Check out this good opinion article on the estate tax. It mentions that not only does the estate tax affect a miniscule percentage of Americans, but it is also an important tool for redistributing wealth and leveling the playing field in our society. In his column Jim Kiser refers to a point made by Bill Gates, Sr., an extremely wealthy man and an outspoken proponent of the estate tax: Gates Sr. argues that the tax is a "due bill," a tax that causes those who had the good fortune to accumulate immense wealth to pay back the society that made their success possible with its infrastructure, legal order, stable markets and government-financed research and technology.... Gates argued that it is "people of enormous wealth" who are trying "to get rid of this tax, which they regard as, you know, as a burden they just don't want to pay." Changing the Estate Tax Draws Rich Opposition