Estate Tax: Justice or Theft?

Nov. 16, 2010— -- While Congress decides whether to repeal the return of the federal estate tax, leaving much needed income to close the growing budget deficit hanging in the balance, some Christian taxpayers are using ethical and theological arguments on opposite sides of the debate.

Gary Dawson, a coal miner in Gilette, Wyo., said the Bible clearly mandates people to help the poor, but paying additional taxes to the government is detrimental to such a call.

"I just think people need to understand that our creator blessed us in different ways," Dawson said. "I think the government as the great equalizer is equivalent to theft."

If the estate tax returns as scheduled Jan. 1, 2011, after a one-year hiatus, the estates of the richest Americans will be taxed at 55 percent, with an exemption of $1 million for individuals. The bill that the House passed in 2009, but which the Senate stalled, called for a maximum tax rate of 45 percent on an estate and a $3.5 million exemption.

Congress reconvened Monday for the first time since the Nov. 2 election, and it is unclear what changes will be made before the estate tax repeal expires.

There are "ongoing conversations taking place," said a representative for Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., the chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, which has jurisdiction over tax issues.

The American Family Business Institute, a secular trade association of family business owners working to repeal the estate tax completely, estimated that 245 members of the House and 49 members of the Senate will likely vote for a repeal of the estate tax.

Adam Nicholson, a spokesman for the institute, said these numbers create a majority in the House and near-majority in the Senate. "Those are the base, minimum numbers we have," Nicholson said of the lame-duck Congress.

President Obama has invited leaders to a bipartisan meeting Thursday, when he hopes to discuss, among other topics, the tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003. Although the estate tax mostly affects the richest Americans, changes in other taxes, such as those on dividends, capital gains and the Alternative Minimum Tax, may affect a broader base of taxpayers.