Estate Tax

The House just recently voted to repeal the estate tax. The best argument against the "death" tax is that it discourages savings. In the words of Stephen Moore:

"The death tax rewards the life of lavish and unproductive consumption it is intended to discourage. This tax says to the elderly: Live high on the hog. Wrap yourself in material comfort. Eat, drink, be merry. You can't take it with you, and you can't leave most of it to your kids. Your goal is to die broke -- the ultimate form of tax avoidance. Meanwhile the frugal men and women who scrimp and save and build a legacy to leave to their children are hit by a tax that allows the IRS to snatch more than half. Through the death tax, we reward vice and punish virtue."

Unfortunately, whether or not the Senate will vote to repeal the tax is unclear.