Nowhere has this been more successful than in the transformation of the estate tax into the so-called death tax. The estate tax now faces near certain extinction even though almost no one pays it, and very few even face the prospect of paying it. When President Clinton left office, the estate tax rate was 55% and the total exemption was $675,000. The estate tax was phased out over 10 years, but because of budget rules, it would return in 2011 absent new legislation. And despite a top rate of 40%, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center says those returns averaged an effective tax rate of about 17%.

Source: Forbes February 22, 2017 15:33 UTC