Wealth Transfer Tax Repeal: Some Thoughts on Policy and Planning

Abstract

This article briefly reviews the arguments, both pro and con, that will inform the debate over wealth transfer tax repeal. We confess, at the outset, our own prejudice in favor of retaining the system, though we do believe that much work needs to be done in the area of reform. We then turn our attention to the income tax savings that, with careful planning, repeal would make indirectly possible. Our objective in previewing this planning is not simply to provide an alert as to the issues we will face as practitioners under repeal but also to make certain that all of the consequences of repeal will be fully considered before Congress and the new administration reach a final decision on the question of transfer taxation.