Cato Institute on Tax Reform

Estate tax won't hit billionaires--only regular millionaires

The truth is that these ultra-rich Americans aren't being as selfless as it may seem. Most billionaire families engage in careful estate tax planning by, for example, depositing their fortunes into family foundations--to avoid having the long arm of the IRS reach into their graves for a dime.

The dirty little secret of the death tax is that the people clobbered by it are not billionaires. More often they are ordinary Americans with medium sized estates--the millionaire next door. I am talking about ranchers, farmers and self-starter business owners. Every year thousands of heirs are forced to sell the family farm or business to pay estate taxes. It's unjust given that this tax is imposed on dollars already taxed when the income was earned.