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.
Feudalism: A thing of the past?
A short review of the history of feudalism in the Middle Ages is insightful for the inheritance debate in two very different ways. On the one hand, we can see
110% inheritance tax: Compensating for privilege
As we have seen in previous articles on this blog, If this is the case, the question is not, do we need very high inheritance taxes, but rather, how high
The “Three generation” myth: Does inequality regulate itself over time?
From shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.Wealth never survives three generations.The father buys, the son builds, the grandchild sells. The above are all variations of a persistent and widespread belief
Equality of Opportunity and Equality of Outcome: It’s just not the same thing!
The key concept of social-liberalism is equality of opportunity. It rests on the insight that true liberty can only be achieved through fairness: How can I be called free if
Against Majority Opinion? Equality of Opportunity as a Constitutional Right
Can we defend inheritance taxes against majority opinion? This article claims we can, by relying on constitutional rights protecting human dignity, liberty and equality. Abolishing inheritance due to its adverse effect on equality of opportunity may thus be the next evolutionary step of our liberal democracies.
Inherited Privilege: Socio-Cultural Feudalism
Despite a formal abolishment of political feudalism through the democratic revolutions of the last centuries, a form of economic feudalism has survived up to the current day. However, privilege is not
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
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
How 100% inheritance tax rates could feed an inheritance fund for everyone
The authors discuss how a 100% inheritance tax regime may be highly contentious but morally justified. The proceeds could go into a general fund from which something like a universal
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
Why is it so difficult to tax the rich?
There is a paradox: A great majority of people would benefit from increasing taxes on the rich (and this is particularly true for inheritance taxes), but progressive tax reforms appear
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
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
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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