Abraham Lincoln found himself at the head of a government that was divided amongst itself on how to proceed, given that the southern half of the country was teetering on the edge of secession.
I've noticed that employees don't contribute much when the envelope makes its rounds. I'd say their contributions average $3 per person, tops. I don't want to appear cheap to our boss presenting him with a departmental retirement gift of less than $200 (there is 60 people in the department). I want to ask the staff to increase their contribution to $30 per person, so we can give my boss an $1800 gift.
Further, gift givers can subtract amounts greater than $14,000 from a lifetime exemption amount (without having to pay taxes on it). This is known as the unified credit. This amount was $5.43 million per person in the 2015 tax year, and is $5.45 million in the 2016 tax year. However, givers must report these gifts to the IRS by filing a gift tax return, or Form 709. Keep in mind, however, that tapping your unified credit reduces the amount that can be excluded from your federal estate tax when you die.