when do assets get a step up in basis
Stepped-up basis One possible explanation for the stepped-up basis rule under IRC ยง 1014 is to avoid the difficulty of ascertaining a decedent's adjusted basis in property that could have been held for decades.[4] A second theory is that a decedent is not likely trying to evade taxes by passing property at death, so mandating carryover basis, which would preserve the gain in the beneficiary, is unnecessary.[5] Third, the federal government imposes estate taxes on transfers of wealth at death based on those assets values as of that date.[6] Were no step up in basis allowed, the federal government could potentially receive a windfall from estates subject to estate tax by recovering federal estate tax based on capital assets' values as of a decedent's date of death, while also receiving capital gains tax when such assets are sold by an estate or a beneficiary based on the difference between the value of the asset when sold and the price at which such asset was purchased by a decedent.
Business cycle The business cycle, also known as the economic cycle or trade cycle, is the downward and upward movement of gross domestic product (GDP) around its long-term growth trend.[1] The length of a business cycle is the period of time containing a single boom and contraction in sequence. These fluctuations typically involve shifts over time between periods of relatively rapid economic growth (expansions or booms), and periods of relative stagnation or decline (contractions or recessions).