Thanks Julia, After briefly reviewing the brochure, Probably good tax friendly advice at the time of printing advice in 2000, 14 years ago. WTBTS is using their tax free status as a charity to intercept funds that the government would receive, uhmmm, make the most out of your giving. Interesting that the brochure hasn't been updated since 2000 because U.S. Tax laws have changed alot since 2000. For instance, this is an excerpt from an article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2013/01/02/after-the-fiscal-cliff-deal-estate-and-gift-tax-explained/
"Who has to pay federal estate tax? Once you’re worth more than a certain amount, taxes shrink your estate. Under the 2010 tax law, we can each transfer up to $5 million tax-free during life or at death. That figure is called the basic exclusion amount , and it is adjusted for inflation. In 2012 it was raised to $5.12 million per person. The new tax law does not change how much you can pass tax-free. On Jan. 11 the IRS announced that, with the inflation adjustment, the estate tax exclusion amount for deaths in 2013 would be $5.25 million."
"How does this relate to lifetime gifts? The lifetime gift tax exclusion and the estate tax exclusion are expressed as a total amount – currently $5.25 million per person – and it is possible to use this exclusion (sometimes called the “unified credit”) to transfer assets at either stage or a combination of the two. If you exceed the limit, you (or your heirs) will owe tax of up to 40%."
"The IRS expects you to keep a running tally and report these gifts so it will know how much has already been used up when you die. For example, if you have used $1 million of the exclusion to make taxable lifetime gifts, the unused exclusion if you die in 2013 will be $4.25 million, rather than $5.25 million."
"Here too, couples get a special break: they can share the basic exclusion during life (this process is called gift-splitting) and give more to the kids now, tax-free. But of course this also reduces how much of the tax-free amount will be available when they die, either for their own use or to be carried over by the survivor." (Bold/italics added)