Is the Death of Inheritance Tax Inevitable? Lessons from America

In 2001, George Bush repealed estate tax in America. This was a shock to many in the US as inherited privilege had never been popular in a country where individuals were supposed to secure the American Dream through their own efforts. The tax had existed for over a century and only 2 per cent of the richest Americans paid it. But the repeal lobby managed to build an unlikely and broad alliance against the 'Death Tax' (as they managed to rename it). The key to their campaign was a moral case against the tax, illustrated with a few well-chosen narratives. The opposition fought back, ineffectively, with pragmatic arguments and statistics. This paper will apply lessons from America to the UK politics of taxation. It will focus on the role of lobby groups and the power of moral arguments and narrative evidence over more pragmatic arguments and 'scientific' forms of evidence.     

马来西亚华人文化——传承与创新

华人从中国移居到马来西亚,除随身携带的少许物资之外便是传统文化、风俗信仰及人文精神。他们将中华文化注入日常生活中,并扎根于马来西亚,成为该国多元文化的一部分。华人文化也在实践的过程中得以创新。     

Inheritance,succession, and familial transfer in rural Westphalia, 1800–1900

This article compares property transfer contracts between generations in two Prussian parishes where marital law differed significantly in the 19th century. Our sources focus on two critical phases in peasants' life cycles at the time. Whereas young people could find the resources to settle down, the older generation had to plan for their retirement. Although sons had a better chance of inheriting the farm, female successors were not rare. A peasant daughter's overall prospects of becoming a peasant by inheriting her parent's farm or marrying a farm successor were almost as good as her brother's. The situation for older women, however, was subject to their legal standing with regards to marital property. When couples held joint marital property, men and women had the same opportunities to arrange for retirement. In contrast, when couples held separate marital property and male succession prevailed, older women were at an evident disadvantage.     

The invisible chain: niche inheritance and unequal social reproduction in preindustrial continental Europe

A central aspect of the demographic transition model is discussed: the “chain between inheritance and reproduction,” which many historical demographers claim has kept population and resources in balance during the preindustrial period. The basic mechanism is well known: Economic space is thought to be divided into a limited number of self-sufficient positions or niches; since marriage required possession—usually by inheritance—of one such niche, overpopulation was avoided. The existence of this chain in preindustrial continental Europe has generally been taken for granted, although little is known about its actual workings. As a discussion of classical and current research shows, the chain should not be understood as encompassing entire demoeconomic systems at any time or place. Rather, niche mechanisms are relevant for the behavior of specific social groups and as communal or other political strategies. The need for alternative explanations of sociobiographic inequality—such as the impact of kinship on life-course decisions and chances—is emphasized.     

Strategies of inheritance among Kentish fishing communities in the later Middle Ages

Anthropologists and historians have long been interested in the subject of inheritance. One area that has received considerable attention is the connections between property, production and the family. Researchers have noted the complexity of the systems used by donors and recipients whereby assets are transmitted, including matters of timing, life cycle stage and the formation of relationships. One of the most significant times is death. For the family, the death of a spouse often has severe implications for its production and reproduction, and the strategies of inheritance employed affect its subsequent history. Studies of post-mortem inheritance have primarily investigated agricultural communities. This article seeks to test their findings by exploring the links between occupation and inheritance, and between identity and inheritance with respect to the fishing families from two small late medieval Kentish towns. The exceptionally good testamentary materials for the fishermen of Lydd and Folkestone reveal the deployment of a number of post-mortem inheritance strategies. By indicating the importance of significant relations in the transference of material and symbolic capital at this critical time, the study provides a greater understanding of the role of inheritance in familial and communal replication.     

Gender Differences in Land Inheritance,Schooling and Lifetime Income: Evidence from the Rural Philippines

This article examines the difference in lifetime incomes arising from parental preferences in the allocation of land inheritance and investments in schooling between sons and daughters in the rural Philippines. Sons are preferred with respect to land inheritance, receiving 0.15 additional hectares of land, while daughters are treated more favourably in schooling investments, receiving 1.5 more years of schooling. However, differences in both current and life-cycle incomes between sons and daughters are insignificant. This suggests that Filipino parents allocate intergenerational transfers to equalise incomes among their children, without sacrificing efficiency.     

试论建立我国遗产税法律制度

随着我国社会主义市场经济体制的建立和完善,个人收入差距和贫富悬殊日益扩大已是不争的事实。通过遗产税调节个人财产分布上的贫富差距,实现社会公平,完善税制,势在必行。     

The Rise of Statutory Wills and the Limits of Best Interests Decision‐Making in Inheritance

This article addresses ‘statutory wills’ executed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) for persons with impaired mental capacity. The article provides an overview of the historical development of statutory wills, before exploring their rising contemporary significance. It considers the shift from the previous ‘hypothetical substituted judgment’ test to the contemporary ‘best interests’ orientation of the MCA. The article assesses the problems that the best interests approach raises in this area, and its (in)compatibility with the right to equal recognition before the law under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, arguing that the pervasive reach of best interests in contemporary mental capacity law requires reconsideration. The paper concludes by suggesting that a more limited framing of the power to execute statutory wills is required in order to appropriately balance the rights of individuals with disabilities with practical considerations around the distribution of assets on death.     

文学遗产旅游地的开发与保护——以山东东平为例

文学遗产旅游作为文化旅游的一种,因为和体验旅游、创意旅游等新兴旅游关联密切,逐渐受到人们的关注。以中国古典四大名著《水浒传》发生地之一的山东东平为例,在分析认识文学遗产旅游的基础上,运用SWOT模式分析东平发展水浒旅游的内外部条件,提出水浒旅游的开发对策。