Interesting article in today’s Christian Science Monitor:  Congress Weighs Estate-Tax Break for Wealthy, by Mark Trumbull & Gail Russell Chaddock:

More than $40 trillion in personal wealth is expected to change hands in America during the next five decades, as baby boomers and their children transfer wealth to heirs. Congress has to decide how big Uncle Sam’s share will be. Republican lawmakers hope to permanently reduce the estate tax this summer. The move could allow more of that $40 trillion to escape the tax.

Those who stand to reap the big gains are billionaires, millionaires, and their heirs. But every taxpayer has a stake in the outcome. An estate-tax overhaul could affect the nation’s social structure and the tax burden on ordinary Americans for years to come. "The revenue involved is not trivial," says Joel Slemrod, a University of Michigan economist. "What makes it more important, though, is this is by far the most progressive tax we have. [A large reduction] would certainly change in a substantial way who is bearing the tax burden."