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.
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
Natural Differences and the Handicap Principle: A case for 200% inheritance tax
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches
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
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
A hated tax, but a fair one
NO TAX is popular. But one attracts particular venom. Inheritance tax is routinely seen as the least fair by Britons and Americans. This hostility spans income brackets. Indeed, surveys suggest
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
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
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
Reforming inheritance tax systems: Four guiding principles
Inheritance tax systems can play an important role in increasing social equality, yet across the world, these systems often struggle to achieve their intended aims. Étienne Fize, Nicolas Grimprel and
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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