Just before Christmas, President Trump signed the Republican tax bill into law. Changes to the estate tax included in the bill are a $4.5-million Christmas gift to each of the wealthiest families in America. President Trump was absolutely right when he told his friends, “You all just got a lot richer.”
At a time of stagnant wages and rising inequality, Republican changes to the estate tax take us in the wrong direction. Although Republicans often claim that the estate tax is double taxation, it frequently applies to investments gains that were never taxed in the first place. The estate tax is a century-old bulwark against inequality and incentivizes charitable giving. The $83 billion that Republicans will put on the national credit card to cut the estate tax would have been better spent on almost anything, such as reducing child poverty or making education more affordable.
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