Estate Tax: Very Nice to See

Very nice to see. Especially Senator Voinovich: "Repealing the estate tax during this time of fiscal crisis would be incredibly irresponsible and intellectually dishonest."

Senate Rejects Effort to Cut Estate Tax: WASHINGTON -- Senators voted Thursday to reject a Republican effort to abolish taxes on inherited estates during an election year with control of Congress at stake. GOP leaders had pushed senators to permanently eliminate the estate tax, which disappears in 2010 under President Bush's first tax cut, but rears up again a year later. A 57-41 vote fell three votes short of advancing the bill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said the Senate will vote again this year....

"The estate tax is an extremely costly tax for a wealthy few that comes at the expense of every other American born and yet to be born for decades to come," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.... Under current law this year, the first $2 million of a person's estate or $4 million of a couple's, escapes taxation. The remainder can be taxed at rates up to 46 percent. According to the most recent statistics available from the Internal Revenue Service, 1.17 percent of people who died in 2002 left a taxable estate....

Two Republicans, Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, broke with their party. "Repealing the estate tax during this time of fiscal crisis would be incredibly irresponsible and intellectually dishonest," Voinovich said.

There is an argument--not a very strong argument, but an argument--that a deficit-neutral repeal of the estate tax would boost saving and capital accumulation enough to be a good thing. I see no argument that an unpaid for repeal of the estate tax is a good thing.