The Estate Tax Scam

I don't usually get into tax and economic issues, because I don't understand the intricacies -- or supposed intricacies (I'm not convinced they're as complicated as tax lawyers like to make out). This was an eye-opener.

Here's a brief article from Public Citizen about the cabal of superwealthy families who have been bankrolling the campaign to repeal the estate tax.

The multimillion-dollar lobbying effort to repeal the federal estate tax has been aggressively led by 18 super-wealthy families, according to a report released today by Public Citizen and United for a Fair Economy at a press conference in Washington, D.C. The report details for the first time the vast money, influence and deceptive marketing techniques behind the rhetoric in the campaign to repeal the tax.

It reveals how 18 families worth a total of $185.5 billion have financed and coordinated a 10-year effort to repeal the estate tax, a move that would collectively net them a windfall of $71.6 billion.

The report profiles the families and their businesses, which include the families behind Wal-Mart, Gallo wine, Campbell’s soup, and Mars Inc., maker of M&Ms. Collectively, the list includes the first- and third-largest privately held companies in the United States, the richest family in Alabama and the world’s largest retailer.

Here's a copy of the report (PDF).

And here's a post by Digby comparing some of the estimated tax savings for these eighteen families with the programs that are being cut back because of our deficit.