Senate poised to try another estate tax repeal

Kevin Drum has some estate tax fun facts. Actually, they're not-so-fun facts, with lots of additional links. Congressional Republicans have been pushing as hard on this as the perpetually unpopular ANWR drilling effort. Unfortunately, while it's obvious what a bunch of oil wells do to a nature preserve, the estate tax movement has been pretty skilled in misleading the public-- mainly through pretending that it would destroy small businesses and farms.

• Under the $3.5 million/45% plan, we would retain 60% of the revenue that we get from the current estate tax. This would pay for about half of the projected Social Security shortfall.

• 99.7% of all estates would pay no tax at all.

• Only 50 (that's "fifty," not "fifty thousand") farms and small business would owe any estate tax.

• Conversely, repealing the estate tax entirely would cost nearly $1 trillion over ten years. That's "trillion," not "billion."