TY  - JOUR
AU  - Gale,William G.
AU  - Slemrod,Joel B.
TI  - Rethinking the Estate and Gift Tax: Overview
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8205
PY  - 2001
Y2  - April 2001
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8205
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8205.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
William Gale
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202/797-6148
Fax: 202/797-6181
E-Mail: wgale@brookings.edu

Joel Slemrod
University of Michigan Business School
701 Tappan Street
Room R5396
Ann Arbor, MI  48109-1234
Tel: 734/936-3914
Fax: 734-615-4323
E-Mail: jslemrod@umich.edu
AB  - This paper surveys, integrates, and extends research on estate and gift taxes.  The paper begins with information on features of U.S. transfer taxes, characteristics of recent estate tax returns, the evolution of transfer taxes, the role of such taxes in other countries, and theory and evidence concerning why people give intergenerational transfers.  The next sections examine the incidence, equity, and efficiency of  transfer taxes.  Subsequent sections cover administrative issues and the effects on saving, labor supply, entrepreneurship, inter vivos gifts, charitable contributions, and capital gains realizations.  The paper closes with a discussion of policy options and a short conclusion.
ER  -