So whether it is our hopeless good nature that wishes to believe in the altruism of the free gift giver (unlikely) or our burning desire to receive something-for-nothing (more likely), the freebie-seeking thread is so persistent in us that the theme remains a constant in money and life.
When transferring assets to grandchildren, grandparents can make several moves free of gift tax.
The rest will pass to the heirs free of gift tax when the trust term ends.
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All payments for qualified medical care and tuition also are free of gift tax if the donor pays the institution directly.
When the GRAT's term ends, the asset goes to the beneficiaries free of gift or estate tax on the appreciation, even though it has been transferred.
Very popular over the last ten years and different from the defective grantor trust discussed above, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) have been used to transfer appreciating assets to future generations free of gift tax.
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After the three years, any appreciation over the hurdle rate goes to your kids, free of estate and gift tax.
Former Labour MP Lord Howarth called for a quick decision on "a free gift of an enormous increase in renewable energy in Britain".
If the value of the assets in the trust (say Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) stock) grows at more than 3.2% a year, the children or other trust beneficiaries get that excess appreciation, free of estate and gift tax.
Walmart brass also attended the party, where they availed themselves of the opportunity to announce a gift of 19, 000 free tickets to the exhibition to D.
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Wayne Kong Yuk-shan, a branch officer at an Aeon office in the Central business district, says some 100 people, a number of them male, queued every day to apply for the pastel-pink card - and choose their free gift from a selection of Hello Kitty appliances. (These days, the giveaways are Kitty cup noodles and a cushion.) "Hong Kong people are very influenced by Japanese culture, so they like Kitty, " says Kong.
With app-powered toys becoming something of a must-have gift this Christmas, parents protective of their expensive, sticky fruit juice-free tablets may have cause for concern.
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You leave the shop not only with a free bottle of gin, but also with a cash gift.
But once you give away the last share, you'll have to pay rent (unless your kids let you stay rent-free and the value of this is less than the gift-tax exclusion).
In my 10 minutes of playing, I was able to participate in several random free gift opportunities mostly sent to other Farmville Facebook friends in the hopes they would give me some random gift back.
Some of these links contain offers for items like a free iPad or restaurant gift cards.
Many people celebrate their tax refund as if it was a gift, rather than the return of a forced interest-free loan.
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The Supreme Court has said that for a transfer to be a tax-free gift for the recipient, the donor must be acting out of "detached and disinterested generosity" and without expecting any economic benefit.
Indeed, economic thinkers of the World War II era understood that free trade was a growth-enhancing gift for promoting economic individual specialization and cooperation among global producers, and that a lack of unfettered trade in the 1930s arguably gave us the horror that was World War II.
Maybe the rarest gift of all: As many clients attest, Behnke seems to be refreshingly free of ego.
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One novel feature of Wrapp is the ability to give your friends not only paid gift cards, but also free gift cards.
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However, done properly, you pay no gift tax on those payments, and when you die the trust will receive the policy proceeds free of estate tax.
Then I took my phone to a poster in the duty free shop, tapped on a picture of a bottle of perfume, and was able to pay to have a gift sent home.
Advisers say some clients are waiting until Dec. 31 to make gifts to grandchildren in case Congress acts before then and to guard against the risk of paying a gift tax and then dying in 2010, when the money can be passed down estate tax-free.
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