The Inheritance Tax

In the May 9, 2005 edition of The Weekly Standard, Irwin M. Stelzer penned an interesting and thoughtful piece in opposition to the repeal of the federal inheritance tax, or "Death Tax" as it is more commonly known. What makes his argument compelling, though I don’t agree with it, is the conservative case he makes for the tax’s existence, except in his first point, which is the inheritance tax’s repeal will force the federal government to search for other sources of revenue, "sources far more likely to create disincentives to economic growth." This point is only a conservative one in disguise, for I and most other conservatives look at the repeal of the inheritance tax as a means in forcing the federal government into cutting spending, not into seeking other avenues to maintain current levels.

Mr. Stelzer also argues that the repeal of the inheritance tax hampers the equality of opportunity that conservatives always trumpet, for large inheritances provide recipients with wealth that they did not earn on their own personal merit, instead creating an "incentive to indolence" as he calls it. Not only that, but he chastises conservatives who are uncomfortable with the welfare program but also oppose the inheritance tax, for in his view welfare and living off of a large inheritance are the same because both diminish the incentive to work.

Though he has a point, the similarities between the two pretty much end after that. One who lives off of welfare is not contributing to the country’s economy, and is instead taxing resources from it. An individual living off of a large inheritance on the other hand is spending that money and thus contributing to, not taxing from, the resources of the economy.

Furthermore, it is not the government’s place nor the tax code’s purpose to compel certain types of behavior, in this case to compel individuals to live off of their own wealth and not the wealth of their parents and patriarchs. Supporting the inheritance tax on this basis is no different than the justifications liberals use for all of their proposed and adopted social engineering programs. As Mr. Stelzer acknowledges in his article, it is human nature for parents to expend as much effort, usually more, on behalf of their children’s welfare as their own. The inheritance tax violates this irrefutable fact of human nature and natural law, and it’s repeal is thus justified.