[David]

There is an additional numbers point here. Although receipts from the Death Tax may be around 1% of the total budget, the cost of collection is far higher than the income tax. IRS maintains a special audit and collection section devoted exclusively to death and gift taxes. Skilled lawyers and accountants with significant market value.

And the arguments with taxpayers are frequent and involve large amounts of money--imagine trying to figure out what an estate including significant amounts of illiquid or intangible assets is worth--with no real comparable valuation evidence. Farms, family businesses and similar assets provide comparable challange.

And the author is correct about the creative avoidence scheme. Since the tax return requirement is effective, all of these schemes come to the surface and are the subject of expensive arguments.

End of the day--having been a tax lawyer for many years, my view is that the net return from the death and gift tax is negligible--perhaps less than zero. The obvious tax that should be repealed tomorrow.

[FreedomSurge]

I have thought that the estate tax should be equal to the capital gains rate levied on estates over 1.5 million with no charitable deductuions. What say you?

[Carolinamom]

After paying taxes on his property during his life time, why should the deceased have to pay taxes on his property AFTER death? (I know the beneficiaries do it, but in effect the dead person is paying.)