Studies by the Joint Economic Committee, the National Center for Policy Analysis, the Institute for Policy Innovation, the American Council for Capital Formation, the Research Institute for Small and Emerging Businesses, the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, Tax Notes, and others focus attention on the impact of the death tax on the economy. Not surprisingly they all found the death tax causes lower savings, less capital accumulation, lower growth, and fewer jobs. Some of these studies found the economic costs of the death tax result in lower overall revenues to the federal treasury than if the tax were eliminated. It follows that a tax designed to confiscate accumulated savings discourages industry and hurts the economy. What doesn't follow is the number of academics and politicians who continue to support this tax.
Lavish consumption is neither a conservative nor liberal priority.
We all do. We pay it through lower wages and fewer jobs. In high-unemployment regions like Upstate New York and elsewhere, the death tax destroys badly needed jobs before they are created. We pay it through the destruction of our communities. In hundreds of American towns, small, family-owned businesses are struggling to survive against the competition provided by large corporate retailers.