One of the first items on the Republican agenda is the repeal of the estate tax. This tax was adopted 100 years ago, when it was recognized that much of the wealth accumulated by the wealthiest among us was never taxed, and the Republicans have fought tooth and nail ever since to strike it from the books.
The estate tax applies only to the value of an estate exceeding $10.9 million per couple, about 0.02 percent of estates. Despite what you will hear, only a tiny handful of small businesses and small farm estates will ever owe any estate tax. Also, despite what you will hear, even though the top statutory estate tax rate is 40 percent, the effective rate actually being paid is 16 percent.
With so much of our tax structure barely progressive at best, the estate tax is its strongest progressive element. Its repeal would shift a significant portion of the tax burden from those who are most able to pay it to those who are least able. Please urge your representative to retain the estate tax.
