You’ve worked hard to build your estate, and maintain it over time. Eventually, it will be time to leave your estate to your children. How will you make sure that they are prepared?

Just as you have a responsibility to manage your wealth, you have a responsibility to educate your children about how to manage it. Children also have a responsibility to learn. It’s your job to show them the way.

The dialogue about family wealth changes over time. Children might have a certain frame of reference as teenagers, but that dynamic changes once they marry and spouses are introduced into the family. The conversation about transfer of wealth happens over and over again, at different milestones in life. As the point of departure nears where there will be some significant asset transfer, all of the cumulative talks where you have been educating and steering the child over time will have to be used in their OWN lives.

Monday ( Sept 21) on the “Ash Cash Show” Ash Cash shared praise and admiration to his daughter, her growth and respect for money is inspiring, as she is active in the family  business. At the tender age of twelve, seeing her using her earned income to purchase her own items, was a delight for him to see.  Like most parents should, Ash Cash used the best time to start talking to his child about money and the family’s assets as early as he felt comfortable. The process ultimately has two parts that should be handled separately: teaching money skills, and revealing family wealth.

Think of it as a process of apprenticeship, where your children will learn from you how your family’s estate should be handled. Incremental learning and incremental responsibility will be the cornerstones of a successful education process.

When you feel like your children are mature enough to handle wealth management, and you respect the people they are becoming, it’s time to go to the next step and educate them about the family’s wealth and their inheritance. YES! THEIR INHERITANCE. Advisors say, that making them aware of your family’s wealth, and their responsibilities pertaining to it, early on will set them up for the best chance of success.

Allow your children  to sit in on business  conversations  and learn to communicate as a business owner. You need to allow the next generation to make their voices heard when it comes to philanthropic endeavors. Don’t just sit around a table and make decisions about which organizations to give family money to, encourage your heirs to participate in the work these organizations do, and experience the difference that money makes.

It’s important to teach children the story and context that’s behind the accumulation of family wealth. It involves other members of the family who built something that is being passed down. In that story, there are highs and lows, setbacks, victories, and all of this is important in setting the context for stewardship. Share with them how complex it was to achieve the wealth and what it takes to keep it.

The education is KEY. If you have a portfolio and you look at its value over time, your heirs need to understand how different withdrawal rates will affect that value. It’s frequently an eye-opener for children and families when they realize that they have to be very deliberate about this process in order to preserve the wealth through generations.

Remember: This sense of accountability will permeate their lives and help them behave in matters of generational wealth.

Peace.

More and more you read about income and wealth inequality in the United States your learn it is on the rise. This fact has been highlighted by several 2020 presidential candidates, who believe that wealth is too highly concentrated at the top. One proposal to redistribute wealth from the top earners is a wealth tax (there are currently several versions of this tax being suggested). While most taxes hit a flow of money (like when you earn money via an income tax or when you buy a product via a sales tax), a wealth tax hits stagnant money, such as business assets, personal belongings, etc.

To be honest; as income and wealth inequality rise, so too does its prominence in political discussions. 

Americans “strongly agree” that the wealthiest individuals should pay higher taxes. According to a Federal Reserve Survey, “families at the top of the income distribution saw larger gains in income between 2013 and 2016 than other families, consistent with widening income inequality.”

This trend has led prominent government officials and various 2020 Presidential Candidates to recommend policies to curb wealth at the top income brackets. Some recommend increasing corporate taxes, others recommend increasing progressivity of existing income taxes, closing loopholes, increasing estate taxes, implementing a wealth tax or some combination of all proposals. The remainder of this article will specifically focus what we call Wealth Tax

Based on research ,

A wealth tax is most similar to a property tax, except instead of taxing property ownership exclusively, a wealth tax would be a tax on all assets. This includes personal belonging (i.e. clothes, jewelry, cars), business assets (i.e. Jeff Bezos’ interest in Amazon), investments (i.e. money that millionaires put into other companies), and may even include foundations (i.e. the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation).

