Republican legislators have only a few weeks left to finalize the specifics of their long-awaited tax reform plan. Initially, the plan’s outline included language that would repeal the estate tax—a legislative reform that President Trump promised while campaigning. However, as the deadline nears, Republicans are considering ditching the repeal in the interest of compromise. Before they make their final decision, they should bear in mind the estate tax is as economically inefficient as it is socially indefensible.

The federal estate tax (often called the “death tax” by its detractors) has existed in its modern form since 1916. Essentially, it’s a tax on the right to transfer property at one’s death and applies to the market value of everything owned at that time including cash, stocks, bonds, buildings, trusts, vehicles, and even books. Fortunately, Americans with estates less than $5,490,000 (as of 2017) are exempted from the tax, while the rest, depending on how much larger their estate is than that exemption, are forced to pay between 18 and 40 percent.