What’s going on?

This week, members of the House of Representatives plan to mark tax day with a vote to repeal the estate tax, potentially giving millionaires and billionaires a huge tax break that will deprive the government of more than $270 billion over 10 years.

While Republicans want you to think that the estate tax harms small businesses and family farms, it primarily affects the very wealthy. Only individual estates worth more than $5.4 million pay any estate tax. Just two out of every 1,000 estates are affected.

In the meantime, the House recently passed a budget that cuts $5 trillion in benefits and services that mostly help working families. While members of Congress question whether or not parents and children in poor households deserve the smallest bit of help, they’re voting on yet another huge tax giveaway to the extremely affluent.

What can I do about it?

The Nation is part of a new coalition defending the importance of progressive taxation. Join our campaign to preserve the federal estate tax.

Learn more:

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities compiled a list of “Ten Facts You Should Know About the Federal Estate Tax.”
Earlier this year, John Oliver hilariously broke down the absurdity of the wealth gap in America.