Republicans look to keep the estate tax at bay

Republicans, having worked with farmers, ranchers, and other small businesses to decimate the estate tax, now aim with their governing trifecta to keep the controversial tax hobbled or eliminate it altogether.

Critics call the tax, which has been imposed in roughly its current form since 2016, the “death tax.” Death should not be a taxable event, they argue. They also maintain that the tax penalizes saving and thrift while posing a mortal threat to family-owned businesses, such as farms, that are passed down from generation to generation.