Tax Policy Center: Estate TaxesTax Policy Center reports on: Estate Taxes - The Tax Policy Center is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. The Center is comprised of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget, and social policy who have served at the highest levels of government.The Life (and Death) of the Estate and Gift Tax- June 30, 2003 The modern federal estate and gift tax imposes a graduated tax schedule on transfers of property at death (the estate tax) and while living (the gift tax). Supporters of the tax see it as a way of ensuring that the wealthiest of Americans pay a larger share of taxes or else give away a larger share of their wealth to charity. Detractors view it as a "death tax"--a complex, unfair, and inefficient levy that penalizes the thriftiness of the deceased.http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?id=1000506&RSSFeed=Estate_Taxes.xm... |