how much is stimulates the economy to spend your money on booze, women and movies?
Dinosaurs are walking the earth…
“I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing,” Grassley said, “as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”
Oh for goodness sake. My estate tax prof would be livid over hearing that. And he is a fiscal conservative. Spending - at consumer or corporate level - spurs growth, not squandering $$ away to benefit little heirs in patent leather shoes.
Good suggestion @rockvillemom . We have no mortgage but I’m going to suggest to my kids they check with their banks for how much interest would have accrued by Dec 31 if they make an early payment.
Told my husband I may retire and we can live on social security and however much it takes to not make SS taxable and not pay any taxes. And i believe in paying my faiir share but I’m mad about all this
Here’s one example of how deduction complicates our lives. We are maneuvering our lives around it.
Only because they are taking it away.
Edited to remove snarkiness
Thank you @swimcatsmom for your money explanation upstream.
The crafted of this tax reform make it sound like doubling the standard deduction is the cat’s meow…when really folks will be netting about $2000 each on this because they lose that personal exemption of $4000 or so.
So really…this isn’t a great thing…not at all.
People need to speak up more about the actual amounts supposedly folks will be using. No one is getting an additional $6000 in deductions because EVERYONE is losing the $4000 personal exemption.
@swimcatsmom Are you asking me? How about you? Have you? And you don’t think Schedule A is the biggest pain in the butt? Pardon me, the second biggest pain after AMT.
Exactly @Thumper1 !
And oldies will net $800 IF they didn’t have large expenses they could previously itemize
Ahaha. I can fill Sch. A with a piece of paper and pencil and my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back any day of the week… Something ing tells me Igloo never had Sch C, D, or the actual AMT form to deal with. 
BTW. @swimcatsmom is a tax pro. B-)
I work in mortgage lending and am very familiar with tax forms - do my own every year and also help a few family members. But, it’s not like I will miss doing schedule A.
Gonna bow out for now before I say something that gets me a nastigram from the mods (no offense to the mods - you’re there for exactly that reason which is a good thing)
“I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing,” Grassley said, “as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”
I thought it was because of wasting money on Starbucks coffee.
Note that the change to the standard deduction/personal exemption doesn’t “net” you $800 or $2000. That is the change in your Taxable Income. So multiply the change in your taxable income by your top marginal rate to find the change in your net taxes.
Assuming this thing becomes law, I am not only paying my January mortgage in December but the second installment of my 2017-2018 property taxes as well. That will shield me a bit in 2018, so I’m not totally screwed until 2019 – and maybe some adults can take over the House and Senate by then.
Do you mean adults will bring deductions back? I hope not. Deductions should go. I hope the adults also eliminate charitable deductions. The poor don’t benefit much from deductions. Deductions benefit well-to-do disportionately