In the United States the fairness of the estate tax is a hotly contested issue. What cannot be contested, however, is that the US estate tax is much fairer than the Chinese proposal.
The estate tax in China would kick in when an estate is worth a mere $129,000. The heirs would also need to pay the entire tax amount in cash within 3 months or any property to be inherited would be auctioned off.
If instituted, this proposal has the potential to cause wealthy people to flee China. Consequently, this development is something to monitor for its potential impact on the world economy, as well as China’s reaction to any fleeing citizens.
