Few Wealthy Farmers Owe Estate Taxes, Report Says

The estate tax raised an estimated $23.4 billion last year. Repeal would shift part of the burden of taxes off the fortunes left by the richest 1 percent of Americans, some of whose fortunes were never taxed, onto the general population. The lost revenue could be made up in three ways: through higher income taxes; reduced government services; or more borrowing, which would pass the burden of current government spending to future generations.

President Bush, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association have asserted that the estate tax is destroying family farms. None, however, have cited a case of a farm lost to estate taxes, although in June 2001 Mr. Bush said he had talked to such farmers.

The estate teax, along with the death penalty and science-related political issues, fire me up because of the incredible amount of disinformation on such issues. I saw a Frontline special on marketing, and Frank Luntz, the Republican marketing asshole, was bragging how renaming the estate tax as the death tax convinced many Americans to support its repeal, even though it only affects the richest 1 percent of all Americans.