The Economic Consequences Of Repealing The Estate Tax Law

Abstract

The federal estate tax has been a part of our tax structure since the founding of the country. It is the federal government’s only tax on accumulated transfers of wealth. From its inception in 1916, it has been applied only to very large estates. The transfer of wealth can take place during the individual’s life (gift) or at the time of death (estate).  Both types of transfer are combined and taxed according to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1976. The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1976 was an important legislation affecting the structure of both the federal estate and gift taxes. In this Act, a unified system of taxation was established which treats both transfers of wealth, either during the life of the owner (gift) or at his or her death (estate) uniformly.

The recent legislation of 2001 made drastic changes to the tax rates and the level of exemptions of the 1976 federal estate tax. According to this legislation, the maximum estate tax rate will drop gradually during the period of 2002-2010. Beginning in 2002, the maximum unified tax rate is reduced from 55% to 50%. This drop will reach to 45% by the year 2007 and will remain unchanged till 2009. The limit of exemption for a taxable transfer of wealth will increase from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 by the year 2004, to $2,000,000 by 2006, to $3,500,000 by 2009, and to infinity by 2010 (estate tax will be repealed).  This original version of federal estate tax will come back in 2011, unless the Congress decides differently and changes the law.

Like other social, economic, and tax issues, the transfer of wealth tax (estate and gift) is subject to debate and disagreements. The opponents of the estate tax support their views by referring to the immorality aspect of the tax and its undesired economic consequences. The supporters of the estate tax present their arguments on the basis of fairness and the ability of the tax to encourage charitable contributions. In addition, they believe that the economic consequences of repealing the estate tax would ripple through our economy and reduce federal revenues. Consequently, it could bring inequity and unfair distribution of wealth among the citizens and eventually could culminate in high difference in the class level of citizens.

In our view, the federal estate tax is a tax worth fighting to keep and attempting to improve. If it were repealed, the burden of taxes would be felt more by those who have no wealth and had paid their income taxes on their earned income once before. Consequently, the lawmakers should keep the federal estate tax and fixing it by adjusting the amount of exemptions and the tax rates to reasonable, effective, and fair levels.