Myths Regarding the Estate Tax

A recent MSN Money article discusses the following, which the author calls estate tax myths:

1. Whether a lot of people are subject to the federal estate tax.
2. Whether the estate tax means that your money is taxed twice; income tax and estate tax.
3. Whether an estate subject to the federal estate tax can find a way to avoid it entirely.
4. Whether the government spends more money collecting the federal estate tax than it actually collects.
5. Whether the federal estate tax puts family farms and small businesses in jeopardy.

See the article by Liz Pulliam Weston, 5 estate-tax myths that won’t die, MSN, Aug. 3, 2009, for more information on the author’s viewpoint regarding these five issues and an interesting summary of options for the estate tax in 2011.