This is a great article from Estate of Denial discussing why the estate tax is a dumb tax and is a fail in terms of both social and fiscal policy.  According to the article, the estate tax actually reduces total federal tax revenue, fails to reduce income inequality and has little to no effect on wealth inequality.

“This study confirms that the cost of the estate tax far exceeds any benefits it produces.”

So begins “Cost and Consequences of the Federal Estate Tax” published last week by the Republican Staff of the Joint Economic Committee, whose vice chairman, Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, continues to make his mark as a leader of the pro-growth wing of the House GOP.  The report’s documentation of how the death tax fails as both fiscal and social policy stands as a timely rebuttal to the politics of envy promulgated by President Barack Obama and the leadership of the Democratic Party.

My conclusion: the death tax deserves the sobriquet: the “dumb tax.”