inheritence vs. equal opportunities
startequal aims to shed light on the relation between inheritence and equal opportunities in life. It promotes the idea that an abolition of inheritance or a high inheritence tax rate regime is a precondition for (more) equal opportunities. The platform provides analysis and a repository of articles to contribute to the debate of how to counter the rising inequalities levels from a social-liberal perspective.
Analysis
Access startequal's own analysis and policy proposals for discussion.
Background
A collection of media and research articles on inheritance and related topics.
Community
Connect to our network of like-minded individuals and organisations.
Analysis & Proposals
Find our own analysis and policy proposals for a more liberal and just inheritance legislation below.
The ‘Abolition of inheritance’: Theodor Oelenheinz
In the times of socialist revolutions in post-war Germany, the lawyer Theodor Oelenheinz, son of a bank director from Karlsruhe, grandson of the former finance minister of Baden (Germany) Karl
Disability and Opportunity: Can Inheritance Bridge the Gap?
One of the underlying assumptions in this text has been that financial privilege correlates with other privileges (see for instance our article on Biological Feudalism). The idea, put simply, is that
Second-best at best: Why a wealth tax is no alternative to inheritance tax, nor a very good complement
In the discussion of inheritance taxes, wealth taxes feature prominently, sometimes as a useful complement, but often as an alternative. Where inheritance and gift taxes are one-off transfer taxes, wealth
Inheritance Rights: A Constitutional Perspective
Sometimes, if all other arguments fail, defenders of inheritance will point towards the constitution and argue that its simply legally not possible to substantially or fully tax/abolish inheritance. Indeed many
Biologocial Feudalism
Biological Feudalism Privilege can not only be passed on through economic or sociocultural channels, but also much more directly and fundamentally by biological means. The development of personal abilities and
Inheritance as an equaliser?
Inheritance is sometimes touted as a mechanism that can reduce inequality by spreading wealth more evenly across society. This can technically be true, as there are a number of statistical
Background on Inheritance
Find a curated selection of media and science articles on issues around inheritance, wealth and income inequality, taxation, family business sucession, and more below
OECD calls for higher inheritance tax after Covid pandemic
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that warns wealth inequality will rise over the next decade unless death duties also increase. Decades of rising asset prices and a
Optimal inheritance tax rate
Scholars estimate the optimal inheritance tax rate to be around 50%–60% or larger. In a 2012 article, Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez find that the optimal inheritance tax rate might
Expropriation? Why 100 percent inheritance tax would be better
The article explores possible justifications for 100 percent inheritance tax. It’s based on the belief that equality of opportunity is not only a social but also a deeply liberal idea.
Earned vs. unearned: the German and Austrian discourse on inheritance tax
The authors of this study have evaluated 3573 arguments within the German and Austrian public discourse on inheritance tax. First clear result: he public opinion goes against inheritance taxes. This doesn’t
Inheritance is key to the concentration of wealth
The paper by Pirmin Fessler and Martin Schürz, both from the Austrian National Bank, argues that, across all euro area countries, inheritance plays a decisive role in defining the relative
More than half of all inheritances and gifts go to the richest ten percent
Recent research from DIW Berlin shows how the wave of inheritances increases absolute wealth inequality and that policymakers should counteract this. German private wealth has more than doubled over the
Community
We are a community of people from different places and backgrounds united by the believe that inheritance and inequality are inherently linked.
We are a loose network of individuals and organisations interested in the inequality-inheritence nexus, powering this website, and pushing for change. We are open and looking forward to further interested parties to join the movement. There is various ways to contribute.
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