American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
The Estate Tax and Inter Vivos Transfers over Time
American Economic Review
vol. 103,
no. 3, May 2013
(pp. 478–83)
Abstract
The strong dislike evidenced by the American public towards the estate tax suggests that the wealthy wish to transfer resources to their heirs tax-free and would thus exploit mechanisms allowing them to reduce the tax burden whenever possible. However, I find strong evidence that the wealthy fail to utilize what is perhaps the simplest method of tax avoidance--that of making transfers to eventual heirs up to the annual exclusion. Instead they transfer far less than the amount permitted by the tax code, whether measured in cross-section or over time. In failing to give more, they forgo significant tax savings.Citation
McGarry, Kathleen. 2013. "The Estate Tax and Inter Vivos Transfers over Time." American Economic Review, 103 (3): 478–83. DOI: 10.1257/aer.103.3.478Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H24 Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; includes inheritance and gift taxes
- H71 State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
- K34 Tax Law