Congressman Sam Graves... the ranking member of the House Small Business Committee... [said], “Death should not be a taxable event. The notion that the federal government is owed anything upon the death of a family member is outrageous.”

You know what’s really outrageous? That guys like this get away with continuing to call the federal estate tax the death tax.

So, one more time, Congressman: IT’S NOT A DEATH TAX! Get it? It’s a tax on the transfer of an estate. BIG DIFFERENCE! And most estates will never be affected by it.

View TaxAnalysts' Chris Bergin's opinion in its entirety on TAX.com.