Repeal the Estate Tax

If I understand correctly, the Senate is up to debate the Estate (Death) tax soon. I am a strong supporter of repealing this tax. Although most proponents of the tax scream "deficit" and "wealthy tax credit" the truth of the matter is this tax makes it nearly impossible for farmers to pass their land onto their children. If the value of your land approaches $1 million (which isn't hard to do anymore) the Estate tax could get you by almost 50%. That means if your father owns land and he passes away - passing the land on to you you would owe the government close to $500,000. This is completely unacceptable.

The whole "tax cuts for the rich" line is growing old, especially when people ignore "small" businesses and farms which in many ways fall into higher income levels and are taxed accordingly.

End the Estate Tax. I hope that someone will post a rebuttal.

Update:

I'm glad that I got a few responses - neither of them convincing. The first claims that the Estate tax really isn't a big deal:

The effect of the estate tax on family businesses and farms has been wildly exaggerated. Only 3 of every 10,000 people who die leave a taxable estate in which a family business forms the majority of the estate.

...

In addition, On April 8, 2001, the New York Times reported that the pro-repeal American Farm Bureau Federation could not cite a single case of a family farm lost due to the estate tax. Furthermore, only 3 of every 10,000 people who die leave a taxable estate in which a farm forms the majority of the estate. Like businesses, family farms can be protected by raising exemption levels.

So it seems that this person's argument against repealing the tax is that it doesn't effect farmers anyway. In part that's true, because farmers who know their children are going to get hit with a tax that will bankrupt them do something about it. Farmers aren't stupid people - when they see this tax as a possibility they correct for it, transferring their estate in portions before their retirement. That makes the 3 out of 10,000 people who left their farm and got taxed even more tragic - the people most likely died unexpectedly.

Also, the Farm Bureau can't find evidence one farm lost? Well of course not - even if you would owe $500,000 in taxes for your land you couldn't really give it up could you? Mortgages, loans, and bankruptcy is what these farmers resort to to keep their livelihood. Saying no farmers had lost their farms is good, but it hardly ilegitimizes my argument.

The other reader claims that people will be exempt for up to $7 million. That's true - until 2010 when the exemption drops down to $1 million again. Their argument, as is mentioned in the first, is to raise the exemption. I agree - and we should do it permanently - up to at least $10 million. But then again, what is the purpose of taxation? If we raise the Estate tax to affect literally only the richest of the rich (Walmart, Mars Candy, and Campbell Soup) is taxation just a punishment for the transfer of a successful enterprise?

I still think we should repeal the tax.