In either case, the crowd was the same, but the expectation and reaction were not. So it goes in the estate tax debate. Estate tax abolitionists and advocates look at the same numbers and draw different conclusions. It represents about 1.5 percent of federal tax revenue. Fewer than 48,000 estates a year, or about 2 percent of annual deaths, pay the tax.
Point of view is powerful.
And, as with many social and political debates, it's difficult for one side to understand, much less accept, the other side's point of view without getting personal and, in some cases, mean. One side says that if the estate tax is repealed, charitable contributions will plummet because wealthy folk will have no incentive to give. The other side counters that the estate tax applies only to appreciated value that has never been taxed. One side contends that if the rich don't pay, poorer folk will have to ante up to make up the tax deficit. The other side says that's a scare tactic that is unlikely to occur.