The wealth tax is considered an aggressive plan and has been a topic of hot debate not only between politicians and business leaders, but also amongst economists. Both sides believe that the tax system should be equitable and promote growth.

WHO ARE THE SUPPORTERS?

Supporters of the wealth tax say it will promote a redistribution of wealth to those who need it most. Opponents of the proposal say it will be challenging to implement and will ultimately hurt economic growth and job creation

PROS OF A WEALTH CREDIT

A wealth tax would help reduce wealth inequality, which is at historically high levels. Typical income taxes are not an effective way to tax the ultra-wealthy as they earn most of their money via investments and other means. Another reasons is,Some self-made and inherited billionaires have called for a wealth tax. A group of nineteen billionaires and multi-millionaires signed an open letter supporting the wealth tax as a “moral, ethical, and economic responsibility” to improve the economy, health outcomes, and democratic freedoms.

Lastly on reasons A wealth tax will increase tax revenue to the federal government and allow funds to be redistributed.

WHAT ARE THE CONS ?

A wealth tax punishes success and will hurt the economy by discouraging business investments.

• Roughly 80% of millionaires in the U.S. earned their wealth instead of inheriting it. A wealth tax unfairly punishes success of individuals who, on average, work more hours than lower-wage earners

To add a wealth tax may be deemed unconstitutional and an ineffective means to curb wealthy individual’s influence. However, we look at everything we are concerned with the political influence of wealthy individuals — we should strengthen campaign finance laws, not cap wealth potential.

Are we starting to build Black Wall Street 2.0 with the latest merger between Broadway Financial Corporation and City First Banc Corporation?  In August, two black owned banks, Broadway Financial Corporation and City First Banc Corporation decided to come together to create the largest black-led minority depository institution in the United States.  Broadway and City First each hold a strong financial position as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).  Both banks have a history of advancing economic and social equity through capital in low to moderate income communities.   As of June 30, 2020, Broadway and City First have deployed a combined $1.1 billion in loans and investments in their communities since 2015.

This merger will create jobs, close funding gaps, expand critical social services, and economic development.  As Brian E. Argrett, who is President and CEO of City First Bank and the Vice Chair and CEO of the new combined institution stated, “Given the compounding factors of a global pandemic, unprecedented unemployment and social unrest resulting from centuries of inequities, the work of CDFIs has never been more urgent and necessary”. “As part of this historic merger, we are demonstrating that thriving urban neighborhoods are viable markets that require a dedicated focus, long-term commitment and critical access to capital.”

Wayne-Kent Bradshaw, Broadway’s President and CEO and now the board leader also stated: “The new combined institution will strengthen our position and will help drive both sustainable economic growth and societal returns,” “We envision building stronger profitability and creating a multiplier effect of capital availability for our customers and for the communities we serve.”

This merger is a game changer in the financial industry to be the largest minority depository institution, but also for the communities the institution serves.  The economic development and growth this merger will bring to help create jobs, create opportunities for business owners, and homeowners are just the start.  The communities the institution will invest in will create social services by allowing children to see another career choice.  We are expecting great opportunities for this merger to show society when we invest in urban communities, the outcome for neighborhoods and future generations are sure to change.

We are continuing to take back our power as consumers and we are not waiting for anyone to save us. We are reaching back into our own communities by investing in them while changing the narrative.  This merger will open doors for new business owners to seek small business loans. The long-term renter that will have the opportunity to seek first-time home buyer’s guidance from a bank that not only looks like them but also can relate to their plight. The young graduate can start their career at one of the bank locations that will be created. Possibilities are endless with this merger from job creations to improving the people lives in the surrounding community.  It our modern day, The Banker, the movie based off a true story, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie.  In the movie, the two crusaders purchased real estate, banks, and buildings to make opportunities available to the black community.

The merger is expecting to expand in the banks’ current geographic areas and to expand to other high-potential urban markets, throughout the United States.  The merger is expected to close the first quarter of 2021. We are looking forward to the future of Broadway and City First Banc, where this may be a start of the new Black Wall Street.