A bid to permanently repeal the federal estate, or inheritance, tax lost to a Senate filibuster Thursday. A compromise that would tax inheritances at a lower rate than previously is still possible, however. The tax has been in phase-out mode since 2001 and on its current course would disappear in 2010, only to reappear the following year. (Think of the incentives that creates.) The possibility of repeal had Big Government folks (the Bee Gees) beside themselves because it would" cost," that is, deny the social engineers, $600 billion over ten years starting in 2011. . . .That people actually own the money they make, and have the right to distribute it to their heirs, is conveniently ignored by tax defenders.

Common Sense - 6/11/2006

Thank you for not calling it the "death tax." It is a tax on people who die and leave significant estates unsheltered, not a tax on everyone who dies. Politicians should try to fight their tendency to use misleading language, even when the language is meant to support sensible legislation.